Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games – Week 2

September 14, 2018

By Ha Kung Wong Daily Fantasy Football

We all know that DFS is a great way to prove you have serious football IQ and earn you bragging rights among your friends (and if you’re like me, among your family as well!). And heck, if you win cash, that’s just gravy, right? (No need to answer that question, it was totally rhetorical. I know you all like cash. And gravy.)

So before we get to winning you bragging rights (and DFS cash), remember, the point of this article is not just to give you one lineup for each site, it’s to give you examples of one or two POSSIBLE lineups. Getting exposure to a few different lineups is always a good idea, so don’t forget to mix and match additional lineups from my suggestions below. And that’s never been more true than in the first week of the season when we have very limited data. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun that way AND you’ll improve your chances of cashing!

So without further to do, here are my favorite cash lineups for FanDuel, Draft Kings, and Yahoo! DFS, plus a few others suggestions you might consider for your lineups.

Let’s get to winning you some CASH in Week 2 of the 2018 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.

And this year, I’m trying something different. I’m going to list out all my favorite plays at each position and also provide you with a few sample lineups on each site. You’re welcome. 🙂

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games for Week 2 contests, along with they’re prices on Fan Duel (“FD”), Draft Kings (“DK”) and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy (“Y!”).

FanDuel

Again, to encourage some diversity in your lineups, I’m giving you two sample lineups for FanDuel this week.

Quarterbacks

Drew Brees

Drew Brees (FD: $8800 / DK: $7200 / Y!: $37)

Brees finished Week 1’s shootout with the Bucs completing 37 of 45 passes for 439 yards and three TDs. This game against the Browns has the second highest over/under (49) of the week, and as I said last week, Brees at home is money.

Ben Roethlisberger (FD: $7600 / DK: $6900 / Y!: $35)

Big Ben was crap last week, but we all knew that as “Road Ben” never does well. Well, guess what? Ben is now home and playing in the highest over/under (53) game of the week. I see this as a huge bounce back game for Ben and the Steelers against a Chiefs defense that we just saw Philip Rivers carve up for 424 yards and 3 TDs.

Kirk Cousins (FD: $7500 / DK: $6400 / Y!: $36)

Kirk Cousins manhandled the 49ers in Week 1 to the tune of 20 of 36 for 244 yards and 2 TDs. Now he faces a Packers defense that had some trouble shutting down Mitchell Trubisky in Week 1, so I like Cousins’ upside.

Alex Smith (FD: $7100 / DK: $6000 / Y!: $32)

Alex Smith had a solid Week 1 against the Cardinals, completing 21 of 30 passes for 255 yards and 2 TDs. And now he faces one of the weakest secondary’s in the league in the Colts defense.

Tyrod Taylor (FD: $6600 / DK: $5900 / Y!: $30)

Tyrod Taylor didn’t have great completion percentage in Week 1 with just 15 of 40 for 197 yards, a TD and an INT. But as I said in our podcast, the weather was as much to blame as anything else, so I expect Taylor to bounce back closer to his career 61.6% completion percentage. Plus he has an awesome floor in rushing 8 times for 77 yards and a TD. If you’re looking for value at QB, look no further.

Running Back

Todd Gurley

Alvin Kamara (FD: $9000 / DK: $9500 / Y!: $38)

Everyone knew Alvin Kamara would have some serious usage with Mark Ingram suspended. Kamara didn’t disappoint being involved with 52 of 64 offensive snaps (81%) and had 8 carries for 29 yards and 2 TDs, adding another TD on 9 receptions and 112 receiving yards. That is what we in the industry call a “crapload” of production.

Todd Gurley (FD: $8900 / DK: $9200 / Y!: $38)

The Cardinals just allowed Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson total 161 rush yards, 133 receiving yards and 2 TDs. Todd Gurley is better than that pair. Enough said.

James Conner (FD: $7000 / DK: $6700 / Y!: $24)

No Le’veon Bell? No problem. James Conner stepped in and put up 31 carries for 135 yards and 2 TDs against the Browns, and should have no problem continuing the assault against a Chiefs defense that just allowed Melvin Gordon to put up 102 receiving yards on 9 catches.

Melvin Gordon (FD: $8200 / DK: $7400 / Y!: $37)

Speaking of Gordon, in addition to his 102 receiving yards, he also rushed 15 times for 64 yards. We all know how bad the Bills defense is, so I can see Gordon getting a ton of run as the Chargers play with the lead.

Chris Thompson (FD: $6200 / DK: $5900 / Y!: $21)

Thompson was much more involved that Peterson, even though their lines look similar. I think for the price, particularly with PPR, Thompson has great upside.

Alfred Morris (FD: $5800 / DK: $3600 / Y!: $15)

If you really are desperate for a FLEX punt play, why not gamble on Alfred Morris. Sure, he was a fumble machine last week, but he still got 12 carries and has a good chance for getting fed while the 49ers play with the lead against a suspect Lions defense that just gave up a “crapload” of yards to both Isaiah Crowell and Bilal Powell of the suddenly respectable Jets.

