Quarterbacks
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Top Shelf
- Tom Brady ($7,400) – The most expensive QB on the slate, but the current MVP candidate just went into his kyptonian Denver stadium and SMACKED the Broncos defense. Oakland isn’t anything to fear.
- Carson Wentz ($7,200) – The other MVP candidate also had success with the Denver defense and has been red hot in 2017. Expect his best on a national stage against “America’s Team”.
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Retail Price
- Alex Smith ($6,700) – The Chiefs have one of the NFL’s best offenses and now get to play the dumpster fire Giants who just torched by CJ Beathard.
- Ben Roethlisberger ($6,600) – A TNF tilt against the Titans who have struggled with their pass defense lines up great for Ben and all his receiving weapons, especially after a mediocre game versus the Colts.
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Bang For Your Buck
- Blake Bortles ($5,200) – For as mediocre and average as Bortles has looked all year, now is a solid time to play him against the Browns defense. They simply make everyone look good.
Running Backs
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- Mark Ingram ($8,100) – Ingram is the lead dog and still puts up massive numbers despite Kamara’s performances. With Washington, the Saints should have a relatively easy time moving the ball and moving the chains behind Ingram.
- Kareem Hunt ($8,000) – Hunt has been disappointing from his early season standards and has been getting low numbers of touches as of late. He’s likely to have some low ownership based on his recent performances, but the Giants offer an opportunity to show us his true colors once again.
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Retail Price
- Tevin Coleman ($5,800) – Freeman is likely to be out this week so the backfield should belong entirely to Coleman. The Seattle matchup isn’t ideal, but being the lead dog makes him valuable at this range.
- Jerick McKinnon ($5,700) – The Rams have struggled against the run, and this has the makings of a very good game with back and forth scoring. McKinnon’s versatility should be a big part of the offense in a very important game.
- Chris Thompson ($5,400) – The loss of Rob Kelley should give Thompson some more touches, but likely playing from behind against the Saints should have him on the field in catch up mode for plenty of receptions.
- Jay Ajayi ($5,300) – Ajayi wasn’t expected to have much of a role in his initial game with the Eagles, but still managed to bust open a huge touchdown run. His role will expand and now faces Dallas who just lost top linebacker Sean Lee to injury.
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Bang For Your Buck
- Jamaal Williams ($4,900) – If both Aaron Jones and Ty Montgomery are indeed out, the backfield belongs to Williams. He’s worth a look at this price, and the Packers won’t be able to throw much anyways with Hundley against the Ravens.
- Rex Burkhead ($3,600) — As we saw against the Broncos, it looks like the Patriots are phasing out Mike Gillislee and are going with the more versatile running backs. Burkhead looked like Julian Edelman out of the slot on his touchdown reception and is facing a Raiders defense that is susceptible against pass-catching running backs. He should rack up a few receptions and find the end zone in Mexico City.
Wide Receivers
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- Antonio Brown ($9,100) – NFL’s premiere receiver in a primetime game against a leaky pass defense. I like this recipe for AB on Thursday night.
- Adam Thielen ($7,200) – Captain Consistency, he’s caught five balls minimum in every game and keeps proving how valuable a receiver he is. It’s a huge game for Minnesota so I expect Thielen to step up when needed.
- Tyreek Hill ($7,100) – TyFreak has all the potential to flourish against the Giants defense. One of the more athletic and skilled players in the league against a team that has seemingly quit.
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Retail Price
- Sterling Shepard ($6,300) – Shepard balled out last week and gets a similarly bad pass defense in Kansas City to work with. The lack of receivers boosts his value tenfold.
- Dez Bryant ($6,200) – This is a huge game for Dallas against divisional rival Eagles in a primetime game without Zeke. Dez has to step up and be a stud for Dallas to have any shot here.
- DeAndre Hopkins ($6,100) – The loss of Deshaun Watson is obviously huge and part of why Hopkins’ salary is so low. However, his target numbers are still super high and I’m more than willing to play him against Arizona at this price.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster ($6,000) – With scores in two straight, JuJu is only getting better as his experience grows in the NFL. Like Brown, he should thrive against a bad pass defense at home.
- Marqise Lee ($5,500) – Lee’s target numbers have skyrocketed as of late while Lee has become the defacto go-to-guy for Bortles in the passing game. Here’s as good a chance as he’ll get against Cleveland.
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Bang For Your Buck
- Jeremy Maclin ($4,500) – The Packers are a good pass defense to pick on and target and had a solid last game against the Titans secondary. If Maclin can put up similar or better numbers this week he’ll easily pay off.
- Dede Westbrook ($3,600) – Jumped the gun earlier as Westbrook looks like he’ll finally play this week. He’s quite the x-factor and can be a major spark plug for this offense. A big time long shot.
- Dontrelle Inman ($3,200) – Inman’s debut in Chicago was well received with six catches for 88 yards. He gives Trubisky a real option to throw to and the QB appears to be taking advantage of that so far.
Tight Ends
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- Travis Kelce ($7,300) – It’s simple, trust the chart. Last week Garrett Celek kept the trend rolling with a score and big game against the Giants. Now you put one of the league’s premiere tight ends up against the Giants so I’d expect big things here.
- Zach Ertz ($6,800) – Death, taxes, Zach Ertz scoring. A common theme here but Ertz will get his due against Dallas who just lost Sean Lee.
- Jimmy Graham ($6,200) – Graham has been lights out, and even more so at home. This touchdown machine looks like he’s finally back to New Orleans mode.
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Retail Price
- Charles Clay ($3,900) – Buffalo just got smacked and needs help on offense. Clay is back and should now be healthy after getting some rust off. He’s Tyrod’s most trusted target. Welcome back Chuck.
- Marcedes Lewis ($2,700) – Another semi chart play here against the Browns. Eric Ebron came through, and Marcedes Lewis has had some big game for the Jaguars.
Defenses
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- New Orleans Saints ($3,500) – Don’t look now but the Saints might be the hottest team or defense in the league. At home against a very turnover prone Kirk Cousins looks like a good combination.
- Los Angeles Chargers ($3,000) – After watching Buffalo struggle to get anything going against the Saints, I like the Chargers some more in this spot — especially after the Bills decided to bench Tyrod Taylor for Nathan Peterman. They have an elite front with Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram to contain McCoy, the biggest piece to the Bills offense.
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Retail Price
- Miami Dolphins ($2,800) – As bad as Miami looked on MNF against Cam Newton, there’s a chance at this price against Ryan Fitzpatrick that they could deliver.
- New England Patriots ($2,600) – New England’s defense has turned it around and has drastically lowered their points allowed per game. The Raiders aren’t sexy to play against, but they’ve underperformed and this Mexico game will be played at very high altitudes which could affect player’s performances.
