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Daily fantasy football is becoming the hottest new craze. You see all the commercials and you see how much you can win. To help you out, we are going to take a look at what we think are the best plays this week.
QB: Cam Newton - $9,000
Newton gets to go up against the New Orleans Saints this week, the worst passing defense in the league. The Saints have given up an average of 284.2 yards per game through the air and more amazingly, 30 touchdowns. The next worst team in the league has only given up 25. With Newton being on fire this season and the Saints ineptitude at defending the pass, the Carolina Panthers quarterback should be able to carve up a ton of points for you despite his higher cost.
RB: Javorius Allen - $6,800
The Baltimore Ravens are dedicated to getting the ball into Allen's hands. Against the Cleveland Browns, the rookie rusher got the overwhelming majority of carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Even though he only received 12 carries in the game, with quarterback Matt Schaub having nearly cost the Ravens the game, offensive coordinator Marc Trestman will likely want to put the ball in his running back's hands instead. The positive is that even with a great average, Allen did even better as a receiver out of the backfield. 4 receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown is what makes Allen interesting.
Against the Miami Dolphins, Allen will face the defense that gives up the most rushing yards per game and the 7th most touchdowns on the ground. Much like the porous Cleveland Browns defense that gave Allen 16.4 fantasy points, expect him to be in the high double digits yet again for a relatively low cost.
RB: Ronnie Hillman - $6,300
Hillman gets to go up against one of the league's worst overall run defenses in the San Diego Chargers. With the Chargers having given up 123.7 yards per game on the ground, and more importantly, 12 touchdowns to running backs, Hillman will have an easier time than most. The thing that makes him even more interesting is the loss of quarterback Peyton Manning. Since Manning has been out, Hillman has faced off against some of the harder run defenses in the league and put up double digit fantasy results. With Brock Osweiler at the helm and a much easier opponent on the ground, look for head coach Gary Kubiak to run Hillman right down the Chargers throats all game long.
WR: Jarvis Landry - $7,400
On the back of catching 13 passes for 165-yards and a touchdown, a 29.4 point game against the New York Jets, Landry is immediately worthy of a look. Going up against the terrible Baltimore Ravens secondary shouldn't be half the test that the Jets were the week before, giving Landry the chance to gash the Ravens for a ton of yards and a few scores. What that means for you is even more points on your fantasy team. Being a moderately priced wide receiver doesn't hurt either.
WR: T.Y. Hilton - $7,300
Hilton has had an up and down season over the last few weeks, but a lot of that can be attributed to the injuries on the Colts offense. Showing that he should be back to 100% against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 24.5 points, Hilton and the Colts get to go up against a soft Pittsburgh Steelers secondary that has given up 283.6 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air. If Hilton can put together back-to-back 20+ point games this season, it would be against the Bucs and Steelers.
WR: Michael Crabtree - $6,600
Crabtree has been consistent for the Oakland Raiders this season, averaging 12.5 points per game. While he has had a down couple of weeks, he has regularly torn apart the bad secondaries this season. Surprise, surprise, he goes up against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have given up 20 touchdowns this season. Since the last few weeks has pulled his average down below the teens, I fully expect him to put up a 13+ point performance against the Chiefs to return to form.
TE: Delanie Walker - $6,000
Walker is the only real threat on the Tennessee Titans offense at this point and seemingly the only one that has gotten rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota's trust. Walker is the Titans leading receiver by a wide margin and is on pace for a career year. Having put up 200 yards combined over the last 2 weeks, he is averaging 13.5 points per game over that stretch. Added to that is he is facing off against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who allowed him to put up 109 yards and 14.9 fantasy points. One of the more consistent options at the tight end spot, Walker is just about guaranteed for double digit fantasy points every week, and at only $6,000 for it.
K: Justin Tucker - $4,900
Tucker has been off this season, make no mistake about it. But he seems to have figured out his kicking issues and returned to boot the balls perfectly against the Cleveland Browns. Going up against the Miami Dolphins and with the Ravens offense being on injured reserve, he should have plenty of chances to kick extra points and field goals on Sunday.
DEF: Cincinnati Bengals - $5,100
The Bengals get to go up against the Cleveland Browns. The same Browns team that just lost their starting quarterback and refuse to put in their former first-round pick because of partying issues. The Browns offense will be seeing Austin Davis at the helm for the first time and it probably won't be pretty. Even without the Browns issues on offense, the Bengals have one of the best defenses in the league right now and should dominate a team that seems destined for the first overall pick come April.
I actually have $200 left over, which won't allow for much of an upgrade anywhere. With the matchups that each player will be seeing this week, I think that every pick will be a great bang for the buck. This should get you into the money wherever you are playing, but let me know if you like another player better in a spot or what your lineups are looking like