WEEK 12 - FANTASYSCORE GPP OFFERINGS
FantasyScore is a USA Today Sports Media Group fantasy sports game that is powered by RealTime Fantasy Sports. It is a DFS site that can give you the excitement of playing fantasy football each week during the NFL season. FantasyScore offers Draft Leagues (Draft & Go) and Salary Cap leagues weekly during the NFL season.
In this feature we are going to look at the GPP contests and offer the top stacks, fades, and ownership projections for each upcoming week.
For Week 12 of the NFL season, FantasyScore is offering three big GPPs for buy-ins of $1, $5, and $10. The $1 GPP is limited to 1,000 total entries and pays the top 200 places, with $135 going to first place. The $5 and $10 GPPs are limited to 500 total entries, with both paying out the top 100 places. The top prize in the $5 contest is $450, while the top prize in the $10 contest is $1,700.
FantasyScore will also be hosting a $25,000 Football Championship for Week 16 for which you can qualify during Weeks 1-15 via satellite tournaments. There will be a total of 105 "golden tickets" available to be won via satellite contests from Weeks 1 to 15 and the Championship pays the top 20 winners, with $10,000 going to first place. In Week 12, FantasyScore will run a $20 satellite with 50 total entries, where 4 golden tickets will be awarded, and a $5 satellite with 170 entries, where the top 3 finishers will receive a golden ticket.
TOP STACKS
Houston Texans -- QB Brian Hoyer ($6,600) and WR DeAndre Hopkins ($8,800)
When ever the Saints are playing you have to almost always consider the opposing teams QB and top WR and that is the case once again this week with Brian Hoyer and DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins is a no brainer at the WR spot as 50% of the people already playing on FantasyScore this week already have him locked and loaded. Hoyer on the other hand is more of a risk at the QB spot but at a modest price of $6,600 you almost have to consider him in the QB/WR stack with Hopkins. Hoyer has been decent this year with 13 touchdowns in 7 games and he has had multiple touchdowns in 5 of thos 7 games. Also in 6 of those 7 games he attempted at least 30 passes with Week 10 being the only game where he struggled as he only completed 12 of 22 passes for 123 yards and an interception. Look for Hoyer to have a big game here with two or three touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins has been targeted at least 11 times in each of his 10 games so far this season. and on the season he has 135 total targets for 76 receptions, 1,045 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. He is an automatic start this week against the poor Saints secondary.
Arizona Cardinals -- QB Carson Palmer ($8,600) and WR Larry Fitzgerald ($7,900)
Both Tom Brady and Cam Newton have been on fire this season and have been the talk of the quarterback position but Carson Palmer should also be put in that same group of standout QBs this season. Palmer has been leading the Cardinals to victories and in 10 games has put up some incredible stats with 3,066 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. Palmer is finding his favorite target in Larry Fitzgerald often this season as Fitzgerald has 73 catches on 98 targets and has 926 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. With the Cardinals heading to San Francisco you have to think that they will be able to pass all over the 49ers so-so secondary.
New York Giants -- QB Eli Manning ($7,900) and WR Odell Beckham Jr ($8,600)
Eli Manning has had a very steady season to date with 2,700 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions on the year. Over a third of those touchdowns have went to Odell Beckham Jr who has 8 touchdowns and 63 receptions with 863 receiving yards. The Giants get a very good passing matchup against division rivals Washington. Washington have been one team that have been involved in some shoot out style games and when it comes to stopping the pass they have struggled mightily. Manning and Beckham Jr make for a fantastic combo to stack and might be a little lesser owned the the likes of Brian Hoyer and DeAndre Hopkins.
VALUE STACKS
Seattle Seahawks -- QB Russell Wilson ($7,100) and WR Tyler Lockett ($2,000)
Russell Wilson had his best game of the season against the 49ers last week as he passed for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wilson has 2,378 passing yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. One of the most surprising stats from Wilson so far this season is that he has 73 rushing attempts for 385 rushing yards but has failed to find the endzone with his legs this season. Wilson will always give you some extra bonus points with his rushing ability as he has averaged 38.5 rushing yards a game. With Doug Baldwin getting banged up a little last game it was rookie Tyler Lockett that came alive on offense. Wilson and Lockett connected for a pair of touchdowns and Lockett finished the game with 4 catches for 48 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lockett has only been targeted 34 times this season for a 25/308/3 stat line but with the Seahawks fighting for their playoff lives late in the season he is going to have to counted on a lot more going forward. Look for Wilson and Lockett to continue to build on their connection and hopefully the 4-6 target number can be counted on each game going forward.
