For Fantasy Sake

With Kerryon Johnson being placed on IR, it looks as if Ty Johnson will be the lead back in Detroit. At $4,900, Ty Johnson will probably be one of the most-owned value plays on the Week 8 slate.  Apparently, the NFL decided that THIS week was the trade deadline. A handful of trades went down. Not that we care about all of them, but some have fantasy impact, and we can't overlook them. Trades the matter: Momammed Sanu to the Patriots: Not only does Sanu get a bit of an upgrade heading to New England and having Tom Brady as his quarterback, but it likely tells us a little something about another wideout in New England. If the Pats felt the overwhelming need to give up a second-round pick for Sanu, the outlook for Josh Gordon is probably worse than originally anticipated. *Update: Gordon was placed on IR and may be waived by the Patriots.  Emmanuel Sanders to the 49ers: I tweeted out yesterday that I never thought I'd say a receiver leaving a Joe Flacco-led team wo...

Chase Edmonds was the highest-scoring running back on the slate, and was less than 2 percent owned across DraftKings.   Sometimes it be like that. Yep. Chase Edmonds happened. And it happened after we got reports from Kliff Kingsbury told reporters that David Johnson was going to be active. It went a little bit like this ... Me: Nice! Looks like DJ is going to be able to be fired up for DraftKings this week. Me: Locks DJ into 50 percent of GPP lineups. Me after Edmonds ran wild while Johnson sat on the sideline all game Here's what we have to look forward to in Week 8. QB High-End Plays Deshaun Watson $7,100 (vs. Oakland) Jared Goff $6,800 (vs. Cincinnati) Matthew Stafford $6,100 (vs. NY Giants) Value Plays Jameis Winston $5,900 (at Tennessee) Ryan Tannehill $5,100 (vs. Tampa Bay) Derek Carr $5,000 (at Houston) RB High-End Plays Saquon Barkley $8,900 (at Detroit) Todd Gurley $7,400 (vs. Cincinnati) Le'Veon Bell $6,900 (...

David Johnson is a game-time decision this weekend. If he does play, he's a great tournament play, but if he's held out, lock in Chase Edmunds into all your lineups. Your lineups can't be fully built yet. There's no way. Right? I mean, mine aren't even CLOSE to being built. There are still far too many tidbits of information up in the air and have yet to drop.  We got a bit of clarity on a few situations on Friday: Alvin Kamara is OUT with his ankle injury Todd Gurley and Saquon Barkley were taken OFF the final injury reports Davante Adams is OUT and Geronimo Allison is DOUBTFUL  What we're waiting to learn more about: David Johnson and Christian Kirk are GAME-TIME DECISIONS  Marquez Valdes-Scantling is QUESTIONABLE  Marquise Brown is QUESTIONABLE, but it doesn't sound all that good  Dede Westbrook looks like he'll carry a QUESTIONABLE tag into Sunday's game Maybe it's just a me thing, but the news that still...

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...