Could you be luckier? We're prepared to send you a free eBook on how the pros set both daily fantasy baseball AND football lineups, free of charge! Check out the details, and get your copies now! Don't make another lineup before reading these books! Each contains crucial mistakes your competitors, and maybe you!, are making.
Ready to make the leap and get access to the exclusive projection system that produces these picks? Sign up now and get a free 3 day trial to our lineup construction tool for FanDuel, Draftster, and DraftKings. And now - for the next month - you can get access to our Football projection tools AND our baseball projection tools for the same price! Sick deal.
Looking for the week 5 picks? Follow the link! I go position by position and give you whom I believe to be the best plays, dollar for dollar, for Week 5's games. This article is going to be a little bit different. Instead, I'm going to focus on particular lineup formation strategies that might help you get some separation from the field and get those value plays and sleepers that will let you spend money elsewhere while cashing in for cheap.
Weekly disclaimer:
The whole concept of a sleeper in one week fantasy football games needs to be adjusted. First of all, there's no real such thing as a "sleeper," in that you're not really going to sleep on a guy until he wakes up. What you're looking at with cheap plays are guys who are priced very reasonably who could go off if all things break right. Sniffing out the best cheap plays with upside is really the only way to have a chance in hell at taking down some of these utterly massive NFL tournaments. You'll pay up for the big names, and then hope your bargain plays pay off. That's where we come in - here are some sleepers that we love for Week 5.
Andrew Hawkins - FD 5300 DK 3500 DD 9950 DFSTR 4400
Rueben Randle - FD 5400 DK 3900 DD 8950 DFSTR 4100
We highlighted these guys in our week 5 picks article, but I just don't want you to miss them here. Both are bargain price guys getting the amount of looks that you'd expect from a WR2. I like Randle better than Hawkins for GPPs due to red zone usage, but am more confident in Hawkins' role in the offense. For more in depth write-ups, check out that article.
Khiry Robinson - FD 4900 DK 3000 DD 9250 DFSTR 5300
I honestly get annoyed when people pretend like there isn't a hierarchy of who is going to get the carries in New Orleans. Robinson produced 105 total yards of offense on 10 touches last week, and now faces a Bucs team with the league's 2nd worst defensive DVOA. They've given up fewer rushing yards than passing simply because they haven't gotten blown out as much as you might expect, but I think the Saints put a hurting on the Bucs this week, and that Khiry has as much upside as any RB you'll find who's priced below most team's back-ups. He carried the ball 18 times in the first game Ingram missed, and unless they fall behind a la the Dallas game, Khiry could come up huge.
Darrin Reaves - FD 5000 DK 3000 DD 7850 DFSTR 3300
It's with mild embarrassment that I even type Reaves' name. Ron Rivera has indicated he is going to go with the "hot hand" out of the backfield between Reaves and his counterparts, but given that Reaves got the first look in week 4, I'm looking his way. It's clear that Cam Newton doesn't want to run as much this year, and the Panthers have still featured a 16/9 rush/pass split in terms of red zone tries this year in spite of their putrid running game. The Bears have followed up last season's league worst run defense by giving up the 11th most yards to opposing RBs in 2014, all while facing such fearsome foes as the Jets, Packers, Bills, and 49ers. It's a punt in the purest sense of the word, but there's absolutely a scenario where Reaves puts up 15+ fantasy points.
Chris Ivory - FD 6200 DK 3100 DD 7150 DFSTR 4500
Strictly a Draftkings punt, where the guy is basically free. But with Chris Johnson floundering, Ivory put up 100 yards on 19 touches against a tough Lions defense last week. What you have to love most about Ivory's upside is the red zone touches - he has the most on his team by far with 9 - and if the Jets can put a few drives together he could pay off his Draftkings price in a HUGE way.
Kendall Wright - FD 5600 DK 5500 DD 9150 DFSTR 4100
The price has taken a nosedive for the Titans widereceiver, who was a hot sleeper for year round leagues coming into the year. With 9 targets per game in his last 2, Wright may be poised for a renaissance, especially if you can slot him in so cheaply. The Browns have allowed the fourth most passing yards per game this year, and Justin Gilbert (who will presumably cover Wright) has been awful this year. Joe Haden hasn't been great, either. The one knock against Wright is that he just doesn't get red zone targets. With just 2 this year, it looks like he's continuing his trend of being a forgotten man around the end zone. I like him better for cash games than GPPs.
Markus Wheaton - FD 5300 DK 3300 DD 8300 DFSTR 4200
A tough guy to continue to recommend since he hasn't had that one big "go off" game, but I guess you'll have to trust me when I say it's tough to get a guy who averages more than 7 targets per game at these prices. Wheaton's been fairly unsexy this year, but at this pace, he'll have 986 receiving yards. That's not bad, right? And it stands to reason that if he does keep this pace up, it will be because he has big games against terrible teams like the Jaguars. The Jags are the worst in the world when it comes to DVOA, and have allowed the most yards to opposing offensive receivers this year. I'm a little discouraged by the lack of red zone love for the 5'11'' Wheaton (just 2 targets), but his speed could allow for some big plays.
Brandon LaFell - FD 4500 DK 3000 DD 4000 DFSTR 3000
LaFell received a team high 10 targets against the Chiefs on the heels of an 8 target night against Oakland. He flexed some big play ability as well, with a 44 yard catch and run where he even broke a tackle. I'd be tempted to ignore LaFell, but I don't think you can for GPPs. Cincinnati has a similar profile to the Chiefs in that they have a couple of strong corners that should give Edelman and Amendola problems. If that happens, LaFell could see his increased role continue.
Allen Robinson - FD 5000 DK 3000 DD 8400 DFSTR 3500
The targets are ticking upward (10 in week 3, 7 in week 4), and if Cecil Shorts' health doesn't get back on track, Robinson is looking like Blake Bortles' WR of choice. For basically minimum prices everywhere, you might be looking at the Jags' #1 wide receiver. He hasn't scored yet, but that could change against a Steelers team that allowed Mike Glennon 300+ yards in the air last week.
Travis Kelce - FD 5300 DK 3000 DD 7300 DFSTR 4800
Not a whole lot to see here - It's a minimum priced guy on Draftkings who just torched the Pats for 23+ fantasy points. The match-up is pretty lousy (the 49ers tend to shut down TEs), but the Chiefs obviously have some affection for him. And a healthy Jamaal Charles could draw away some of the linebacker eyes normally reserved for TEs.
Give a follow on Twitter @dailyfantasysr and @dougnorrie.
Ready to make the leap and get access to the exclusive projection system that produces these picks? Try a free 3-day trial to our Lineup Construction Tools for FanDuel, DraftKings, and Drafster - AND you'll get 'em for Football as well, all for the same price!
Did you know that our new Football eBook is live just in time for football season? You can get a free copy in your inbox by filling out the form below.
A quick note - if you're only interested in Football related content getting emailed to you, be sure to check the "DFSR Football Newsletter" box on the signup form below.
Thanks, and good luck!
Week 12 DraftKings and FanDuel cash game NFL plays.
DraftKings and FanDuel Week 11 cash game NFL plays
Week 10 NFL cash game picks for DraftKings and FanDuel
Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks & Projections Playing NBA DFS Nightly? Join one…
Week 9 NFL DFS plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Packed slate of NBA action on FanDuel and DraftKings