Daily Fantasy NFL Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - Week 5 Sunday 10/6/24

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Quarterbacks

Jayden Daniels FD 8700 DK 6800
Opponent CLE
Proj Points FD - 21.6 DK - 21.6

We are going to find some savings this week, especially at wide receiver, so paying up at quarterback isn’t going to be a big deal at all. And there are few better guys to spend up on right now than Jayden Daniels whose spent his first four NFL games looking like one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Through four weeks, he’s second only to Lamar Jackson in quarterback fantasy points, getting after it on the ground with 46 rushes and four TDs already while also completing a crazy 82% of his passes. This simply doesn’t happen for almost any QB, much less a rookie. He’s facing a Browns defense which ranks below average in defensive DVOA and on DraftKings Daniels still isn’t priced correctly.

Lamar Jackson FD 8800 DK 7500
Opponent CIN
Proj Points FD - 25.04 DK - 25.04

We just mentioned him, so why not mention him again? Lamar Jackson leads the league in quarterback fantasy scoring, and that’s even with Derrick Henry running absolutely wild in Week 4.

He hasn’t been all that efficient through the air, completing just 67% of his passes, but Jackson has five passing touchdowns and has run for a couple more. The Bengals rank 21st in defensive DVOA on the season and the 49 over/under comes in as the second-highest total on the slate. If you can afford it, Lamar Jackson offers a floor considerably higher than almost any other QB going.

Consider Deshaun Watson mostly because he’s cheap on DraftKings and is facing the Commanders defense which is about the worst in the league so far.

Speaking of bad defenses, Jordan Love faces off against the Rams who’ve been crushed this year on that side of the ball. He’s a bit cheaper than Daniels and Jackson, though doesn’t offer the same sort of rushing floor.

Running Back

Jordan Mason FD 8700 DK 7400
Opponent ARI
Proj Points FD - 19.62 DK - 20.29

Another week, another slate to consider playing Jordan Mason. For a guy who was on almost every waiver wire to right up to the point CMC was announced out that first Monday night, he’s turned into a go-to running back this season. His 98 touches (91 rushes + 7 targets) rank only behind Alvin Kamara in terms of usage. Mason plays nearly every snap, and that’s unlikely to change this week.

He’s getting expensive for sure, but the 49ers are -7.5 home favorites against the Cardinals. That’s the sweet spot for running back, especially if San Fran is playing from ahead throughout. Even if they aren’t, Mason has such a high floor because of how much they use him in this offense.

Kyren Williams FD 8400 DK 7600
Opponent GB
Proj Points FD - 18.81 DK - 20.54

In the vein of running backs who never leave the field, we have Kyren Williams, who might not survive this whole season, considering how much the Rams are using him in the offense. He’s played 85% of the offensive snaps so far this season and is basically script-independent at this point. Rams are winning? He’s out there. Rams are losing? He’s also out there.

The Rams figure to be behind in this game, though Williams features just enough in the passing game (14 targets) that the floor remains high enough. The Packers are a middle-of-the-road defense this season, and I think we can go double-expense at running back this week.

Chuba Hubbard FD 6800 DK 6100
Opponent CHI
Proj Points FD - 15.3 DK - 16.82

Chuba Hubbard is the RB1 in Carolina which wouldn’t have mattered much with Bryce Young under center. But with Andy Dalton, the offense has become capable or even good in recent weeks. Hubbard played 74% of the snaps last week, getting 18 carries and four targets, totaling 121 yards and a touchdown in the process. This is coming off a 26 touch game in Week 3. He’s safe for now in his role and the price hasn’t caught fully up on either site.

Wide Receiver

Nico Collins FD 8800 DK 7700
Opponent BUF
Proj Points FD - 19.68 DK - 23.77 Nico Collins is absolutely crushing the competition in receiving yards this season, totaling 489 through the first weeks. By comparison, that’s 103 more than the next-closest receiver (Malik Nabers). Collins has basically played a whole good game more than anyone else in the same number of weeks.

His 43 targets rank second in the league, though even that could be higher except he breaks off such huge plays the Texans just don’t need to snap the ball as much. We should fire him back up here no doubt and I suspect he’s a popular cash game option this time around.

Dontayvion Wicks FD 5900 DK 5000
Opponent LAR
Proj Points FD - 12.83 DK - 15.44

With Christian Watson going down, Dontayvion Wicks was a popular waiver wire add this week for good reason. He stepped in and saw an unreal 13 targets in Week 4, though *only* converted them for five catches and 78 yards. He’s locked into even two receiver sets with the Packers in this offense and the floor should be plenty high against one of the worst defenses in football. Yes, there is other target competition here in Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs, but Wicks price makes this an okay call.

Jordan Whittington FD 5400 DK 4600
Opponent GB
Proj Points FD - 11.98 DK - 14.8 In the NFL, when players go down, there’s always a chance for others to step up. And if a wide receiver room is going to be decimated, it’s a bit of a softer landing when Matthew Stafford is the quarterback. That looks like the case with Jordan Whittington who saw a 28% target share in Week 4, converting eight targets into a 6/62 line. If he’s going to be the safety valve in this Rams offense, that gives him a high fantasy floor relative to his price on both sites.

Christian Kirk FD 6100 DK 5700
Opponent IND
Proj Points FD - 14.84 DK - 18.35

Evan Engram could return this week, which would change this a bit, but it’s hard to ignore Christian Kirk’s price on FanDuel, especially. He’s seen 12 and 10 targets over the last two weeks for a Jaguars offense (and team) that is struggling badly.

Tight End

Colby Parkinson FD 5100 DK 3700
Opponent GB
Proj Points FD - 9.92 DK - 12.5 Another week, another week of having to find a tight end to play in fantasy. It’s brutal out in these streets with the position increasingly neutralized in offenses almost across the board. Like with Whittington, Matthew Stafford is a guy who can get the ball to this position and Colby Parkinson has seen five or more targets in three of the first four games this season. We can do business there for sub-$4K on DraftKings.

Erick All Jr. FD 4400 DK 2700
Opponent BAL
Proj Points FD - 6.39 DK - 8.16

Again, it’s gross, but going cheap is probably the path at this position, considering how much safer the other positions are in terms of volume. Erick All has seen four targets in each of the last three weeks, and last week played 60% of the snaps. The Bengals are running a lot of two-tight end sets, so there are other guys here, but All is cheap.