Cleveland Browns -- QB Josh McCown ($4,500) and WR Travis Benjamin ($4,900)
Josh McCown has only started 6 games so far this season but in those 6 games he has thrown at least 2 touchdowns 5 times. With a less than ideal Monday Night Football matchup against the Ravens, McCown has to be looked at with his cheap price tag of just $4,500. Add in Travis Benjamin at $4,900 and you have one of the cheapest QB/WR combos on the board and one that even has some upside against a very weak Baltimore secondary. Travis Benjamin has been one of the good stories in the NFL this season that no one is talking about. He has so much speed on the outside for the Browns that he can take a catch to the house anytime during a game. He has 82 targets on the season which is good for 48 receptions, 736 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. One of the stats that is somewhat concerning for Benjamin is that he did get all 4 of his touchdowns in the first 3 games of the season.
FADES
Quarterback -- Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins ($6,700)
The Dolphins and the Ryan Tannehill specifically were suppose to be one of the teams in the NFL that were going to dominate the fantasy scene this season but that has been far from the case. Tannehill has passed for 2,642 yards and 17 touchdowns but he has also thrown 10 interceptions. The Dolphins have a tough road matchup against the Jets who they met back in Week 4. In that game Tannehill only completed 19 of 44 passes for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Tannehill only has 4 touchdown passes over the past 4 games as well so counting on a multi score game in a road matchup this week is not something to get excited about.
Running Back -- LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots ($6,400)
The Patriots running game draws a tough matchup against the Broncos at home in Denver. Blount has had 35 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown the past two weeks. It might be safe to look for similar numbers this week out of Blount with somewhere around 16 carries for 60 yards but most likely without the touchdown.
Wide Receiver -- T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts ($7,500)
The Colts offense has been anything but predictable this season as Andrew Luck has been battling injuries and even when he is on the field he hasn't been 100%. The past 3 games for T.Y. Hilton have been ugly with just 8 catches for 118 yards and no touchdowns. It is not the toughest of matchups for the Colts this week against the Buccaneers but counting on Matt Hasselbeck to get the ball down the field is very unlikely and at the $7,500 price tag it is an easy fade for me.
Tight End -- Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings ($3,700)
Kyle Rudolph is coming off his best game of the season with 6 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown and because of that alone he is a fade for me. Before that big game last week he had 7 straight games where he didn't catch more than 2 passes. With the cheap price of $3,700 and a breakout game last week you are going to have a lot of the field looking at Rudolph for their tight end spot. A player like Coby Fleener at $3,800 could be a better option as Matt Hasselbeck will be looking for the short pass over the middle of the field.
Defense and Special Teams -- Baltimore Ravens ($1,800)
This Monday Night Football game between the Ravens and the Browns has to be the worst one of the season to date and with that will likely come a back and forth high scoring game. The Ravens secondary is a mess right now and although the Browns aren't the top passing team in the league they do have some speed at WR in Benjamin and should look to put up some points in this less than ideal MNF matchup.
OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE
FantasyScore just announced this week that they will share the percentage owned for all their contests going forward. Now we don't have to guess at which players will be highly owned or which players will be low owned as we will have the current percentage to go off of. I will list the top 3 players at each position below with their ownership percentages as of the time I write this article.
HIGHEST OWNERSHIP
Quarterback
Brian Hoyer, Houston Texans ($6,600) = 25.04%
Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals ($7,900) = 15.61%
Josh McCown, Cleveland Browns ($4,500) = 14.29%
Running Back
T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars ($5,800) = 23.12%
Javorius Allen, Baltimore Ravens ($6,300) = 21.94%
Alfred Blue, Houston Texans ($4,000) = 19.29%
Wide Receiver
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans (8,800) = 52.72%
Odell Beckham Jr, New York Giants ($8,600) = 27.98%
Steve Johnson, San Diego Chargers ($5,800) = 22.39%
Tight End
Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts ($2,500) = 14.29%
Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints ($3,500) = 13.99%
Gary Barnidge, Cleveland Browns ($6,300) = 11.78%
Defense and Special Teams
Tennessee Titans ($1,800) = 20.77%
Kansas City Chiefs ($2,200) = 20.47%
Arizona Cardinals ($3,000) = 12.81%
LOW/VALUE OWNERSHIP
Quarterback
Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos ($6,400) = 0.15%
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks ($7,100) = 0.15%
Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings ($4,800) = 0.15%
Running Back
Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts ($6,000) = 0.88%
Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals ($5,500) = 1.03%
DeAngelo Williams ($7,500) = 1.33%
Wide Receiver
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts ($7,500) = 0.15%
Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos ($7,500) = 0.15%
AJ Green, Cincinnati Bengals ($7,900) = 0.74%
Tight End
Jordan Reed, Washington ($7,600) = 1.03%
Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills ($4,500) = 0.15%
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs ($6,200) = 0.59%
Defense and Special Teams
St. Louis Rams ($3,000) = 0.15%
Denver Broncos ($3,200) = 0.29%
Miami Dolphins ($2,400) = 0.29%