This article is part of our DFS Football 101 series.
There are a lot of buzz words in daily fantasy sports and two of the most commonly used terms are "cash game(s)" and "GPP (guaranteed prize pool)". I try to stay away from using the term GPP if I know the audience might be mostly new players. Most people can relate to when you say tournament, which is the best way to explain a GPP. Then I explain to them that a "cash game" is a contest in which your win rate is 50 percent. "Cash games" consist of head-to-head and 50/50 contests – double ups.. Last week, we talked about "cash" game lineups. This week, we take a look at how to build a tournament lineup.
Definition of Tournament/GPP Play
You want the players with the highest "ceiling", meaning you target players on discounted salaries who have the ability to put up a Top-10 performance. While these players may not have a high "floor", they can put up a bunch of points in a given week and give you the best chance of cashing.
Here are some characteristics of a Tournament/GPP Player: (based on salaries/projections)
- Players who are in the lower tier salary range that will see a significant increase in production based on injury.
- Players who are in the higher tier salary range and have a difficult matchup. You need to have low ownership players in order to win a large field tournament.
- Players who have been elite in the past and are in the midst of a slump. Same as above, you need to take risk on players that no one else will own.
- Players' salary has dropped to a low enough point that he's considered a must-play.
Using FanDuel salaries and scoring from Week 6 and RotoWire's Value Meter, lets define the "GPP" players for this week. With FanDuel's scoring set to half-point PPR and the lineup consisting of three receivers, I find that you need to look to the wideout position for value. You can also try to find value at one RB spot, but but keep in mind you only start two at the position.
Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater, MIN $5900 – Very tough matchup against the Lions, but Bridgewater is dirt cheap, and I do like the Vikings in this outdoor game at home. Bridgewater is a threat to run, which can pay dividends on FanDuel. And his cheap salary opens up your entire roster to take some studs at running back and receiver. The rookie quarterback put up 23 fantasy points against the Falcons at home two weeks ago, and his salary went from $6900 back to $5900 this week. Take advantage of the flaw in pricing.
Eli Manning, NYG $7200 – Opposing quarterbacks are averaging 23 fantasy points against the Eagles, and Manning put up 33 at Washington two weeks ago, so we know the big game is there.
Brian Hoyer, CLE $6500 – Hoyer's salary got a bump from $5800 to $6500, but he also put up 23 fantasy points last week. I like the fact he is at home against a Steelers defense that has proven to be vulnerable at times. He only put up 13 against them Week 1, so a lot of people will not be on him. I'm not predicting a huge game, but if he can get 250 yards passing and two touchdowns (18 points) it works.
Joe Flacco, BAL $7000 – Flacco is coming off a bad game at Indy, which presents a buying opportunity as he is on the road at Tampa Bay this week. Getting 20 fantasy points against the Bucs is Flacco's floor, and he did score 25 on the Panthers a couple weeks ago.
Running Back
Bishop Sankey, TEN $5600 – Sankey has a juicy matchup against the Jaguars, and Shonn Greene is likely out.
Andre Ellington, ARI $7200 – With the quarterback situation in dire straits, I think the Cards strip the game plan and play close to the vest, which means 10-15 carries and plenty of screens.
Andre Williams, NYG $6300 – Williams will be the lead back with Rashad Jennings (knee) out against the Eagles, which makes the rookie a must-play.
Branden Oliver, SD $6200 – Oliver put up huge numbers last week, so ownership might be high, but he's still worth considering against a weak Raiders run defense. His price tag did rise from $5000 to $6200 taking away some of his appeal.
Justin Forsett, BAL $6300 – Forsett is the kind of back I love because he is not run dependent. He had seven receptions last week and this is a great matchup against the Bucs.
Joique Bell, DET $6500 – With Reggie Bush (ankle) and Calvin Johnson (ankle) out, Bell will come back into the mix this week.
Fred Jackson, BUF $6800 – Jackson has been racking up receptions like a mad man, and I'm expecting a close, low scoring game with heavy emphasis on the running backs.
Wide Receiver
Golden Tate, DET $6400 – He has been really good the past couple weeks with Johnson banged up. Now Reggie Bush is out too, so Tate will be looked at heavily.
Mohamed Sanu, CIN $6000 – A.J. Green (toe) has been ruled out and Marvin Jones (ankle) is still not 100 percent, so Sanu will get a huge number of targets this week.
