This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
50/50 or Heads Up
In 50/50s, double-ups or heads-up contests, always aim for a lineup that has a higher floor rather than a higher ceiling. In 50/50 contests, the top half of all entries finish in the money, meaning you don't have to pick a high-ceiling lineup that shoots for the moon. Rather, build these lineups with the players who are safe and that can be counted on for production.
QB: Tom Brady ($9,000)
At this point there's little reason to fade Brady, especially going into a game where the Patriots are expected to score a lot. Remember it was the Colts who had a big hand in "Deflategate," so we could see the Patriots try and score 50. Also, the Colts' defense is allowing 7.8 yards per passing attempt this season, the seventh worst in the NFL.
RB: Javorius Allen ($5,100)
Allen will likely be a staple of everyone's cash games this week if Justin Forsett misses out with an ankle sprain. While it seems like his ownership should be high, it's unlikely to be over 50 or even 40 percent. This game features two bad defenses, and San Francisco has allowed 4.1 yards per carry and six rushing touchdowns this season. In a short sample Allen is averaging 4.8 yards per carry this season and it helps his cause that Lorenzo Taliaferro was placed on IR this week.
RB: Adrian Peterson ($8,900
Peterson looks like the top running back play this weekend given that Le'Veon Bell has a much tougher matchup against Arizona. The Cardinals and the Chiefs both rank in the middle of the league in terms of yards per carry but the Chiefs have allowed six rushing touchdowns to the Cardinals' two. Peterson has produced at least 17.4 fantasy points in every game outside of the Week 1 clunker, and he has had an extra week to prepare for this home matchup with Kansas City.
WR: DeAndre Hopkins ($8,500)
There's a strong argument this week that Hopkins is the top wide receiver, with Odell Beckham banged up, Antonio Brown having to play with Michael Vick again and Julian Edelman likely to be shadowed by a decent corner in Vontae Davis. Hopkins has been on fire to start the season, scoring at least 20 fantasy points in each of his last three games, and there's no one on Jacksonville to worry about shutting him down. The Texans' defense is terrible and the Jaguars offense is actually good, so the chances of Hopkins getting double-digit targets once again are high.
WR: Marquess Wilson ($5,400)
Wilson was elevated to the No. 1 wide receiver role last weekend after Eddie Royal was ruled out due to an injury. While Royal returned to practice this week, it's been in limited fashion, and even if he does play he'll be less than 100 percent. This is a great matchup for Jay Cutler and the Bears, as the Lions have been downright awful this season under head coach Jim Caldwell. Wilson has scored 11 and 17.5 fantasy points over the last two games, respectively, but he has not seen his price increase that much.
WR: Dwayne Harris ($5,300)
It seems like Harris is still flying under the radar despite scoring 10.2 and 13.6 fantasy points over the last two games, respectively. His price is only $800 more than the minimum on FanDuel, and Odell Beckham and Rueben Randle could be out or limited. Monday's game should feature a lot of offense as the Eagles have looked much better the last two weeks and the Giants have figured out that the no-huddle, hurry-up has worked for quarterback Eli Manning. All Harris needs here is to score double-digits again to make value.
TE: Rob Gronkowski ($8,200)
The gap between Gronk and the next tier of tight ends is probably greater than any other position in fantasy football. As mentioned, the Patriots have every motivation to run the score up, and Julian Edelman should have Davis on him. This is a good recipe for Gronk to have a big game.
K: Phil Dawson ($4,600)
Dawson remains an extremely accurate kicker and is perfect on the season, going 4-for-4 on field goal attempts and 5-for-5 on extra points. It is alarming that he's only attempted four field goals but the San Francisco offense looked good last Sunday night in New York and they have a favorable matchup this week. Not only are the 49ers at home, but they face a Ravens defensive unit that has been terrible of late and travelled across the country.
DEF: New York Jets ($4,800)
The Jets have looked like a formidable unit and now get a good home matchup that they've had two weeks to prepare for. A huge key here is that Sheldon Richardson is coming off suspension and his quote for this game was "I'm coming to eat." He's going to make a very good defense even better and the Redskins have done little lately as far as running the ball.
Tournaments
For tournament lineups, you have to look at upside and use some "outside-the-box" picks if you want to cash. Don't use this lineup completely, as there is a lower floor here with a lot of players. A mix of studs with a few of the cheaper options could net the top overall prize.
RB: Eddie Lacy ($7,300)
Lacy has been a huge disappointment this season in both season-long and DFS but this week he may finally break out of his early season slump. The Packers have scored at will at home this season and welcome the Chargers, a team on a short week. The Bolts have given up a league-worst 5.1 yards per carry this season and are coming off allowing another 100-yard game to a running back. While he hasn't been used as much in the passing game, Lacy's role in the air attack increased last season and he's turned into a capable pass-catching running back. He going to be widely under-owned and his price has gone down a lot since the start of the season.
WR: Torrey Smith ($6,200)
Smith is a great "boom-or-bust" player which is why he's much more suited for tournament play. He has scored 5.2, 6.4 and zero fantasy points over the last three weeks, respectively, so despite the low price tag he's still going to have a low ownership. However, he had a monster game back to Week 2, including one of the longest touchdowns of the season while scoring 23 points. As mentioned, the Ravens' defense has been terrible since losing Terrell Suggs and both offenses are in play in this game. If he goes for a long touchdown he'll make value with any offensive output on top of that being gravy.
