FanDuel Fantasy Football: Breaking Down the Games

FanDuel Fantasy Football: Breaking Down the Games

This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.

This week, I will provide a FanDuel cheatsheet for all of the games that start on Sunday or after. The information includes the game's over/under (total), the spread (home team) and my thoughts on the contest. There are two games on Saturday; however, those games are not included in most of the major FanDuel tournaments, so I did not include those. Also, I will guess at the highest owned players and provide some picks for Week 16.

Green Bay @Tampa Bay (+11) – 49 O/U

All of Green Bay is in play here. Eddie Lacy (eye) is considered probable, but monitor his progress before kickoff. If he can't go, James Starks is a great play. I would think about using Tampa Bay's receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson in GPP's. They could be in catch-up mode most of this game.

Kansas City @Pittsburgh (-3) – 47 O/U

Jamaal Charles is my stud of the week; roll him out at a decent value. Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell always make great plays, but I don't think this is the best matchup for them. Travis Kelce is the only other player I would consider from this game.

Atlanta @New Orleans (-6) – 56 O/U

This is the fantasy game of the week. Expect lots of offense, but no defense. Drew Brees and Matt Ryan should have solid games, but Brees could be the highest owned quarterback of the week. Mark Ingram is a very boom-or-bust play. Kenny Stills will be highly owned this week, but has a high ceiling for a mid-range price. The Falcon receiver situation is dependent on Julio Jones' hip injury. If Jones can't play, and Harry Douglas (foot) is avtive, Douglas becomes a near must start. The kickers in this game are great plays at cheap prices, in a high scoring contest while playing in a dome.

New England @NY Jets (+10) – 48 O/U
Besides Rob Gronkowski, I'm not touching this game unless LaGarrette Blount (shoulder) is out. If he is out, roll with Jonas Gray. The Jets are a no-go for me.

Minnesota @Miami (-7) – 43 O/U

This is another stay away game for me. Lamar Miller and the Miami Dolphins D are the only plays I am considering.

Baltimore @Houston (+5) – 41 O/U

I really like Justin Forsett in this game, but not much else. Torrey Smith and Steve Smith make nice mid-tier options in GPP's, but neither can be trusted in cash games. Houston will be using their fourth-string quarterback, Case Keenum. That renders Houston's entire offense useless for fantasy.

Cleveland @Carolina (-4) – 40 O/U

Here comes Johnny Manziel for round two. Just don't play him; he is terrible. I will throw him into a GPP for fun, but don't play him to win money. If DeAngelo Williams (hand) is out, Jonathan Stewart makes for a very good play. Josh Gordon makes an interesting GPP play because of his high ceiling, but there's a very good chance at another dud. The rest of the players in this game are off my radar.

Detroit @Chicago (+9) – 45 O/U

Jimmy Clausen is my value play of the week (see below). Martellus Bennett is a decent play at a decent price. Joique Bell has been solid lately and he faces one of the worst defenses in the league. I'm out on the rest of the players in this game.

NY Giants @St. Louis (-6) – 44 O/U

Tre Mason is one of my favorite plays this week. He gets a great matchup against the Giants and should receive a heavy workload. Stedman Bailey is another player to target from this game. He has been pretty consistent the past few weeks. Odell Beckham Jr. has been the best player in fantasy over the last few weeks, not named Le'Veon Bell. It will be very hard not to use him, even in a tough matchup. Greg Zuerlein is a good, cheap kicker.

Indianapolis @Dallas (-3) – 55 O/U

This game has the second highest game total of the week. There should be a ton of fantasy value to go around. The big story here is DeMarco Murray, who is dealing with a broken hand. If Murray can't go on Sunday, Joseph Randle becomes the value play of the week. I really like Andrew Luck and all of his receivers in this matchup, but monitor the health of T.Y. Hilton (hamstring). Dan Herron is a sneaky play at a good value against Dallas' subpar run defense.

Buffalo @Oakland (+5.5) – 39 O/U

Both defenses are in play here. Other than that, Fred Jackson is the only player I would consider playing in this game.

Seattle @Arizona (+8) – 37 O/U

This is the lowest game total of the week. Stay away from this game outside of the team defenses. The only player I would even consider is Russell Wilson in GPP's because he could always rack up points with his legs.

Denver @Cincinnati (+3) – 48 O/U

This game is very hard to call and it all depends on Peyton Manning. He looked terrible the last two weeks, attempting only 20 passes in each game. I would love this game for fantasy purposes, if you told me Manning would be back to his old self. I do not see Manning putting up more than 30 pass attempts this game, so I am really discounting the fantasy value here. I do like the running backs in this game, though. I think C.J. Anderson and Jeremy Hill have big games. Julius Thomas's price has plummeted to only $6,000. He has done nothing over the last couple of games, but his ceiling is as high as any other tight end. A.J. Green is always in play because of his ability and usage. I would throw those guys into a GPP or two and hope they hit. Other than those guys, I'm fading the rest of this game.

Week 16 Projected Highest Owned Players

QB – Drew Brees ($9,100)
RB – C.J. Anderson ($7,800), Le'Veon Bell ($9,700) *Highest Owned in Week 16
WR – Kenny Stills ($6,100), Dez Bryant ($8,600), Jordy Nelson ($8,880)
TE – Rob Gronkowski ($7,800)
K – Matt Bryant ($4,800)
D – Carolina Panthers ($4,900)

Week 16 GPP Plays – Low Ownership Players

QB – Andrew Luck ($9,990)
RB – Dan Herron ($6,300), Justin Forsett ($7,400)
WR – Stedman Bailey ($6,200), Josh Gordon ($7,500), A.J. Green ($8,600)
TE – Jimmy Graham ($7,100)
K – Adam Vinatieri ($5,200)
D – St. Louis Rams ($5,300)

Week 16 Value Play of the Week

Jimmy Clausen, QB, CHI ($5,000) – Last year, NFL experts said that Marc Trestman's offense was so good that anyone could run it successfully. A year later, Jay Cutler is benched for operating outside the vaunted scheme. In steps anyone, Jimmy Clausen. Tresman has a lot to prove these last two games of the season. I expect Tresman to do everything in his power to make Clausen successful. Clausen is a terrible quarterback going against a great defense this week, but he is at minimum salary. I think he gets a couple of touchdowns through a screen to Matt Forte and a redzone target or two to Alshon Jeffery and/or Bennett. Clausen should be able to exceed value at his minimum price.

Week 16 Stud of the Week

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC ($8,900) – Charles has been pretty quiet over the last few weeks. His price is very reasonable at just under $9K. This game should be high scoring; I expect Charles to get at least two touchdowns. I would not be surprised if Charles has one of his signature monster games on the ground and through the air.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Benjamin Slocum
Ben focuses on Daily Fantasy for the NFL, NBA and College Football. His tag is Bensloc5; feel free to challenge him to a contest. See Ben on Instagram at Bensloc5.
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