Wide Recievers

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown (FD: $8900 / DK: $8800 / Y!: $40)

He saw a huge 16 targets in Week 1 managing to catch 9 of them for 93 yards and a TD. And he’s playing in the highest over/under game this weekend. And he’s Antonio Brown.

Michael Thomas (FD: $8800 / DK: $8600 / Y!: $30)

Michael Thomas was amazing in Week one snagging 16 of 17 targets for ridiculous 180 receiving yards and a TD. And now playing in a game with second highest over/under? Yes, please. And he’s a ridiculous value on Yahoo.

Adam Thielen (FD: $7600 / DK: $7100 / Y!: $28)

Stefon Diggs (FD: $7400 / DK: $6900 / Y!: $29)

Thielen turned grabbed 6 of his team-high 12 targets for 102 yards, while Diggs finished managed to catch 3 for 43 yards and TD. I like both in Week 2.

JuJu Smith-Schuster (FD: $7200 / DK: $6400 / Y!: $27)

I like him for all the reasons I like Big Ben and Antonio Brown. So if you want some exposure while saving a few dollars, go with JuJu.

Emmanuel Sanders (FD: $6800 / DK: $6200 / Y!: $21)

Sanders is clearly new QB Case Keenum’s favorite target in Denver as peppered him with 11 targets, which Sanders converted 10 of them into 135 yards and a TD. Playing against a suspect Raiders secondary makes him a great upside play with a solid target floor.

Jarvis Landry (FD: $6700 / DK: $6300 / Y!: $19)

For the reason I like Taylor, I also like his favorite target, Landry. Plus he’s priced right.

Nelson Agholor (FD: $6100 / DK: $6100 / Y!: $24)

No Alshon Jeffery and Nick Foles really loves targeting Agholor. Sure, he only had 33 yards, but he did catch 8 of his whopping 10 targets.

Kenny Stills (FD: $6400 / DK: $5700 / Y!: $19)

Kenny Stills only had 5 targets in Week 1, but caught 4 of them for 106 yards and 2 TDs. He’s a big play waiting to happen and is still pretty reasonably priced across the industry.

Quincy Enunwa (FD: $5000 / DK: $4700 / Y!: $14)

Enunwa’s 10 targets accounted for almost half of all Sam Darnold’s passes. So clearly, Darnold likes him, and so should you as his 6 catches for 63 yards and a TD are eminently repeatable in Week 2.

Kenny Golladay (FD: $5700 / DK: $4800 / Y!: $12)

The Lions were terrible, but Kenny Golladay was the lone bright spot with catching 7 of 12 targets for 114 yards. He should get plenty of targets against a suspect 49ers secondary.

Devin Funchess (FD: $6000 / DK: $4700 / Y!: $18)

No Greg Olsen and those targets have to go somewhere. I think many of them will go to Funchess, so feel free to punt at WR with him if you need the cap space.

Tight Ends

Zach Ertz

Zach Ertz (FD: $6500 / DK: $6100 / Y!: $22)

In Week 1, Zach Ertz only had 48 yards, but managed to catch 5 of his 10 targets. His target share should remain high with Foles under center and no Alshon Jeffery.

Jordan Reed (FD: $6200 / DK: $5000 / Y!: $20)

Hey everyone! Jordan Reed is healthy! He managed to play in over 50% of the offensive snaps and caught a TD. What more could you ask for?

George Kittle (FD: $5600 / DK: $3800 / Y!: $17)

Clearly, Jimmy G loves him some Kittle. Sounds a lot like Skittles, doesn’t it? Anyway, the point his he caught 5 of 9 targets for 90 yards in Week 1. I don’t see why he doesn’t continue to have that upside in Week 2.

Jared Cook (FD: $5000 / DK: $3600 / Y!: $16)

Cook was the sole bright spot for the Raiders in Week 1 catching 9 of a whopping 12 targets for 180 yards. I’m sure others, like Amari Cooper, will start eating into that share, but he’s cheap enough that I’m willing to go back in Week 2.

Defense

Los Angeles Chargers defense vs. BUF (FD: $4400 / DK: $3600 / Y!: $21)

A solid top 10 defense against Josh Allen, and the anemic Bills offense that put up all of 3 points on a Ravens defense that looks terrible against the Bengals in Week 2? Yes, please.

Denver Broncos defense vs. OAK (FD: $4500 / DK: $3300 / Y!: $13)

The Broncos are a solid defense, they’re playing at home, and the Raiders look like a mess. Derek Carr is lucky to still be starting. And you’re lucky to have a defense to start against him.

Minnesota Vikings defense @ GB (FD: $4400 / DK: $2600 / Y!: $16)

The Vikings have an elite defense, and best case scenario is that a gimpy Aaron Rodgers will be out there under center. Best case scenario for you would be if Deshone “I Love Turning Over the Ball” Kizer starts, in which case the Vikings would be my chalk defense of the week.