Ah, daily fantasy football. The last bastion of fantasy football junkies, who can’t do any significant roster tinkering on a Saturday, so they wander into their daily fantasy football client of choice and make more rosters to tilt all over on Sunday. You get a heady feeling when you’re jamming Alvin Kamara, Patrick Mahomes, and DeAndre Hopkins all into your lineup. “This is going to be great!” you tell yourself, but then disaster hits. You’re out of money. “What do you mean, there’s nobody I can play for $1,200?!” You scroll and scroll. You even briefly consider Mike Davis, of all people. But, you aren’t that desperate. Or are you? Let’s look at some dumpster dive plays for daily fantasy football week three that you can use to help round out your lineup with superstars.
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Daily Fantasy Football QB Pick (Fan Duel):
Kyle Allen at Houston ($6,800)
Through two NFL starts, Kyle Allen boasts seven total touchdowns. Last week, he torched Arizona for four passing TDs, and in week seventeen last year, he beat up on the Saints for two passing TDs and a rushing score. That’s a pretty good, albeit small, sample of work for Allen. He has the swagger of a starting-caliber QB, and he’s soothing Ron Rivera’s frazzled nerves with regards to Cam Newton’s foot injury. This week, Allen gets a Houston team that isn’t doing as well against opposing quarterbacks as you’d think. They give up the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, with two-of-three posting over 300 passing yards and a score. Even Taysom Hill did something week one, permanently encouraging Sean Payton to continue that idiotic carnival game. While they played two statues (Drew Brees and Philip Rivers), Gardner Minshew ran on them in week two, totaling 56 yards on six carries.
Daily Fantasy Football QB Pick (Draft Kings):
Daniel Jones versus Washington ($5,300)
I would not recommend checking in on Danny Dimes if you start him this week. He has a serious fumbling problem, and you probably just want to see the final line, and not how the sausage is made. Or, I don’t know, maybe you love getting ulcers. Go for it. I’m not your God, your father, or your boss. Outside of that fumbling problem, Daniel Jones has a chance to pop off as a top-five quarterback this week, and you’re paying the seventeenth-highest QB price on Sr. Monedas de Diez Centavos (ok that one doesn’t quite flow). Washington allows the fifth-most fantasy football points to quarterbacks, with all three quarterbacks throwing at least three touchdowns against them, with Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz topping 300 yards, as well. Kyle Allen ($5,200) also represents a good play, but I talked about him above, and variety is the spice of life.
Daily Fantasy Football RB Pick (Fan Duel):
Melvin Gordon III at Miami ($4,500)
The fun part about this one is that if MG3 doesn’t play, you can rotate to Troymaine Pope. It’s not often that you’ll get one of the league’s best running backs in one of the best possible matchups, at the best possible price. It’s a tornado that I can’t help but get sucked into. Gordon reported to the Chargers this week, and Justin Jackson’s calf injury opened the door for him to play on Sunday, according to head coach Anthony Lynn. If you’re feeling itchy about it, you can rotate to Troymaine Pope, and the same juicy matchup applies. It’s Miami, guys. Don’t overthink this. The Dolphins give up the most fantasy football points to running backs so far this season, with five different running backs hitting double-digits through three games. Last week, both Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott topped 100 yards against these cetaceans.
Daily Fantasy Football RB Pick (Draft Kings):
C.J. Prosise at Arizona ($4,000)
This one has a lot of moving parts to it. Rashaad Penny is still dealing with a hamstring issue, and is a true game-time decision. True game-time decisions don’t fill me with significant amounts of confidence. Chris Carson’s significant fumbling issue also gives me significant agita. Last week, Carson coughed up the ball on a play that ended up costing the Seahawks six points, and he hit the bench. Prosise out-snapped Chris Carson last week, playing 55% of Seattle’s snaps. Should Chris Carson’s fumblitis continue, and Rashaad Penny remains sidelined, it’s the C.J. Prosise Show against Arizona. The Cardinals stymied Kerryon Johnson in week one but were gashed on the ground in weeks two and three, by Lamar Jackson and Christian McCaffrey, respectively. Prosise generally catches passes, and while the Cardinals haven’t had a lot of RB targets against them, backs average 9.75 yards per target through three games.
Daily Fantasy Football WR Pick (Fan Duel):
Paul Richardson Jr at N.Y. Giants ($4,700)
While “Scary” Terry McLaurin gets all the publicity among the fantasy football community for getting off to a rip-roaring start to his career, Paul Richardson has quietly had a couple of decent weeks in a row. McLaurin is expected to play Sunday, so this isn’t a “next man up” narrative like Prosise. Richardson has two touchdowns in his last two games and ranks as WR36 on the season. Richardson also boasts at least seven targets in two-of-three games this year (and caught all three targets the one game he did not reach seven). It wasn’t that long ago that he was Washington’s big free-agent wide receiver acquisition. Injuries cost him much of 2018, but he seems to be fully recovered. He gets the Giants in a matchup of two bad defenses this week. This has a great chance to be a shootout, so get a part of it.
Daily Fantasy Football WR Pick (Draft Kings):
Preston Williams versus L.A. Chargers ($3,900)
If you’re not familiar with the phrase “looter in a riot,” when it comes to sports, look no further than Preston Williams so far this year. He is the best around on a trash fire Dolphins team. He has 100% of Miami’s touchdowns (1) and has at least 8.3 fantasy football points in half-PPR in all three games this year. The Dolphins have attempted 112 passes through three games, with over 20% of those going to Williams. The 10 AM game against a west coast team should provide for some sloppiness from the Chargers. Maybe he’ll score Miami’s second touchdown of the year? Hey, crazier things have happened.
Daily Fantasy Football TE Pick (Fan Duel):
Gerald Everett versus Tampa Bay ($4,500)
Two-of-three tight ends went for at least 110 yards on six catches against the Buccaneers so far this season. I’d call that a definite Achilles Heel and they’re thanking their lucky stars that the Arizona Cardinals (a billion fantasy points per game to TEs) exist. That keeps TB out of the dumpster against tight ends, as they average the second-most fantasy points per game allowed to the position. The Rams don’t use one tight end a lot, but Everett’s been that guy for the last game and a half with Higbee recovering from a bruised lung. He’s the cheaper one on Fan Duel, so he gets the nod here. Ultimately, it’s hard to know which will get the targets and touchdown.
Alright folks, let me tell you about a trick of the business…
Daily Fantasy Football TE Pick (Draft Kings):
Tyler Higbee versus Tampa Bay ($3,200)
In the business, we call this “hedging your bets.” When healthy, Higbee leads Everett in targets this season. However, he will be returning from a punctured lung. He’s a better play on Draft Kings, where he is $3,200. On Fan Duel, he is $5,000, and not as good of a play.
Daily Fantasy Football D/ST Pick (Fan Duel AND Draft Kings):
Tennessee Titans at Atlanta Falcons ($3,500 on Fan Duel, $2,600 on Draft Kings)
On paper, the Atlanta Falcons boast a potent offensive attack, but one prone to turnovers. While Matt Ryan doesn’t get sacked, he leads the NFL in interceptions (6). The Falcons also haven’t scored quite as much as we would have hoped, averaging just 20 points per game (tied for tenth-worst in the NFL). The Titans rank as the third-best fantasy point scoring defense playing this week, averaging 13.33 fantasy points per game. Through three games, they have eight sacks and five turnovers. They should make life difficult on the Falcons this weekend, and create an intriguing dumpster dive play on both major daily fantasy football sites.
(Header Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/43818885425 by KA Sports Photos under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)
