This article is part of our FantasyAces Football series.
Week 4 is in the books, and it turned out to be another great week of fantasy football. Congratulations to LegendJB for winning the fourth qualifier for the FAFC.
Play again this week for your chance to be the next qualifier. Click here to see what you're playing for. (Hint: a chance to win a lot of money and a free vacation)
If you do not have a Fantasy Aces account, be sure to sign up and receive up to $250 of your deposit matched just for signing up. It's free money, so sign up now.
Not sure how to play at Fantasy Aces? We are here to help. Each week, RotoWire will offer advice on who to start in a given week, and give you that extra edge in your pursuit of a seat in Fantasy Aces' Fantasy Football Championship.
Format
At Fantasy Aces, the starting lineup requires two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, two FLEX (running back, wide receiver, or tight end), a kicker and defense/special teams. You have a salary cap of $55,000 to create your team. Fantasy Aces understands that you may want to start Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, or Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, and now you can. That's the beauty of playing daily fantasy football at Fantasy Aces, you can start the players you want.
The full scoring system can be found here, but essentially it is a standard scoring system for regular fantasy football with the only difference being half-point PPR (point per reception).
Strategy
Qualifying for a big tournament requires a different strategy than in other cash games. Of course, we are all still trying to get the most points possible, but in a GPP (guaranteed prize pool) you have to take some risks. If those risks hit, you are more likely to have a higher score than others, because these particular risks usually are players that are owned by a small amount of entrants.
How can we strategize to win a GPP? There are many approaches, and with Fantasy Aces' deep starting lineups, there is a lot of variance, which helps you in GPPs.
A few strategies to consider:
- Stacking: Starting more than two players from one team. This is usually used in daily fantasy football with the Broncos by selecting Peyton Manning along with his receivers/tight end. Bye weeks are underway, so be sure to keep an eye on that.
- Contrarian: Playing against the grain. For example, taking Isaiah Crowell last week despite him being the backup running back on the official depth chart.
- Studs and scrubs: We'll outline this strategy below. Going the studs-and-scrubs route entails finding a few players at low salary that could be good values, then using the rest of the money for big-time players like Manning or Jimmy Graham.
Without further ado, here are some suggested plays for Week 5. We will outline a stud and a scrub from each position that can help you get a seat at the FAFC.
Quarterback
Stud: Drew Brees $7,400
Brees and the Saints are finally back at home, where they score well over 30 points per game. Brees has not been himself so far this year, but still has over 1200 yards in four games. His seven touchdowns are alarming to some, but considering he has thrown 213 touchdowns in 94 home games in his career, there is nothing to worry about. Brees has the fifth-highest price on Fantasy Aces this week, and he has one of the best matchups this weekend, as Tampa is 23rd in the NFL in terms of allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks.
Scrub: Mike Glennon $5,700
Glennon remains as one of the cheapest starting options at quarterback on Fantasy Aces, and he's in for a great matchup against the Saints. New Orleans is 29th passing yard allowed, at over 272 yards per game. In addition, the Saints have allowed seven passing touchdowns to zero interceptions. Glennon has two targets that can bail him out in Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Mike Evans is likely out this week) and a safety valve in Doug Martin. With just a few options cheaper than Glennon, his value is among the highest on the board given this matchup.
Running Back
Stud: Rashad Jennings $5,300
Starting a running back against the Falcons seems to be a weekly practice this season, and Jennings is the next one up. The Falcons have allowed 614 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground and rank last in the NFL in allowing fantasy points to running backs.
Scrub: Darrin Reaves $3,800
At his price, there aren't many options that could be better values that Reaves. With every other Panthers running back injured, all signs are currently pointing to Reaves starting and receiving the bulk of the work this weekend, which is more than enough to be worth $3,800. The Panthers face the Bears, who allow 4.7 yards per carry, which is 24th in the NFL.
Wide Receiver
Stud: Jeremy Maclin $5,300
One of the bright spots on the Eagles offense this year has been Maclin, who has bounced back in a tremendous way after a season-ending injury last year. The Eagles wide receiver has 20 catches for 353 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, his 46 targets ranks second in the NFL behind only Jordy Nelson. Maclin faces the Rams, who only allow 187.3 yards per game through the air, but that stat is misleading. Only 69 attempts have been made against the Rams secondary this year, and St. Louis ranks 27th in the NFL in yards per catch, and 31st in completion percentage against.
Scrub: Allen Robinson $4,200
In Blake Bortles' first start, Robinson was targeted seven times. He caught five passes for 38 yards, which could signify poor production from afar, but looking at what Robinson and Bortles have done together in just seven quarters is promising for the future. Robinson has 17 targets in the last two weeks, and he will continue to see his share of looks, especially this week against the Steelers. Pittsburgh has allowed touchdowns to Kelvin Benjamin, Mike Evans, and Vincent Jackson this season, and Allen Robinson compares too all three at 6'3 with a 42-inch vertical leap.
Tight End
Stud: Julius Thomas $5,700
When the Broncos have a bye week, daily fantasy players have to do a little more research and dig a little deeper to find starting options. Luckily, the Broncos are back this weekend, and Thomas is a top option at tight end. The Cardinals have notoriously struggled against tight ends. Arizona did manage to silence the Niners tight ends this weekend, but Vernon Davis was sidelined. In the weeks prior, the Cardinals allowed Larry Donnell to catch seven passes for 81 yards and Antonio Gates to catch six balls for 81 yards.
Scrub: Heath Miller $4,600
Miller caught 10 of 11 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers in Week 4. It was Miller's first game with over six targets this season, and he was able to cash in. This week, the Steelers face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have struggled against tight ends this season:
- Antonio Gates - Three catches for 30 yards
- Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen - Eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns
- Niles Paul - Eight catches for 99 yards and a touchdown
- Zach Ertz - Three catches for 77 yards and a touchdown
With the increase in targets and a matchup against the Jaguars, Miller is this week's best low-priced option at tight end.
Kicker
Ryan Succop $2,700
Defense/Special Teams
Stud: Detroit Lions $3,330
Scrub: Cleveland Browns $2,900
My Fantasy Aces Football Championship Lineup (GPP)
QB – Mike Glennon $5,700
QB – Teddy Bridgewater $5,650
RB – Le'Veon Bell $5,750
RB – LeSean McCoy $5,650
WR – Jeremy Maclin $5,300
WR – Alshon Jeffery $5,200
TE – Julius Thomas $5,700
FLEX – Rashad Jennings $5,300
FLEX – Martellus Bennett $5,150
K – Ryan Succop $2,700
DST – Cleveland Browns $2,900
