It’s week eleven of the fantasy football season, and you’re opportunities to play daily fantasy football are quickly waning. It’s also starting to be the time of year where your regular fantasy football teams might be starting to fade, so turning to daily fantasy football could be a fun pivot to keep chasing the fantasy football dragon. This week, there are some great players with good match ups and high price tags, so it becomes important to figure out how to cram those guys into your lineups. That’s where we step in with our weekly daily fantasy football dumpster dives article. The players in this article aren’t necessarily the cheapest at the position but do provide for inexpensive alternatives for more expensive players to get the true superstars into your lineups.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Quarterback (Fan Duel):
Derek Carr versus Cincinnati ($7,400)
There are a lot of cheaper quarterbacks on the board this weekend for Fan Duel, but not a lot I want to start. Ryan Finley and Jeff Driskel are cheap… for a good reason. Carr clocks in as the fourteenth-highest quarterback in terms of cost, but has an amazing shot to end up inside the top-five. Derek Carr’s been on a roll right up until his defense did most of the work for him on Thursday Night Football. Before that, he had three-straight games of multiple touchdowns and 280+ passing yards. The Bengals are the third-best matchup, as every QB to play against them this season has at least 16.6 fantasy points. All but three have at least 21 fantasy points. You can rock and roll and lock and load with Derek Carr this weekend.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Quarterback (Draft Kings):
Kyle Allen versus Atlanta ($5,300)
This is a situation where you’re playing the defense, not the player. The Falcons, right up until they suddenly had Drew Brees’ number last week, were abysmal against opposing QBs. Literally all QBs until week ten had multiple touchdowns against the Falcons. Kyle Allen has struggled in his last few games, but San Francisco, Tennessee and Green Bay are all bottom-half matchups. This week, he gets a top-five matchup to beat up on. If you lean his way, you’re getting the benefit of an opponent-induced skid driving his price, and letting an opponent-induced bounce back get you fantasy points.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Running Back (Fan Duel):
Brian Hill at Carolina ($5,900)
Hill is the daily fantasy football “free space” this week on both Fan Duel and Draft Kings. Let’s be clear here about Brian Hill… he hasn’t done anything in the NFL yet. This is his first start, and if he gets eleven carries this weekend, that will match his total from 2017 and 2018 combined. That having been said, he gets a good matchup against the Panthers. Carolina allows the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs. You may have last seen them feebly trying to stop he 156 yards and three touchdowns by Packers running backs last week. They started poorly against opposing running backs as well, with four running backs getting double-digit fantasy points against them in the first three games.
Dumpster Dive Faily Fantasy Football Running Back (Draft Kings):
Raheem Mostert versus Arizona ($3,400)
I know that I called Brian Hill the “free space” this weekend, but he isn’t that overwhelming that I can’t make room for Radio Raheem in this week’s dumpster dives. Matt Breida is likely out for this tilt against the Cardinals, and Raheem Mostert has filled in well in his stead in the past. Mostert has never had more than 46% of the snaps for the Niners, but in games where he’s had more than 25%, he’s been a great spot starter. In those games, he averages 79 yards and a catch, and he’s kicked in two touchdowns in the seven games matching those criteria. He’s done all of this on a paltry 10.7 touches per game in qualifying contests.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Wide Receiver (Fan Duel):
Marquise Brown versus Houston ($5,600)
This is what they call “going back to the well.” Marquise Brown torched the third-worst pass defense by DVOA last week, posting 80 yards and a score on just four targets. Don’t worry about the four targets, as the game was such a blowout that RGIII was warming up in the third quarter. If that’s how he performed against the Bengals, how about the third-worst pass defense at stopping opposing wide receivers from scoring fantasy football points? Eight wide receivers in the last five games have topped double-digit half-PPR points against the Texans. Hollywood is dealing with his lingering ankle injury, but I expect him to suit up against Houston.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Wide Receiver (Draft Kings)
Deebo Samuel versus Arizona ($4,000)
I went over this in my Wide Receiver Sleepers piece for week eleven, but I can definitely copy and paste what I wrote there, here:
The 49ers learned several things without George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders out for some or all of the Monday Night Football tilt against the Seahawks. First, they can’t trust Dante Pettis with the football. Second, they can’t trust Kendrick Bourne with the football. Finally, they learned they could trust second-round rookie pick Deebo Samuel with the football. George Kittle is likely not going to be back for this weekend’s matchu, and Emmanuel Sanders’ availability is up in the air. That would make Deebo Samuel their default #2 target, a role he can flourish in. He showed this weekend that he is the future of the WR position in San Francisco, as all the young, healthy Niner wideouts had a chance to get the ball. Only Deebo responded positively, posting eight receptions for 112 yards on eleven targets against the Seahawks.
This week, Deebo gets a Cardinals squad that the Niners passing offense already beat down to the tune of four passing touchdowns on Halloween. The Cardinals then turned around and gave up double-digit fantasy days to both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin last week. With Deebo and Sanders likely the only viable receiving weapons for the Niners in this one, look for Samuel to get a lot of run again.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Tight End (Fan Duel)
Ross Dwelley versus Arizona ($4,900)
If you know one thing about streaming fantasy football tight ends, it’s that the Cardinals can’t stop a tight end any better than they can stop the creeping realities of climate change from burning their desert city alive. Six tight ends in ten games have more than 15 half-PPR fantasy points against the Cardinals, and the tight end across from them this weekend is Ross Dwelley. In his first full game without George Kittle, Dwelley had seven targets, tied for third behind Kendrick Bourne.
Dumpster Dive Daily Fantasy Football Tight End (Draft Kings):
Tyler Eifert at Oakland ($3,200)
Eifert has thirteen targets in his last two games. Granted, he only pulled down two catches last week, but he scored a good touchdown with one of those catches. The week before, he notched six catches and 74 yards. That means that Eifert is getting varied quality targets, which makes for a quality usage profile. The Raiders have come on lately, especially defensively. However, they haven’t figured out how to defend one position: the tight end. Last week, Hunter Henry was the lone bright spot for the Chargers’ passing game. Since their week six bye, they Raiders allow an average of 4 catches, 52 yards, and a touchdown to tight ends. Eifert is getting used, which means you must strike while the iron is hot (before the injury bug strikes him).
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