Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games – Week 3

September 21, 2016

By Ha Kung Wong Daily Fantasy Football

I hope you followed my advice in Week 2 for your cash games, because if you did, you won money. But now I’m back to help you out in Week 3 of the 2016 NFL season!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games. They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

For Fan Duel try to target at least 2 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Draft Kings, try to target at least 2.5 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Yahoo! Daily Fantasy, try to target at least 0.6-0.7 fantasy points per $1 spent.

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games. Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games for Week 3 contests, along with they’re prices on Fan Duel (“FD”), Draft Kings (“DK”) and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy (“Y!”).

Quarterback

There’s plenty of QBs to pick from, but I don’t tend to take too many chances at QB for cash games because they’re so important for anchoring your team’s performance, so I’ll give you three “safe” choices, then one that’s more of a gamble if you’d prefer to take chances on QB and spend money at the other positions.

Drew Brees

Drew Brees vs. ATL (FD: $9000 / DK: $7900 / Y!: $37)

I know, I know, he didn’t work out last week. But I’m going back to the well this week, because the way Mark Ingram and the Saints defense have looked so far, they’re going to have to throw it. Drew Brees did put up 423 yards and 4 TDs with no INTs in Week 1. And this matchup against the Falcons has the highest over/under by far of all the Week 3 games at 54 with the Saints favored by just 3. In fact, the Falcons have allowed exactly 4 TDs in both Week 1 and Week 2. The upside and opportunity is still there, so I’m sticking with the “lock him in and enjoy the ride” strategy this week.

Derek Carr @ TEN (FD: $8100 / DK: $6900 / Y!: $32)

Derek Carr just keeps putting up stats. In the first two games of the season, Carr has totaled 618 yards with 4 TDs and 2 two-point conversions in high scoring affairs against the Saints and Falcons. As I mentioned previously, in 2015, Derek Carr was tied for the 7th most passing TDs (32) and the 13th most passing yards (3987). He’s been even better this year and I don’t see that stopping The Titans don’t allow much scoring (at least by opposing offenses), but the Oakland defense is atrocious, which means Carr will be constantly in comeback mode. Once again, let it ride.

Philip Rivers @ IND (FD: $8000 / DK: $6700 / Y!: $31)

The Colts have a terrible pass defense, and this game has the second highest over/under this week at 51.5. In addition, Rivers found a new best friend in Travis Benjamin, and has been solid through the first two games of the year. He’s priced reasonably for this great matchup, so feel free to employ him in your lineups.

Cody Kessler @ MIA (FD: $6000 / DK: $5000 / Y!: $20)

Oh look, everyone! It’s the Cleveland Browns special! My weekly heart attack special, if you want to save money at QB and go high end elsewhere, is once again a Cleveland Browns QB, but this time its rookie QB Cody Kessler. After serious injuries to both RGIII and Josh McCown, Cleveland basically has no one else to put under center. Kessler has potential, but is probably too raw to start. Regardless, he’s still got solid weapons including Terrelle Pryor and Gary Barnidge. Unfortunately, Corey Coleman is now out with a broken hand, so buyer beware. But the Dolphins did allow 31 to the Brady-less, Gronk-less and, most importantly, partially rookie QB Jacoby Brissett-driven Patriots offense. Plus, the Dolphins are heavily favored by 9.5, meaning Kessler will likely have to throw a lot to try and keep up. Again, volume and price drives this value, but don’t be surprised if Kessler crashes.

Running Back

As usual, RB is a position where I want some “guaranteed” volume. And by that, I mean we need 10+ touches to even be considered. So here are my thoughts.

DeAngelo Williams

DeAngelo Williams vs. CIN (FD: $8800 / DK: $7500 / Y!: $37)

His price has gone way up, but we know he’s worth it. DeAngelo Williams totaled 204 rush yards and 3 TDs when he subbed for Bell in the first two games of 2015. He’s now rushed a remarkable 58 times over the first two weeks of 2016 for 237 rush yards, adding 10 receptions for 66 receiving yards with a total of 3 TDs. He’s basically matchup proof at this point, so anchor your RB position here.

Spencer Ware vs. NYJ (FD: $6300 / DK: $5700 / Y!: $25)

Jamaal Charles looks like a no go again in Week 3, then I think Spencer Ware is worth a look for the price. In Week 1 he totaled 199 yards and a TD, but then came back to Earth in Week 2 against a solid Texans run defense. But he still holds good value against the Jets. LeSean McCoy put up 90 total yards against the Jets in Week 2. If Ware does that, you’d probably be OK for the cost, but if he adds a TD, get ready to win cash.

Charles Sims vs LA (FD: $6300 / DK: $4900 / Y!: $18)

As I mentioned in my Waiver Favors column for seasonal Fantasy Football, Sims was fine in a change-of-pace role behind Doug Martin. But Doug Martin is now out with a hamstring injury for about 3 weeks, ceding the starting job to Sims. The Rams defense is all over the place, giving up plenty of TDs to the 49ers in Week 1, but none to the Seahawks in Week 2. For the price, he could be a great value.

Jerick McKinnon @ CAR (FD: $5300 / DK: $3800 / Y!: $15)

Speaking of injuries, Adrian Peterson is now out for 3-4 months due to a meniscus tear. So we’re going to get see more of the McKinnon and Asiata show in the Vikings backfield. I’m not terribly excited about this, but a lead back that will get around 65% of the carries for this low price is always someone to consider. Just be sure to load up at WR if you go this low.

