Daily Fantasy Football Cash Game Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings Week 2

Week 1 is in the books, with offenses looking a lot crisper than defenses after a weird preseason. Will week 2 look similarly? Let's take a look at our position by position picks to find out.

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Quarterbacks

Kyler Murray FD 8000 DK 6100
Opponent WAS
Proj Points FD - 21.97 DK - 22.72

The Cardinals pulled off one of the upsets of Week 1 with a win over the defending NFC champs, the San Francisco 49ers. And Murray was every bit as good as what the Cardinals expected when they drafted him number one overall. He completed 26-40 passes for 230 yards while tacking on another 91 yards on the ground on 13 attempts. That led all quarterbacks on the ground on Sunday and is coming off a season in which he was second overall in QB rushing yards. This is part of his game and it gives him such a high floor any given week. The Washington front seven is good and they’re coming off a surprise win of their own over the Eagles, but the Cards have the fourth-highest implied total on the main slate at 26.75. And, somehow, Murray is the 11th-most expensive quarterback on DraftKings. That’s simply too low. It’s closer on FanDuel where he’s 4th most expensive at $8K. But in terms of projection and overall tools, he’s just a fantastic cash game play for Week 2.

Dak Prescott FD 8300 DK 6800
Opponent ATL
Proj Points FD - 21.68 DK - 22.4
Yup, I know it was a rough scene in Week 1 for Dak and the Cowboys with a loss to the Rams. Dak was mediocre if unimpressive considering the hype coming in around him and Dallas this season. But one week should not a complete overreaction make and I love where we are getting him going into Week 2. Atlanta is coming off an opening game in which Russell Wilson carved them up for an 89% completion percentage, 322 yards, four touchdowns while tacking on 29 rushing yards. It looked incredibly easy for Wilson against a team that ranked in the bottom third of passing defenses last season. Dak still has fantastic weapons in the WR corps and there’s reason to expect the Cowboys try to light it up early in their first home game after a down week.

Matthew Stafford FD 7200 DK 6200
Opponent GB
Proj Points FD - 19.18 DK - 19.9

Death, taxes and Matthew Stafford having to throw the ball a ton every game because the team in general is just a mess. Such was the story again for Stafford in Week 1 in a brutal loss to the Chicago. DeAndre Swift dropped as easy a game-winning touchdown as you’ll ever see and Stafford was merely *meh* without Kenny Golladay throwing for 297 yards and a touchdown (should have been two). We typically default to running quarterbacks for cash games (Stafford was 5/23 on the ground in Week 1 for what it's worth) but I do think the volume will be there for him all season.

Our system loves Josh Allen as well but for his skill set and weapons, I still think we get Murray as a better overall deal for slightly cheaper. That being said, Allen facing the Dolphins who gave it up to Cam Newton in Week 1 has a lot of appeal here.

Running Backs

Derrick Henry FD 8300 DK 7900
Opponent JAX
Proj Points FD - 21.54 DK - 22.56

This week is shaping up to be one where we might go for the "upper middle class" at running back instead of going all the way to the top, and Henry is a major reason for that. The Titans immediately dispelled any concerns that they'd dial back Henry's workload this season by giving him 34 opportunities on Monday night against the Broncos. Henry had a tough time against the Jags early last season, but tortured them for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns in their second meeting. He's at a 10% discount to his final prices last year, and it sure looks like we're getting away with something by having access to him at these prices.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire FD 8000 DK 7400
Opponent LAC
Proj Points FD - 14.67 DK - 15.05

CEH launched himself right into the mainstream consciousness in the first game of the season, looking outrageously fast and crafty against the Texans. He turned his 27 opportunities in 138 yards and a touchdown, and the damage could have been even worse if he did a better job converting at the goal line. He also had a little difficulty in the passing game, turning is 2 targets into 0 catches. Regardless, getting 20+ touches in the best offense in the league means you're at least in the Ezekiel Elliott/Dalvin Cook range in terms of opportunity, and the fact that we're getting such a deep discount on Edwards-Helaire has me more than interested. The Chiefs are 7.5 point favorites over the Chargers here, which only helps matters. This could be CEH's cheapest price going forward, and the time to capitalize is now.