Torrey Smith, BAL $5200 – The ultimate tournament play because his ceiling could be the top receiver in a given week, and he gets a matchup against the Bucs who have allowed a 103.9 passer rating.
Victor Cruz, NYG $6800 and Rueben Randle, NYG $5900 – Cruz and Randle get a big matchup against the Eagles who give up 274 passing yards per game. And the over/under total is huge.
Kendall Wright, TEN $6700 and Justin Hunter, TEN $5900 – The Jaguars give up the most passing yards per game on defense and both Titans receivers looked good last week.
Pierre Garcon, WAS $7300 – He has not been involved in the offense since Kirk Cousins took over, so no one is going to be on him, but his ceiling on any given week is top five.
Tight End
Delanie Walker, TEN $6000 – I'm rolling with numerous Titans this week in GPPs, and Walker has been the most consistent part of their offense.
Luke Willson, SEA $5000 – Dallas has been vulnerable to the tight end position and Willson has been starting with Zach Miller out.
Heath Miller, PIT $5000 – I'm expecting a shootout in this game much like Week 1, and Miller is due for a two touchdown breakout game.
Jordan Cameron, CLE $5800 – Cameron has done nothing this year, but he's a solid tournament play if you want to pair him with Hoyer. Plus, the likelihood of low ownership is strong.
Kicker
Robbie Gould, CHI $4600 – Gould has a matchup in a dome and the highest total of the week.
Ryan Succop, TEN $4800 – I'm not a huge fan of him, but he is very cheap, at home, and the Titans are a solid favorite.
Greg Zuerlein, STL $5000 – Zuerlein will be playing at home in a dome, and he has a reasonable price.
Dan Carpenter, BUF $5200 – I'd pay up for him in this spot because I think there could be a ton of field goals with both teams trying to run a lot.
Defense
Tennessee Titans, $5100 – There has been a lot of hype around Blake Bortles, but his passer rating is only 71.2. The Jacksonville offensive line is terrible, and the Titans are returning home after coming off a terrible loss. Expect Tennessee to be extra motivated in this divisional game.
Detroit Lions, $5000 – The Lions are allowing just 282 yards per game, which is the best in the NFL. While Detroit will be on the road, I think this game will be a low scoring affair, as the Lions only allow 15.8 points per game.
Washington Redskins, $4500 – The Redskins will most likely face off against Logan Thomas, who is making his first start at quarterback for the Cardinals. This could get very ugly as he is clearly not ready.
Minnesota Vikings, $4800 – The Viking play at home against a dome team that is down two key players on offense. Also, Matthew Stafford has been sacked 17 times this year.
Week 5 Recap
I gave out to sample lineups in last week's cash game article. If I'm good, I will tell you, and if I'm bad I will also go back and review what took place.
Lineup 1 – This lineup put up just 89 points after being snake bit by Rashad Jennings' injury and Kelvin Benjamin's drops. The rest of the team put up very low scores, as it was a tough one all the way around.
Lineup 2 – Much better finish here with a score of 111.72, which should have gotten the cash in most of your heads-up and 50/50 contests.
Now on to this week's lineups.
Note, you want to pick 3-4 core players to build around that rank in the top five at each position along with your GPP plays.
GPP Lineup 1 (Core - Matt Forte, Antonio Brown)
QB – Ben Roethlisberger, PIT $7600
RB – Matt Forte, CHI $9000
RB – Andre Ellington, ARI $7200
WR – Antonio Brown, PIT $8900
WR – Golden Tate, DET $6400
WR – Torrey Smith, BAL $5200
TE – Delanie Walker, TEN $6000
K – Robbie Gould, CHI $4600
D/ST – Titans $5100
$60,000/$60,000
GPP Lineup 2 (Core - LeVeon Bell, Julio Jones, Greg Olsen)
QB – Eli Manning, NYG $7200
RB – Fred Jackson, BUF $6800
RB – LeVeon Bell, PIT $8600
WR – Rueben Randle, NYG $5900
WR – Mohamed Sanu, CIN $6000
WR – Julio Jones, ATL $9000
TE – Greg Olsen, CAR $6600
K – Dan Carpenter, BUF $5200
D/ST – Redskins $4500
$58,800/$60,000
