This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
For the Pro Bowl this weekend FanDuel is running a single-game contest consisting of five flex spots including one "MVP" spot. The player selected for the "MVP" spot can be any player, and placing him there does not affect his salary at all. With the unique one-game slate this article will discuss a little more strategy rather than specific players to target as values.
Not surprisingly, quarterbacks are priced up as they average the most fantasy points per game during the regular season. However, over the last few years, it's been the other positions who score higher for this game only. In particular, tight ends tend to do very well. Look at last year's game for the following players:
Kyle Rudolph - 7 catches, 70 yards for 10.5 fantasy points
Delanie Walker - 4 catches, 29 yards, 2 touchdowns for 16.9 fantasy points
Of course, there were disappointments at the position as well. Check out the other two tight ends stat lines:
Jack Doyle - 2 catches, 17 yards for 2.7 fantasy points
Jason Witten - 2 catches, 16 yards for 2.6 fantasy points
The options this season for tight end are:
Eric Ebron ($8,000)
Jared Cook ($8,000)
George Kittle ($9,000)
Austin Hooper ($7,000)
All four are in play Sunday with Kittle being the most attractive option as far as upside, and the success at the position extends longer than just last year. On the other hand, quarterbacks are priced in the $12,000 to $14,000 range and are not as good of a value dollar for dollar. Typically, the game is divided up among the three quarterbacks on each team and no one has thrown more than one touchdown in the last two years. Three years ago, all three NFC quarterbacks threw for multiple touchdowns, while no one on the AFC squad threw more than one touchdown. Quarterbacks to consider for Sunday's contest:
Andrew Luck ($13,500)
Deshaun Watson ($13,000)
Russell Wilson ($13,000)
Patrick Mahomes ($14,000)
With Mahomes playing last week, it's tough to figure out if he'll be limited at all. Stacking Mahomes with teammate Tyreek Hill makes sense given they have a good rapport and it's likely Mahomes targets him the most. Doing the same with Luck and Ebron follows that same logic.
Looking at the wide receivers, a few players stick out due to their potential big play ability. JuJu Smith-Schuster ($11,500) will be making his first appearance at the Pro Bowl and has one of the better upsides. Mike Evans ($11,000) may be playing with a chip on his shoulder after initially being "snubbed" and has stated in the past he wants to win to get the bigger game check. Amari Cooper ($10,000) should get a few extra targets when Dak Prescott is under center.
Looking at running back, no one got more than five carries last year, and you're basically hoping for a touchdown if you decide to use one (there was only one rushing touchdown last year, LeSean McCoy). Running backs over the last few years rarely pan out, as most of the scoring happens through the air. Ezekiel Elliott ($12,000) did get eight carries two years ago in the Pro Bowl but didn't find the end zone. Saquon Barkley ($12,000) and James Conner ($11,000) are a bit "fresher" than Alvin Kamara and Melvin Gordon, giving them a slight advantage.
Finally, in GPPs this is a good contest to leave money on the table. Don't be afraid have a lot of money left over. For example, if you stay away from running backs and used a lineup of Kittle, Ebron, Luck, Mahomes and Hill you'd still have $4,000 left over. There's no reason to use up every dollar for this contest and "zero out." Also, don't be afraid to use a cheap player (Kittle, ahem) in the "MVP" spot. Typically this isn't a good idea when playing the similar contests for NFL DFS, but this weekend being the Pro Bowl makes it an exception.
