For the uninitiated, playing daily games on DraftKings can be an enjoyable experience, but equally sobering is the fact that season-long knowledge does not always translate to success in the daily space. Footballguys will bring you a series of value- and strategic-based selections from a number of seasoned daily veterans throughout the NFL season. Herein is another edition of “Tipandpick’s Tips and Picks,” where we will examine the salaries of players at each position on DraftKings and make value-based recommendations for both your cash games and tournaments.
Below you will find a list of recommended players for both formats. GPP players generally have high-upside, but are too risky for cash games; cash game players are consistent with high fantasy floors. In some instances, the value for a player is so strong, he may fall into both categories…let’s have a look.
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE. Just a quick update for those of you reading on Sunday morning to let you know where I stand with regards to the windy conditions throughout the midwest and extending into certain parts of the northeast. There are three games that are particularly concerning due to forecasts currently available (6 AM EST): Patriots at Bills, Raiders at Browns, and Vikings at Packers. In each of these games, my advice is to downgrade the passing game a tad to account for the wind, but I will still have exposure to all of them for various reasons (many of which were outlined here originally). The game in Cleveland looks to be the windiest and you might decide to roll with Jimmy Garoppolo instead of Derek Carr in cash games to avoid taking any unnecessary chances, but I don't think you have to do that if you really were keen on Carr over Jimmy G before reading this. I would, however, advise you to upgrade the running backs in each of these games, although many of them were solid plays already (Jamaal Williams, Josh Jacobs, Kareem Hunt). Last piece of advice: Survey Twitter around 11 AM (EST) to get a final read on conditions for each game; both Kevin Roth and Chris Allen are on top of these situations and do so from a meteorologist and fantasy expert angle, respectively.
TIPS AND PICKS
Let's take a deeper look into some of the players who I will be targeting for my cash game and tournament rosters this weekend. A short summary follows each respective table to fill in the gaps that led to the respective recommendations; that text represents only an overview of the methodology and rationale that goes into each recommendation. If you have questions about any of the recommendations or the process that led to them, please email me at john.lee@footballguys.com.
CASH GAMES
| NAME | OPP. | SALARY |
| Derek Carr | @CLE | $5,500 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo | @SEA | $5,400 |
Quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes II' name is not found the above table primarily because paying $8.1K for a quarterback in cash games feels unnecessary this week. Mahomes is borderline cash-viable, but you are advised to save salary and roll with either Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo at similar price points. Carr gets a soft matchup against the Browns' 25th-DVOA pass defense that allowed Joe Burrow to throw for 400+ yards last Sunday. For his part, Carr has been relatively consistent of late, having delivered 5 consecutive games of 260+ passing yards and at least a pair of touchdowns in each. If Carr is not to your liking, Jimmy Garoppolo becomes a secondary option at nearly the same price. Garoppolo's fantasy numbers have suffered this season largely because the 49ers have asked him to play the role of game manager according to gamescript. Against the Seahawks, who are leading the league in points per game (33.8), Garoppolo is going to have to get more involved. In cases where Jimmy G has thrown the ball more than 30 times this season, he is averaging a shade over 20 DK points which is nearly 4x his salary this week; going up against Seattle, it's difficult to envision scenarios where his pass attempts stay below that threshold. Because both selections oppose offenses that should be able to put up points of their own, these quarterbacks should be active for the entire game...something that may not happen with the aforementioned Patrick Mahomes II.
| NAME | OPP. | SALARY |
| Alvin Kamara | @CHI | $8,200 |
| Kareem Hunt | LV | $6,900 |
| Josh Jacobs | @CLE | $6,200 |
| Jamaal Williams | MIN | $6,100 |
Running Backs: Last week, we got lucky with surprise scratches to Aaron Jones and Joe Mixon that opened up value with the likes of Jamaal Williams and Giovani Bernard. This week, however, DraftKings inflated the salaries of those backups and the "free squares" are nowhere to be found at the position. At the higher end of the scale, Alvin Kamara stands out (again) because Emmanuel Sanders (COVID) and Michael Thomas (hamstring) will miss yet another game. Without them on the field last week, Kamara was everywhere to be found and ended the day with 21 touches including 8 receptions, a huge commodity on DK's full-PPR scoring system. The matchup against the Bears' 10th-ranked DVOA rush defense is not a cake-walk, but Kamara has demonstrated that he can beat the best of defenses and the implied volume without Sanders and Thomas cannot be ignored. After Kamara, a trio of running backs in the $6K range are attractive for cash games (and tournaments). Kareem Hunt gets his last start prior to Nick Chubb's return and will do so against one of the league's worst rush defenses, the Las Vegas Raiders. Only the Packers are allowing more fantasy points per game to opposing running backs; if this game gets as windy as forecasts are predicting, we could see both teams go heavier on the run (monitor Vegas odds heading into Sunday morning--if the totals drop, downgrade the passing offenses and upgrade the running backs). In that same game, Josh Jacobs is priced too cheaply for his projected fantasy performance; this is a great spot for him to break out of a recent slump, as the Browns have allowed three different running backs to achieve 3x Jacobs' salary (value) over the past month. Closing things out, Jamaal Williams gets another start in Aaron Jones (calf) continued absence. Williams' salary jumped by $2K this week, but he is still worthy of consideration as a heavy home-favorite against the Vikings, who allowed Green Bay to post 140 rushing yards back in Week #1.