Cameron Artis-Payne vs MIN (FD: $4800 / DK: $3000 / Y!: $10)

Looking to punt at RB this week? Well, Cameron Artis-Payne might be your guy. Sure, he was a healthy scratch over the first two weeks, but with Jonathan Stewart out 2-4 weeks, he’ll be activated to take over early down work. Fozzy Whittaker was more than reasonable carrying the ball in Week 2 after Stewart went out, but he doesn’t profile as an every down back. Artis-Payne was moderately effective on limited touches at the end of 2015, and head coach Ron Rivera basically says he’ll be the early down back for the Panthers this week. So for essentially minimum price, he’s a decent punt play.

Wide Receivers

Remember, in DFS, you not only want yards, you want receptions. So with that in mind, here’s my thoughts for WR plays.

Antonio Brown – Getty Images

Antonio Brown @ PHI (FD: $9500 / DK: $9600 / Y!: $38)

Brown had a down day in Week 2 with only 4 receptions for 39 yards. But the weather was bad and, more importantly, he still was targeted 11 times, as many times he was targeted in Week 1. As I’ve mentioned, this isn’t a fluke. His 8.5 receptions per game average in 2015 was tied for most of any reciever in the NFL. Sure, the Eagles shut down the Bears receivers for the most part in Week 2, So go ahead and slot him in if you have the cap space.

Julio Jones @ NO (FD: $9300 / DK: $9500 / Y1: $37)

So far, Julio Jones has snagged 9 of 13 targets for 172 yards and 2 TDs. He’ll always be part of the game plan for Atlanta. And what better week for that than against the New Orleans Saints, again the largest over/under matchup this week, the team that gave up 51 total points in the last two weeks and the team that just lost top CB, Delvin Breaux, to a broken fibula in Week 1 and CB P.J. Williams to a concussion in Week 2. That leaves just recently signed Sterling Moore and B.W. Webb and undrafted rookie De’Vante Harris and Ken Crawley to cover the Falcons WRs. Hello, Mr. Jones. Welcome to 100+ yards and at least a TD.

Brandin Cooks vs ATL (FD: $8100 / DK: $7900 / Y!: $33)

Like Brown, Cooks didn’t have as big a Week 2 as he did a Week 1. But, also like Brown, he got the same number of targets in Week 2 (9) as he did in Week 1. And as I said above, this game has the highest over/under of the week.

Kelvin Benjamin vs. MIN (FD: $7800 / DK: $7200 / Y!: $30)

At this point, Kelvin Benjamin is matchup proof. The Minnesota defense is solid against the pass, but Benjamin is averaging just under 100 yards and 7 receptions a game with 3 total TDs so far. And his price hasn’t seemed to catch up yet, so go ahead and cash in.

Willie Snead vs. ATL (FD: $7500 / DK: $6500 / Y!: $28)

I know I sound like a broken record, but Willie Snead will get his fair share of opportunities in this potentially high scoring affair. He had 9 targets in Week 1, 8 targets in Week 2 and has had a TD each week. 8-9 targets in this matchup is definitely worth the price.
UPDATE (9/24/16) – Snead missed most of practice this week and is questionable to play. I’d give him a pass at this point.

Travis Benjamin vs. IND (FD: $6900 / DK: $5200 / Y!: $23)

Fact #1: The Colts defense that lost basically all their starting CBs and is one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. Fact #2: With Keenan Allen on the shelf, Travis Benjamin caught 6 of 6 targets for 115 yards and 2 TDs. Fact #3: He’s going to be an excellent value in your cash game lineups.

Tight Ends

Jason Witten

Jason Witten @ WAS (FD: $6000 / DK: $4300 / Y!: $18)

Dak Prescott really likes Jason Witten. Witten caught 9 of a whopping 14 targets for 66 yards in Week 1. He came back to Earth with 3 of 4 for 51 yards in Week 2. But Chicago’s pass defense was obliterated by the Eagles TEs, and I suspect Prescott will continue to check down to Witten this week, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see 8-10 targets here.

Jacob Tamme @ NO (FD: $5500 / DK: $3200 / Y!: $12)

Jacob Tamme has been targeted 8 times each week, so he’s getting consistent opportunities. I also discussed him in my Waiver Favors article for seasonal fantasy football leagues. Plus, need I say again that this game has the highest over/under of any game this week?

Dennis Pitta @ JAX (FD: $5000 / DK: $3400 / Y!: $17)

And I also discussed Dennis Pitta in my Waiver Favors article, and those reasons also apply here. He probably won’t get another 12 targets, but 6-8 is reasonable. And he’s dirt cheap.

Defenses

Arizona vs. TB (FD: $5100 / DK $3600 / Y!: $17)

As I said last week, Arizona is a way better defense than we saw against the Patriots in Week 1, and they proved that against Tampa Bay last week with 3 sacks, 4 INTs, a fumble recovery and a defensive TD. This week they face Buffalo, one of the worst offenses in the NFL, whose biggest weapon, Sammy Watkins, is way less than 100%. Plus the Bills just fired their offensive coordinator, so they’ll be sporting a new offense this week, at least in part. The opportunity is there for the Cardinals defense to top even what they did last week.

San Francisco @ SEA (FD: $4000 / DK: $2400 / Y!: $13)

This game has the lowest over/under of any game in Week 3 (40) with Seattle favored by 9.5. So that means the odds makers think that Seattle will score about 24 points this week, which is more points than the Seahawks were able to muster in the first two weeks COMBINED. With a hobbled Russell Wilson, Thomas Rawls, Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett, representing essentially the entirety of the Seahawks offense, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be a low scoring affair with a few turnovers and sacks. The San Francisco defense have been decent thus far and is essentially the lowest cost defense on all three sites. You like gambling? Here’s you gamble.

UPDATE – I’ve been tweeting out some additional DFS plays as news developed throughout the week, but if you haven’t been following, here you go: