For Fantasy Sake

Leonard Fournette saw 100 percent of the backfield snaps in his Week 3 game. He's only putting up 13 DraftKings points per game, but has yet to find his way into the end zone. With volume like that, when he finally scores a touchdown, it's going to be a massive week ... and I think this is the one.  Week 3 was FIRE. It seemed like all the buttons I pressed were the right ones. Mike Evans was going off. Jameis Winston looked good. Christian McCaffrey was the man. Keenan Allen put up a 40-burger. It legitimately seemed like every lineup I had went bonkers. The only problem? So did everyone else's. So, if you were playing on DraftKings.com in Week 3 and didn't score at least 175+ ... you might need to delete your account. Because even a fish like me managed to come close to the 200-point mark. Granted, not all weeks will be so fruitful in the 40-burger department. With a couple of teams on bye in Week 4 -- it's the Jets and 49ers, so, I mean, is it re...

After a pair of tough matchups, it's looking like DeAndre Hopkins might come in with lower ownership than we're used to seeing, which could be a prime spot to jump on him in tournaments.   The Plays Kerryon Johnson, RB, $5,400 (vs. Kansas City) Pick yourself up off the floor. I know recommending Johnson comes as a shock. For as much as I've been a nonbeliever, how can I suggest playing him? Well, DraftKings pricing makes this viable. Well, that and the juicy matchup with Kansas City. This game carries a 54.5 total, with the Lions implied for 24 points. So they're not huge underdogs and implied for some feeble total like the Dolphins and Jets. If the Lions have any chance of winning this game, it seems the best avenue to that would be keeping the ball on the ground, and that means a lot of Johnson. He received 20 carries against an impressive Philadelphia run defense. Granted, he didn't do much with the carries, but he GOT them. And that's what matters. ...

Everyone in the DFS world is attacking the Miami Dolphins,  but one of the most overlooked fantasy goldmines  might be anyone playing the Arizona Cardinals. A Russell Wilson and DK Metcalf stack is where I'm leaning  after my first look. Each week, DraftKings puts out the pricing for the following week during the Sunday Night Football game. Some weeks, it's tough to flick open the ole DK app when you know your lineups got roasted. However, weeks like this one ... they're great.  TFW ... you open DraftKings on Sunday night when playing Mike Evans, Keenan Allen and Christian McCaffrey in the same lineup  I'm taking that excitement into Week 4.  Here's what I'm seeing at first glance.  QB High-End Deshaun Watson $6,400 (vs. Carolina) Russell Wilson $6,100 (at Arizona) Value Kyle Allen $5,200 (at Houston) Case Keenum $4,900 (at NY Giants) RB High-End Dalvin Cook $8,300 (vs. Chicago) Austin Ekel...

Mike Evans' price has dropped below teammate Chris Godwin's, but he's still the No. 1 option. In a get-right game for the Tampa Bay offense, it's time to buy low on Evans and plug him into your GPP lineups.  Up. In. Flames.  How 85 percent of my tournament lineups ended up last week.  The other 15 percent managed to scrape together enough to almost break even.  That's the life of playing in GPPs. If you're playing to JUST cash in tournaments, you're doing it wrong. The method behind tournaments is to play to win the tournament. So, when you do finally have the lineup that hits, it should pay off large enough to keep your bankroll going for at least another year.  So if you don't enjoy the ups and downs of what the tournament life brings, you need to be allotting the majority of your entires to head-to-heads or double-ups.   Either way ... here's hoping Week 3 doesn't end with torn thumb ligaments or Tommy John surgery...

There's going to be a lot of this going on this Sunday in Dallas.Ezekiel Elliott gets to eat up the awful Miami defense, and it's going to be awesome for fantasy players. There's no good way to sum up Week 2 for me, other than thanking the Kansas City Chiefs for being an offensive juggernaut and allowing me to scrape back most of what I lost on the Seahawks-Steelers stacks I ran out. God bless you Patrick Mahomes and Demarcus Robinson.  And you, too, Pats DST.  We're not going for a long soliloquy, this week. We're going to get down to it. The Plays Ezekiel Elliott, RB, $8,900 (vs. Miami) D-O-L-P-H-I-N-S ... what's that spell ...?  If you guessed Dolphins, your'e wrong. Clearly it spells fantasy yum yum. The dumpster fire that is the Miami Dolphins defense is just bleeding points to everyone. Somehow, they're not yielding the most fantasy goodness to opposing running backs, but I expect that to change after this week. Th...

Many fantasy owners are feeling the blow of losing Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees,but don't just assume you need to rush to pick up their replacements. There are PLENTY of better options.  There were some serious blows dealt during Sunday's action. It wasn't enough that the quarterback I was on since I saw the matchup with Seattle ( Ben Roethlisberger ) blew out his elbow and is requiring season-ending surgery, but fantasy stalwart Drew Brees had to go and tear  ligaments in his hand the required surgery and HE'S out for about six weeks. Like a bad infomercial ... Steelers running back James Conner left Sunday's game as well, however, test results revealed "nothing serious," according to Jeremy Fowler. Devin Singletary tweaked his hamstring and was forced from the game against the Giants -- he had six carries for 57 yards and TD before exiting. Michael Gallup injured his knee during Sunday's route of Washington and will miss 2-4...

Upon first glance, Marlon Mack seems to be one the best running back plays on the slate -- and at a great value.   My. God. What a brutal weekend.

