Here at Roto Street Journal, we fancy ourselves as fantasy addicts. Fantasy football has evolved into something much more than your standard league draft. With the opportunity to enter new lineups every week through Daily Fantasy Sports, the RSJ will be giving you the best plays for your lineups, in order to win you some cash. From the high-priced superstars, to the penny stock sleepers, we have you covered to piece together the optimal lineup week by week.
Note:
- Standard DraftKings salaries are used when creating these lineups.
- The Thursday Night, and Monday Night Football games are excluded from tournament play
Quarterbacks
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Top Shelf
- Tom Brady ($7,800) – Brady usually doesn’t lose twice in a row, so I like his chances against San Francisco in his former hometown. The 49ers aren’t good and Brady will capitalize
- Ben Roethlisberger ($7,500) – Brave Big Ben hit the jackpot with Cleveland this week. He won’t be stopped and should have elite numbers — even on the road.
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Retail Price
- Marcus Mariota ($6,700) – Mariota is the hottest player in the NFL right now as evidenced by the massive jump in price. A date in Indy doesn’t hurt either as he should keep rolling.
- Eli Manning ($6,200) – Manning looked like a reasonably good QB last week and gets the Bears horrible secondary at home. With no running game, the Giants touchdowns likely come through the air.
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Bang For Your Buck
- Kirk Cousins ($5,800) – Cousins gets a SNF game against Green Bay on national tv. This should be a shootout with Rodgers, and Cousins has the chance to throw for a handful of touchdowns.
- Colin Kaepernick ($5,200) – If you saw the last SNF game, you saw the Seahawks and Russ Wilson carve up the Patriots defense on their own field. Russ had no mobility, so Kaepernick having arguably the best mobility of QBs is dangerous. He had a solid game against Arizona, and could be forced to make more plays in a high scoring game.
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My Pick
- Blake Bortles ($5,400) – As I write this now a garbage man is picking up my trash so I feel it’s only a sign from the lord above. The change in coordinators has helped Bortles get back on track with star receiver Allen Robinson, and facing the bad Lions defense should produce a solid fantasy day. He’s tough to watch on television, but his stats should end up in a good place.
Running Backs
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Retail Price
- Le’Veon Bell ($8,800) – Bell faces the Browns this week, which is why his price increased a bunch. He is going to put up big numbers here, you just have to be flexible with the rest of your lineup if you go this route.
- DeMarco Murray ($8,200) – Murray rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown the last time these two played, and he hasn’t been slowing down this season. The volume isn’t going anywhere, and he’s even passing the ball now!
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Retail Price
- LeSean McCoy ($6,900) – A now healthy McCoy looked great in Seattle, and now has the benefit of the Bengals defense. McCoy’s recent absences and mediocre productive games has his price dropped back down after his monster 3 score day. Time to pounce.
- Spencer Ware ($6,000) – Ware struggled against Carolina but should rebound nicely against Tampa Bay as the lead back with limited other offensive weapons.
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Bang For Your Buck
- Frank Gore ($5,000) – Gore has been so consistent that his cheap price is a little confusing. The Titans were destroyed by Melvin Gordon two weeks ago, and while Gore isn’t Gordon, he can still find room to run.
- CJ Prosise ($4,200) – Prosise has his welcome party on SNF against New England where he looked explosive in both the run and passing game. With CMike gone and Thomas Rawls just coming back from injury, Prosise should be the featured guy for at least this week.
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My Pick
- LeGarrette Blount ($6,400) – We all know the 49ers have the worst run defense in the league, and Blount just rushed for 3 touchdowns against the Seahawks. Not something you see very often, but this big bruising back has been very good for the New England offense. The Patriots will keep the train rolling by feeding this beast again Sunday.
Wide Receivers
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Top Shelf
- Antonio Brown ($9,500) – Antonio Brown with a healthy Ben against Cleveland? Yes please.
- Odell Beckham Jr ($8,500) – ODB looked great on MNF and appears to be having fun again. He should have no problem torching the Bears defense and has the ceiling of a big game similar to last year.
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Retail Price
- Julian Edelman ($6,300) – With the possibility of Gronk being out this week, Edelman would likely be Brady’s go-to-guy against San Fran. Also helps that the 49ers have a weak secondary.
- Donte Moncrief ($6,100) – The touchdown machine Chief ‘Crief gets a home matchup with the Titans. With Andrew Luck at QB, it’s basically a lock that Moncrief scores.
- Doug Baldwin ($5,700) – Baldwin exploded for three scores on SNF last week and the Seahawks offense looks to be great again. The Wilson-Baldwin connection has always been one of the league’s strongest, so a big game against the Eagles could call upon the duo to replicate their success.
- Jamison Crowder ($5,400) – Crowder has been uber consistent from the WR spot despite numerous other options around him. DeSean Jackson has been limited with a shoulder injury, allowing Crowder more opportunities to do some damage. A Green Bay shootout should help those chances.
- Rishard Matthews ($5,100) – Matthews caught yet another touchdown pushing his streak up to three including five of his last six. He’s been a great red zone option for Mariota and has clearly built that chemistry.
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Bang For Your Buck
- Sterling Shepard ($4,700) – Shepard has reemerged as a weapon for the Giants alongside ODB. He scored for the second straight week and is working his way back to the promising WR2 we all hoped to see.
- Tyreke Hill ($4,500) – Tyreke the Freak fully capitalized on Maclin’s absence, hauling in 10 balls for 89 yards. He’s an explosive playmaker that the Chiefs have hopefully realized needs to have the ball in his hands more.
- Eli Rogers ($4,300) – Rogers has filled in nicely with Sammie Coates dealing with injuries/being bad. In what’s likely to be a high scoring game for the Steelers, Rogers can very well find pay-dirt and give owners a nice return for his low price.
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My Pick
- Allen Robinson ($7,400) – Funny what a change of coordinators can do for you. After performing so miserably in the middle of the season, Robinson has seen his target numbers spike back up while starting to look like his former self. In a matchup against a terrible Lions pass defense, Robinson should flourish under this new coaching.
Tight Ends
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Best Play
- Delanie Walker ($5,700) – Walker was a beast last week and was Mariota’s go-to guy on the day. Facing the Colts should allow for Walker to have a similar output in this red hot offense.
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Bargain Plays
- Martellus Bennett ($3,700) – The threat of Gronk missing Sunday’s game is the silver lining for Bennett’s production. He played very well against Seattle where Gronk was sidelined for some plays. If he’s the featured tight end Sunday, Bennett could have a solid game.
- Julius Thomas ($3,500) – *checks who faces the Detroit defense* *inserts into blog*
Defenses
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Best Play
- Kansas City Chiefs ($3,400) – The Chiefs are very good at home and have put up double digit points in five straight games. The turnover prone Jameis Winston and Bucs offense should help keep that trend going
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Bargain Plays
- Miami Dolphins ($2,900) – The Dolphins defense has turned into a real pain to play against and now they’re traveling to LA to make life hectic for Jared Goff in his NFL debut. The ‘Fins have intercepted six passes in their past two games, accumiliating 30 DK points in the process.
- Dallas Cowboys ($2,600) – Dallas is a very good team and I’m not very high on the Ravens offense. Playing at home helps, but I just don’t see Baltimore carving teams up on a regular basis
