One area of fantasy football … perhaps the only area … that we have not completely been obsessed with in recent years is DFS. Neither of us would claim to be particularly good at it – for the most part we’re kind of winging it. But at various levels it only makes sense that this become the next avenue we attempt to figure out. We’ve decided to start by staging a weekly contest. Values from Fanball.com.

If you are so inclined, leave your own lineups or feedback on our lineups in the comments section. We’re looking for any tips we can find in order to improve.

Andy:

I’ve messed around with DFS over the years, but had limited success. Stack these guys, stack games, balance the roster, studs and duds. Sleeper plays. It kind of makes my head spin sometimes. I initially looked at building around Joe Burrow and the Bengals against San Diego, but … he’s not played an NFL game before. I guess in tournaments that might make a bit more sense, but as I understand it, in a head-to-head match-up, the smart play is a safer play? So, here’s what I ended up with.

QB – Russell Wilson @ Atlanta ($7,700) – The Seahawks go on the road, but the Falcons haven’t been an intimidating opponent the last few years. Part of me wanted to go Joe Burrow here, but Wilson, while more expensive, feels safer here.

RB – Jonathan Taylor @ Jacksonville ($6,500) – The more I read about Taylor, the more I think it’s not going to be long where he’s available at this price. The Jaguars are terrible – really not even trying to win this year. Colts fans will get a glimpse early on why they took the Wisconsin back.

RB – Dalvin Cook vs Green Bay ($8,400) – Cook had a massive game at Lambeau Field in 2019, rushing for 154 yards and a score while catching three passes for 37 yards. Cook missed the game at U.S. Bank Stadium. He gets a shot this weekend to make up for the (terrible) pass interference call against him in that earlier contest that cost Minnesota a comeback win.

WR – DK Metcalf @ Atlanta ($6,900) – I am huge on Metcalf this season. He’s built like a WR1 and I think he takes on that role, starting this week against the Falcons.

WR – Davante Adams @ Minnesota ($7,700) – Aaron Rodgers targeted Adams 25 times across two games last season against Minnesota. Adams produced 20 catches and 222 yards in those contests. The Vikings pretty much revamped the CB room over the offseason. And GB did not go out and get a significant upgrade at the WR2 position. Adams, if he survives the season, may average 10 or more targets weekly. And the odds are at least one of his catches this week goes for a score.

WR/TE – Cooper Kupp vs Dallas ($7,200) – Jared Goff’s favorite target.

TE – Drew Sample vs LA Chargers ($3,000) – I thought about going George Kittle here against Arizona, which has been historically putrid against TEs in recent years. But Kittle has been banged up and I ultimately decided to go the sleeper route here. The Chargers’ pass defense is good, but less unpredictable with Derwin James out. Joe Burrow will likely target Tyler Boyd in the slot and his TEs in the seam.

Flex – Zach Moss vs NY Jets ($4,800) – Sounds like Moss is going to be a significant player at the goal line and in the passing game. That’ll give him a solid opportunity to contribute beyond his pricetag.

Colts Defense @Jacksonville ($2,800) – I’m streaming the Colts in a lot of fantasy leagues this week. I’m surprised that against such a hideous roster like the Jaguars that the underrated Colts could be gotten this cheaply.

Tony:

There’s all kinds of websites that you can use to find the “value plays” for DFS, but since I all but gave up on DFS since reading about automated submissions & people developing algorithms to try and game the system, I don’t follow them. I’m purely a play-by-the-seat-of-my-pants DFS player … which is why I cashed out my one account last year and haven’t looked back.  But I’ll give this a try, and see if I can make some low stakes money this year … and maybe get back into it if I can.

QB – Ben Roethlisberger @ NY Giants ($6,800) – Obviously there are QB that I expect to have better opening weeks, but trying to avoid having too much cap space invested in the QB, and at $6800 with a matchup against a questionable NYG defense, I’ll take it.

RB – David Johnson @ Kansas City ($6,700)  – I’ve liked him as a value play ever since the trade went down, and I think Bill O’Brien will be out to show people why he made the deal week 1.  It may still lead to him being the first coach fired this year, but he’ll give DJ every chance to make him look like a genius.

RB – Jordan Howard @ New England ($5,300) – Another guy I’ve added a fair amount in dynasty leagues this year, I do worry that in some games they will go with the hot hand, but at $5,300, with what I’ve got in mind down the line … good value.

WR – DJ Moore vs Las Vegas Raiders ($7,300) – This is where going light at RB starts to help out—he’s not projected as a top 10 WR this week, but once CMC has chewed up the Raiders defense in the running/short yardage game, DJ will produce down the field.

WR – AJ Brown @ Denver ($7,100) – The Titans will pick up where they left off in 2019 … grind it out with Derrick Henry, and get the ball to AJ Brown.

WR/TE – Bryan Edwards @ Carolina ($4,100) – One of my last two picks, once I realized where my budget was coming in for the rest of the team, I wanted to find a bargain-bin player that I think could surprise week one — and Edwards could end up being the WR1 in Las Vegas this year.

TE – Haydon Hurst vs Seattle, ($4,900) – This is the pick that really set my surprise (even to myself) FLEX play in motion—grabbing Kittle (against the defense that gave up the most fantasy points to TE last year) was intriguing, but at $7500 (and with the Cards having improved), why blow the budget? And grabbing Andrews for $6600 against the defense that gave up the second most points to TE makes some sense too … but what about a sub $5k guy that is facing the team that gave up the third fewest points to TE? The Seahawks may have improved, but Jamaal Adams is more of a box player than a TE shutdown guy and Matt Ryan proved how much he loves a good TE last year. How much will he love a potentially great one this year?

FLEX – Christian McCaffrey vs Las Vegas ($10,000) – I realized I’ve got a lot going on this game, but once I realized I had $14100 left to fill my last two spots, it made too much sense to grab the top overall player.

Colts Defense @ Jacksonville ($2,800) – If I was sure their defense would be better, I’d grab Buffalo for $2,500 against the Jets—but the Colts are a solid defense, playing a team that just waived their starting RB and starting a late round, second-year QB that they didn’t even bother to get a competitor (or mentor) for in the offseason. I hope Minshew has a great season, just for the story of it, but I’m not counting on it.