Christian McCaffrey FD 10500 DK 10000
Opponent TB
Proj Points FD - 20.4 DK - 23.19

What's old is new again. C-Mac was the second-highest owned running back in cash games on FanDuel (RIP Boston Scott), and delivered the second-highest fantasy total on the day with 25.4 FanDuel points. He had 27 total opportunities (carries plus targets), and bunched in two touchdowns as well. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers use him with Teddy Bridgewater under center, and while it's a little concerning that he only had 4 targets (his lowest total since Week 9 of last season) he made up for it with plenty of volume on the ground. The Panthers enter this game as 7.5 point underdogs, but I just don't see how McCaffrey isn't featured front and center here. If there's a fly in the ointment it's that Tampa Bay was the one team that bottled McCaffrey up last season (and they did so very effectively), but you could see McCaffrey being the default pay-up option once again.

Malcolm Brown FD 5200 DK 5700
Opponent PHI
Proj Points FD - 10.41 DK - 11.27

We make our money at the beginning of the season by focusing on guys that the DFS sites have slept on, and there's really no one who fits that bill better than Malcolm Brown. He was named the starter after Gurley's departure, and put together a big fantasy week against Dallas in week 1. He checks most of the boxes you'd want in a DFS running back. He got goal line touches (2 touchdowns), saw work in the passing game (3 catches on 4 targets for 31 yards), and carried the ball 18 times as well. He wasn't particularly effective on those carries, going for just 79 yards, but we haven't discussed the biggest point in his favor yet: his price. The $5,200 price tag on FanDuel is a flat out mistake, and while Philly is a potentially tough match-up, it's all pretty meaningless when you consider what you have to pay and the known opportunity. Brown should fit the "Boston Scott" slot in cash games this week with huge ownership. Let's hope for a different outcome.

Keep an eye on the James Conner situation. He suffered his injury in the Monday night game when pricing for this week's slate was already solidified. If he sits, Benny Snell is legitimately free and becomes a must play in cash games.

 

Wide Receivers

DaVante Adams FD 8600 DK 8100
Opponent DET
Proj Points FD - 18.57 DK - 22.57

If you told me that Aaron Rodgers and DaVante Adams made a handshake agreement before the season started to make a run at Michael Thomas’s record-breaking 185 targets in 2019, I’d believe you. After all, Adams finished Week 1 with a ridiculous 17 targets, good for a week-winning 14 receptions, 152 yards and two touchdowns agains the Vikings. There’s little reason to expect things to taper all that much considering the Packers basically did this all season last year when Adams was healthy. After returning from injury in Week 10, Adams was 4th overall in targets and first in receiving touchdowns. This week he’ll draw a Detroit defense that just made Mitchell Trubisky look competent. Adams is in line for another monster if the game stays close.

Will Fuller V FD 6100 DK 6300
Opponent BAL
Proj Points FD - 15.18 DK - 18.28

It was rather predictable with DeAndre Hopkins exiting stage left to Arizona that Will Fuller would step up as Deshaun Watson’s primary target going into this season. In the opening game, Fuller saw 10 targets against the Chiefs, good for eight catches and 110 yards. Once again, the Texans enter the game as bigger underdogs, this time +7 to the visiting Ravens. It stands to reason Watson will have to pass a ton again in catchup mode and Fuller is simply too cheap on FanDuel. It’s a bit closer on DraftKings, but averaging double-digit targets per game this season isn’t out of the realm of possibility, and if that’s the case then this price will only tick up.

Amari Cooper FD 7000 DK 6300
Opponent ATL
Proj Points FD - 16.26 DK - 19.49

We could be catching a falling knife this season trying to pick out the “right” Dallas wide receiver on a week-to-week basis considering the triple threat of Cooper, Gallup, and Lamb all have big-game upside. It was encouraging to see Cooper dominate the looks in Week 1 with a 36% target share. Will that always be the case? No, but I also think the 10/81/0 line is a way low expectation for Cooper with these targets. The price is right and he should get a lot of Isaiah Oliver on the outside.

