Which of the big favorites in Week 5 are you optimistic or skeptical about regarding DFS lineups?
PHIL ALEXANDER
- Bears (at Oakland) - The Bears should win convincingly in London but their defense is the only high-exposure play in this game.
- Vikings (at NYG) - Dalvin Cook will deservedly be right there with Christian McCaffrey as this week's mega-chalk. Kirk Cousins shouldn't have to pass more than 25 times to beat the Giants.
- Eagles (vs NYJ) - Philadelphia's passing attack presents a mismatch for the Jets' secondary. Play your Carson Wentz stacks.
- Patriots (at WAS) - This is like when the Ultimate Warrior used to fight the Brooklyn Brawler on Saturday mornings. Josh Gordon is set up for his best game of the season and Tom Brady can also be stacked with Phillip Dorsett. It's a shame there isn't anyone on the Washington side to run it back with.
- Chargers (vs DEN) - After losing star defensive end Melvin Ingram III last week, the Chargers are officially too banged up on both sides of the ball to be favored by a touchdown against any NFL team (besides Miami). Keenan Allen should be fine but don't overlook Courtland Sutton, Emmanuel Sanders, and Phillip Lindsay.
JUSTIN BONNEMA
- Bears (at Oakland) – somewhat optimistic. Stacking Montgomery with the Bears’ defense is tempting.
- Vikings (at NYG) – I like the Vikings a lot in this spot. I’m willing to roll a few GPP stacks featuring Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs while fading Dalvin Cook in hopes of a big bounce-back game from Cousins.
- Eagles (vs NYJ) – my only concern about this one is the Eagles spreading out touchdowns, especially if the Jets’ offense implodes again. Jordan Howard, Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, and even Miles Sanders could all score. That makes it difficult to be overly confident in any of them posting a score worth chasing, at least for GPPs. I do think stacking Wentz with either Jeffery or Ertz will be a popular strategy.
- Patriots (at WAS) – Tom Brady verses a secondary that’s allowing quarterbacks to complete nearly 78% of passes? Yes, I will stack him up with Gordon and Edelman in GPPs and make Edelman a staple in cash games. There’s also an argument for playing Brady naked in tournaments so you can build in higher upside at wide receivers instead of guessing who will be the most likely to crush the Washington secondary.
- Chargers (vs DEN) – this is going to be an interesting game where I think Sanders and Sutton pull ownership yet no one considers Joe Flacco and his basement salary. I like the over in this one and like the Broncos, who just lost Bradley Chubb, to be forced into throwing a ton. I also like Austin Ekeler with his price and ownership reduction.
BJ VANDERWOUDE
I am most confident in the Chargers and Eagles, albeit for different reasons. The Chargers have depth issues at wide receiver with Mike Williams, Travis Benjamin and Dontrell Inman all being injured with their playing status uncertain for week 5. This highlights Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler as surefire foundational pieces for your lineups. Of the big favorites, this game looks like it should be the closest, which means Allen and Ekeler will get a full workload. They have both been incredible this season, and despite Melvin Gordon’s probable return to the lineup, I have a high level of confidence in both players returning cash and GPP value on their salaries.
On the Eagles side, this game should not be close against the Jets. The Eagles have one of, if not the deepest fantasy offense in the NFL. Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders are both capable of returning 5x+ multiples on their salary, although I would lean towards Howard and his touchdown upside in this game. Carson Wentz has been spectacular thus far and has stand-alone value, not to mention a myriad of options to stack alongside. In order of the confidence I have in them, they include Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson or Nelson Agholor (depending on Jackson’s status going into this game). The Eagles should handle this game with ease, and with that comes a minimum of four touchdowns scored. The Eagles depth means no one player should dominate from an ownership perspective, which gives you the option of investing at safe levels among the players you like and without a doubt getting GPP value back on at least two, and most likely three of their top six options.
JAMES BRIMACOMBE
With Chase Daniel running the show at quarterback for the Bears I might want to fade the passing offense and look to David Montgomery as my choice in the offense. He is a great pairing to go with the Bears defense as they could look to control the clock and let their defense control the game.
JASON WOOD
The Eagles are going to continue getting the ship back on track against the Jets at home after a tight win in Green Bay. The Jets were dealt a terrible hand to start the season with Darnold's mono coupled with Siemian season-ending injury. Luke Falk has no business being in an NFL huddle. I suspect the Eagles will be able to have their way offensively, and Pederson will likely take the opportunity to try to iron out the kinks given the team's penchant for ceding 10+ point leads to its opponents this year.
I'm also on the Vikings against the Giants. I realize the Giants are playing better with Daniel Jones, and the Vikings offense looks like something we would see no a 1972 NFL Films documentary, but I suspect we'll see some regression to expectations on both sides. The Vikings defense is capable of making Daniel Jones look mortal, and I think this will be a wake-up call to those who are anointing Jones the savior. On the other side, we simply have too much historical evidence in Kirk Cousin, Adam Thielen, and Stefon Diggs favor to write them off. The squeaky wheels were heard loud and clear this week, and I expect the Vikings passing attack to look better against a terrible Giants secondary.
The Patriots are hard to like in DFS builds because you never know what the game script will be. It's a total team effort, and there are no obvious salary arbitrate opportunities unless you feel good about Phillip Dorsett. I'm okay with some Bears exposure, but I don't like them as much as the Vikings or Eagles stacks.
DAN HINDERY
The Chargers are the team on this list who is most intriguing pending late-breaking news. The first spot to watch is for reports on how much Melvin Gordon is going to play. Anthony Lynn has indicated he will ease Gordon back in but we don’t yet have much clarity as to what that might mean in terms of the split between Gordon and Austin Ekeler. If we get some indications that Ekeler is going to handle over half of the snaps and touches, he becomes really interesting for tournaments. His price has fallen to $6,700 despite a great matchup against Denver (who just allowed Leonard Fournette to rush for 225 yards) and the fact Ekeler has been a fantasy star to date. Mike Williams is also worth watching. At just $4,500, he is priced way down. He has missed time with a back injury and has been limited some in recent games (in addition to missing Week 4 entirely). Early reports this week have his back feeling much better. If he gets in full practices late in the week, he could be a sneakily great option. Denver’s top cornerback, Chris Harris, is likely to shadow Keenan Allen (even into the slot), which will leave Williams with a better matchup. The Chargers wide receiver corps has been decimated by injuries, so Williams would likely see a heavy workload if he is feeling good come Sunday.
JUSTIN HOWE
- Bears (at Oakland) - The only Bears to prioritize are the ones on the ground. David Montgomery could grind out another win, while the defense puts up most of the impact. That’s a dynamite GPP stack, comprised of a high-exposure play and a lower one.
- Vikings (at NYG) - The Vikings could control this game, which would keep Dalvin Cook exceptionally busy. This run game is so heavy that you’d love to leverage in a change-of-pace guy, but Cook is the only one who’s projectable. There’s some GPP appeal to Stefon Diggs, who’s scared away most of the DFS world but draws a shaky Janoris Jenkins.
- Eagles (vs NYJ) - This offense will spread things around a ton, but Jordan Howard looks like marginally-decent chalk as the heavy favorite.
- Patriots (at WAS) - The Patriots offense is growing more concentrated, so I’m right back on that trolley. There’s a conceivable game script for each and every one of their diverse weapons.
- Chargers (vs DEN) - Keenan Allen is almost always a sharp play, though he could see a ton of Chris Harris this week. Harris doesn’t shadow, but he does move inside and out. And if Mike Williams and Travis Benjamin sit again, it’s unlikely the Broncos will want to burn his day following Geremy Davis around.