Welcome to week 10’s piece on studs and values where I will be taking a look at some of the guys I believe you need to have in your lineups this weekend! I will be discussing some Studs and some value plays to be considered around the industry for this weekends DFS action. Below will be some popular plays and should be on peoples radar for their cash game lineups.
QuarterBack
Studs
Tom Brady, New England Patriots (FD $9100, DK$8600)
This one is pretty obvious isn’t it? I just could not justify putting anybody other than Brady in this spot as I expect this game to approach 60 points and this just screams one of those Brady 400 yard performances to go along with 4 or 5 TD’s. The Giants defense is pretty bad overall and the Patriots offense is full of weapons (Gronk, Edelman, LaFell, Blount, Amendola, White….). If people pay up for QB this weekend, it is definitely going to be Brady which may mean my other stud option goes very under-owned.
Other Studs: Aaron Rodgers (DK $7,500) (FD $9,200)
Values
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders (FD $7500, DK $5800)
Carr continues to get better and better and he gets to play this game at home where he has shown the ability to carve up strong pass defenses (see what he did to the Jets). The Raiders offense just continues to impress and with Latavius Murray trying to come back from last weekend’s concussion, I can see a few more pass attempts for Carr and that is never a bad thing when you have Crabtree and Cooper to throw it to. I think I am going to start referring to the Oakland passing game as the 3 C’s and that could grow to 4 if Clive continues to carve out a role for himself down the middle.
Other Values: Eli Manning, New York Giants; Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins; Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars
Running Backs
Studs
Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams (FD $9200, DK $7300)
At this point it is tough to ignore what Gurley is doing and he is worth riding while he is hot. He is a better value on some sites, however I do not mind paying top RB salary for him as he takes on a weak Bears defense at home. He should be a staple of your cash games for sure this weekend and I think he is worth the roster spot in GPPs.
Other Studs: DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers and Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Values
James Starks, Green Bay Packers (FD $6000, DK $4900)
Coach McCarthy came out this week and stated that Starks has earned the number 1 RB spot with the Packers and all I have to say is its about damn time! Starks has been out performing Lacy all season long and he is in a prime spot against a suspect Detroit Lions defense while playing at Lambeau. Starks has been very active in the passing game and has shown the ability to take a screen pass to the house for 6 and you have to love his price across the industry!
Other values: C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos; Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins; LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots; Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys
Wide Receivers
Studs
Odell Beckham Jr, New York Giants (FD $8800, DK $8800)
There are a handful of stud WRs who are definitely in play this weekend, however I just can not stay away from that NE-NYG game as there is going to be plenty of offense in this one and I expect ODB to be a big part of it. I understand that Belichek does what it takes to take away the opposing teams best option, however we are talking about ODB here and I think he will find a way to get his over and over in this game.
Other Studs: DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans; Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers; A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals; Julian Edelman, New England Patriots
Values
Brandon LaFell, New England Patriots (FD $6200, DK $4100)
Sticking with the game I was talking about above, going to the other side with this choice as LaFell really showed up last week and I think he earned some of Brady’s trust back after having a couple weeks of drops to start his season. I also think that LaFell is going to be one of the lowest owned Patriots players this week and that sounds perfect to me as I want as many pieces of this game as I can possibly get.
Other Values: Reuben Randle, New York Giants; Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders; Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers; Kamar Aiken, Baltimore Ravens; Willie Snead, New Orleans Saints
Tight End
Studs
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (FD $8000, DK $8000)
I know, its shocking right? There is not much to say about Gronk as he is the best TE in the game and he gets to take on a Giants defense that has been destroyed by TE’s all season long. I don’t think we need any more reasons to be in love with Gronk, do we?
Other studs: Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers and Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals
Values
Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins (FD $5800, DK $4600)
You know what I said above about Gronk getting to take on a defense that has been destroyed by TE’s? Well that is the same case for Reed and when you add in the fact that he is Cousins’ favorite target and you get a recipe for what could be a huge game that could actually rival what Gronk is able to do this weekend. I think dollar for dollar, Reed is my top receiving option this weekend.
Other values: Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions; Richard Rodgers, Green Bay Packers; Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings; Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