Josh Jacobs looked great in his NFL debut against the Broncos. He's likely going to be incredibly chalky in Week 2, but at his price point, it's almost too hard to resist. After going through and dissecting some of my favorite plays from across the DraftKings main slate, it's time to take a little deeper look at who the best cash game and tournament considerations are. Below I've compiled a handful of players from each position I see being viable options in both formats. Granted, my mind is mostly geared toward the tournament prospective, so take the cash game plays with a bit of a grain of salt.  I can tell you, though, my tournament player pool is relatively small for the week. I'll probably roll out two or three tournament lineups, and I'm debating on lock-buttoning one QB and WR combination. My cash game lineups, however, I haven't settled on just yet. But this is where I'm starting.  Cash Plays QB Lamar Jackson $6,700 (vs. Arizona...

Alvin Kamara is in a smash spot this weekend agains the Los Angeles Rams, and, for my money, is likely to be the best play on the entire DraftKings slate.   This is where the fun begins. No one has had a month and a half to look at pricing, run model projections and research the slate like they had for Week 1. It's back to the usual only-got-a-week-to-prepare guide. Don't get me wrong, that's definitely long enough to overthink and tinker your way into a trash lineup. The single most important advice after a rough Week 1 is this: Don't overhaul your process because you didn't find a green screen after just one week. Think about the weird things that happened you would have never predicted: Lamar Jackson throwing 5 TDs and being the No. 1-scoring QB Jamies Winston & Cam Newton scoring less than Robert Griffin III Derrick Henry catching ONE pass for a 75-yard TD Sammy Watkins almost dropping a 50-burger T.J. Hockenson going absolutely of...

Cam Newton and Jameis Winston looked like hot garbage in Week 1. The pair combined for just 12.5 fantasy points. On a short week, they play against each other. So, the question is, can we start either of them?   Let's start this off with the question we actually want to ask both Cam Newton and Jameis Winston after their, let's just call it, grotesque, Week 1 performances. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!? Cam: 239 yards, -2 rushing yards 1 INT, 1 fumble lost ... 5.4 fantasy points Jameis: 194 yards, 13 rushing yards, 3 INTs, 2 fumbles ... 7.1 fantasy points 🤢🤢🤢 OK. Now that we've got that out of out system, the real question is: Are we starting Cam or Jameis in Week 2? The answer is a bit convoluted when it comes to Winston. Much of your decision depends on your roster. You might have another option. Chances are, if you drafted Winston, you knew going into the season the floor for Winston was a four-interception, two-fumble game resulting in being benched. I...

We likely saw Cam Newton's worst game of the season in Week 1, so now is the  perfect time to go make a trade offer to buy him while he's cheap.   It's hard to not fall victim to the overreaction theater that is the NFL after just one week. You've waited so long for the season to finally be back, put in tons of hours researching and reading -- hopefully my stuff, because, let's face it, these takes are fire -- all the news on your players, so it feels like you know EVERYTHING. I'm here to tell you: You don't. So making trades after one week of action ... not always the best thing to do. But if you're itching to pull the trigger on a deal and need your trade fix, here are three options to trade FOR, and three options to trade AWAY. Trade For Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers We probably saw Cam’s worst game of 2019. He didn’t look good at all. Granted, I’m not a big believer in drafting QBs high or trading much away for them, but I think...

It took a bit too long for the Bills to turn the game  over to Devin Singletary in Week 1, but once he got  action he looked good. Will he see enough volume  week to week to be a viable fantasy option? After just one week of football being behind us, it seems no team is exempt from having questions surrounding them. We've got team-by-team breakdown from all 32 teams and what their biggest storyline or concerns are after Week 1.  Arizona Cardinals: Can Kyler Murray be a season-long QB1 in 12 teams leagues? He was QB11 in Week 1 in a tie against the Lions, but it took a him half to get his feet under him. Murray threw the ball for 308 yards and two scores, but had just 13 yards rushing. I would expect the passing yards go down, but the rushing yards go up, keeping him in the conversation most of the season. Atlanta Falcons: Will the Falcons have a running game? The Vikings defense is really good, they allowed just 12 fantasy points to Devonta Freeman and...

Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown is a must-add after Week 1. Not only does he have huge-play ability, but he's getting volume now with a quarterback in Josh Allen who isn't afraid to chuck it deep to him.  The overarching theme of Week 1 -- other than the ridiculous performances from a few guys -- was, undoubtedly, injuries. And with lots of injuries, comes even more waiver wire action. If you follow the For Fantasy Sake Facebook page , you'd know all of  the key injuries and what some of the outlooks for those players are. If you don't, tough, I'm not going over all of the injuries here, pal. Go give us a follow and keep up with the news. Now that we've got the shameless plugging out of the way -- nah, brah, I'm not above that -- let's get to the options you should be looking at to fill those voids on your roster. Go Get 'Em Tyrell Williams, WR, Oakland Raiders – 63% owned With Antonio Brown out of Oakland – how fun was it ...

Another woeful game for Todd Gurley signifies he is as good as done. That and more in our overreaction Monday.  Lamar Jackson is the best quarterback in football. Todd Gurley is done. Forever. And Sammy Watkins outscored Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr., Adam Thielin and Tyreek Hill ... COMBINED ! Of course, this is all tongue in cheek. ... right? Bruh. It's absolutely tongue in cheek. I mean, come on, Week 1 isn't even 24 hours old. For the purposes of this column, we're going to have some fun and dive into some of the most overreaction things you'll hear across the fantasy landscape after just one game played. Todd Gurley is dust. It's over for him.  Over his last six games played, Gurley has only managed to average 55.5 yards on the ground and 19.2 on 2.8 receptions per game; and, according to my math, that's a shade under 10 points per game. Now, we find out he's being usurped near the goal line by Malcom Brown -- as evidenced by him s...