If Golden Tate remains out, Darius Slayton’s price didn’t have time to adjust and he was Daniel Jones’s top WR option with nine targets on Monday night.

Similarly with Kenny Golladay’s injury status. Quintez Cephus drew 10 targets while playing the second-most WR snaps (62) for Detroit. In this scenario, I’d also go back to the well on Marvin Jones.

 

Tight Ends

Jonnu Smith FD 4900 DK 4200
Opponent JAX
Proj Points FD - 10.96 DK - 13.26

Hunter Henry FD 6100 DK 5100
Opponent KC
Proj Points FD - 10.6 DK - 12.93

There's always a tension at the tight end position between paying up for perceived "safety" and taking a value guy that could just as easily pay his price. Smith is the potential value guy this week, and Henry can be seen more as splitting the difference. Smith garnered 7 targets last week, and while he got there value-wise on the back of his touchdown, the 4 receptions for 36 yards were nothing to write home about. Henry is more of the known commodity, as we've seen flashes of him being a TE1 in the past. He looked a little more reliable, netting 5 catches for 73 yards on his 8 targets.

Let's be clear - either of these guys can disappear on you in any given week. Smith in particular. But nothing comes without a cost in DFS, and the difficulty with picking a tight end is that there is no such thing as "safety" in the same way there is in other positions. At the end of the day, it will likely be corrected to look for a cheap option at tight end once again.

Travis Kelce FD 7800 DK 7000
Opponent LAC
Proj Points FD - 13.58 DK - 16.47

If it turns out that we get outsized value at other positions, we can certainly consider Travis Kelce. The Chiefs' All-Pro tight end garnered just 6 targets on Thursday night but converted them into 6 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Not all targets are created equally, and targets from Patrick Mahomes are probably the most valuable in the league. Kelce will be a victim of the Chiefs' success in many weeks, as the Chiefs often don't need to pass after the first half in order to win. Still, with Kittle potentially sidelined with an injury this week, Kelce stands in a class by himself over the rest of the tight ends in terms of safety.

I'm nervous about the tight end situation in Philly. We loved Ertz going into the week, and while he got into the end zone, he was out-targeted by Dallas Goedert. We'll monitor this to see if any news bubbles up about their roles, but the situation strikes me as too tenuous to recommend for cash game purposes.

Defense / Special Teams

If you've read DFSR in the past, you'll know that we are often trying to toe the line between going cheap at defense and paying up. We usually lean to the cheaper end, but there are certainly times where it's correct to go expensive. We'll list an option at both price points today.

Arizona Cardinals FD 3600 DK 3000
Opponent CAR
Proj Points FD - 6.78 DK - 6.78

After holding the 49ers to just 20 points (and just 7 in the second half), the Cardinals were one of the few defenses that looked crisp in week 1. They sacked Garoppolo three times in the process. This week they take on the Washington Redskins, who ranked 31st in total offense in 2019. The Redskins had a nice comeback against the Eagles, but they weren't exactly lighting it up offensively. They averaged 2.22 yards per carry, and Haskins threw for 178 yards on 31 attempts. They have to be considered one of the worst offenses in the league, and the Cardinals are likely too cheap for what they should be able to accomplish here.

Tennessee Titans FD DK 3000
Opponent CAR
Proj Points FD - 7.79 DK - 7.79

There are a few teams with low totals this week, but none more so than the Jags, who are projected for 16.5 points in this one. The Jags actually had a reasonable amount of success offensively against the Titans last year, particularly in Minshew's coming out party where they beat the Titans 20-7. Minshew was also wildly efficient last week, throwing just one incompletion. For these reasons, I don't really recommend the Titans for big tournaments. This play is a lot more about the Jags' implied total rather than any big upside potential, but it should be safe enough that you can run the Titans in cash games.

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