| NAME | OPP. | SALARY |
| Davante Adams | MIN | $8,800 |
| Tyler Lockett | SF | $7,100 |
| Keenan Allen | @DEN | $6,200 |
| A.J. Green | TEN | $4,500 |
| Jakobi Meyers | @BUF | $3,500 |
| Denzel Mims | @KC | $3,200 |
Wide Receivers: This year's Davante Adams is last year's Michael Thomas. In the complete 3 games Adams has played, he is averaging nearly 15 targets per game and has a pair of 40+ fantasy point performances to boot. With Aaron Rodgers under center and few other receiving options to steal opportunity, Adams will continue to appear in this space for the foreseeable future. After Adams, another GPP-breaker, Tyler Lockett, gets the nod. Fresh off a 200-receiving yard, 3-touchdown, 56 DK point performance on Sunday night, Lockett will face off against the Niners at home this weekend. Another target monster, Keenan Allen is intriguing at only $6.2K against the Broncos. Allen has double-digit targets in four of his previous five games and is averaging 20 DK points per game over that span, which is just a notch above the 3x value you would need to justify his salary this weekend. Making a surprise appearance after Allen is A.J. Green against the Titans. Green started the season looking like his best days were behind him, but he has come alive of late, collecting double-digit targets in back-to-back games and respectable stat lines to boot. The Titans are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers and have allowed 6 different receivers to deliver 3x Green's salary over the past month. Finally, both Jakobi Meyers and Denzel Mims make the punt list as the primary receivers for bad teams in games where they will benefit from plus gamescripts and garbage time. The Pats will be without Julian Edelman (surgery) and NKeal Harry (concussion), which means that Cam Newton will have to work with a combination of Damiere Byrd and Jakobi Meyers; Of those options, Meyers has demonstrated the best on-field rapport with Newton. In Kansas City, Mims gets the nod in a game where the Jets could throw the ball 35+ times. The second-round pick is cheaply priced and looked good in his NFL debut last week, finishing with a 4/42/0 stat line (best on the team).
| NAME | OPP. | SALARY |
| Travis Kelce | NYJ | $6,600 |
| Darren Waller | @CLE | $5,600 |
Tight Ends: There is not a lot of safe value at the tight end position this weekend, so you are advised to save a few bucks at quarterback and wide receiver to jam either Travis Kelce or Darren Waller into your lineups over the other cheaper options at the position. Kelce is coming off his worst game of the season at Denver (3/31/0), but a matchup against the Jets is enough to catapult him back into contention for cash games this Sunday. If the Jets had troubles against Adam Shaheen and Durham Smythe, both of whom scored against them in Week #6, imagine what Travis Kelce might do with a 35-point implied team total this weekend. If you cannot quite get to Kelce's $6.6K salary, Darren Waller is entirely acceptable at a $1K discount. Waller has six catches and/or a touchdown in all-but-one game this season and will continue to be a key cog in the Raiders defense due to his ability to move the sticks and redzone prowess. The matchup against Cleveland is solid--they have faced one top-tier tight end all season (Mark Andrews) and yielded a 5/58/2 stat line in that contest.
| NAME | OPP. | SALARY |
| Tennessee | @CIN | $3,000 |
| Miami | LAR | $2,400 |
Team Defenses: There are no slam dunks at team defense this week, so you are advised to just plug in a reasonably priced defense with above-average points-per-dollar value and move on to positions that are more predictable. Of the options, the Titans travel to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals' offensive line that could be missing over half of their starters. Without adequate protection, Joe Burrow could be running for his life on Sunday and the Titans have been excellent in the category of 'takeaways,' collecting 11 of them over their previous 5 games. If you would rather save a few dollars and go with a home defense, you can consider punting the position altogether and running with the Dolphins against the Rams. The Rams will make a cross-country trip for an early start against Miami, whose defense has allowed only one team (Seattle) to surpass 17 points over the past month and shut out the Jets last weekend. Over that span, they are averaging 10.5 DK points per game, which would be excellent return-on-investment at their modest $2.4K price tag.
TOURNAMENTS
| NAME | OPP. | SALARY | PROJ. % |
| Patrick Mahomes II | NYJ | $8,100 | 8% |
| Russell Wilson | SF | $7,800 | 8% |
| Lamar Jackson | PIT | $7,400 | 5% |
| Josh Allen | NE | $7,000 | 5% |
| Joe Burrow | TEN | $6,200 | 12% |
| Philip Rivers | @DET | $5,900 | 2% |
| DEEP SLEEPER: | |||
| Cam Newton | @BUF | $5,700 | 7% |
| FADE: | |||
| Justin Herbert | @DEN | $6,900 | 4% |
Quarterbacks: The Chiefs are three-touchdown favorites against the punchless Jets on Sunday, which has some people worried that Patrick Mahomes II and the Chiefs starters might only play three quarters before handing over the offense to Chad Henne. Fear not--if Mahomes is pulled after 45 minutes of football, it will have meant that Kansas City put up plenty of points before his exit. The Chiefs' implied team total is a shade less than 35-points, which is 5-points higher than any other offense on the main slate; get yourself at least 10% exposure within your GPP portfolio and stack him with receivers whose names are elsewhere in this article. In the $7K range, <
