This article is part of our FantasyAces Football series.
Week 8 is in the books, and it turned out to be another great week of fantasy football. Congratulations to tipandpick and nvalencia3 for winning the eighth qualifier for the FAFC.
Play again this week for your chance to be the next qualifier. Click here to see what you're playing for. (Hint: a chance to win a lot of money and a free vacation)
If you do not have a Fantasy Aces account, be sure to sign up and receive up to $250 of your deposit matched just for signing up. It's free money, so sign up now.
Not sure how to play at Fantasy Aces? We are here to help. Each week, RotoWire will offer advice on who to start in a given week, and give you that extra edge in your pursuit of a seat in Fantasy Aces' Fantasy Football Championship.
Format
At Fantasy Aces, the starting lineup requires two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, two FLEX (running back, wide receiver, or tight end), a kicker and defense/special teams. You have a salary cap of $55,000 to create your team. Fantasy Aces understands that you may want to start Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, or Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, and now you can. That's the beauty of playing daily fantasy football at Fantasy Aces, you can start the players you want.
The full scoring system can be found here, but essentially it is a standard scoring system for regular fantasy football with the only difference being half-point PPR (point per reception).
Strategy
Qualifying for a big tournament requires a different strategy than in other cash games. Of course, we are all still trying to get the most points possible, but in a GPP (guaranteed prize pool) you have to take some risks. If those risks hit, you are more likely to have a higher score than others, because these particular risks usually are players that are owned by a small amount of entrants.
How can we strategize to win a GPP? There are many approaches, and with Fantasy Aces' deep starting lineups, there is a lot of variance, which helps you in GPPs.
A few strategies to consider:
- Stacking: Starting more than two players from one team. This is usually used in daily fantasy football with the Broncos by selecting Peyton Manning along with his receivers/tight end. Bye weeks are underway, so be sure to keep an eye on that.
- Contrarian: Playing against the grain. For example, taking Isaiah Crowell last week despite him being the backup running back on the official depth chart.
- Studs and scrubs: We'll outline this strategy below. Going the studs-and-scrubs route entails finding a few players at low salary that could be good values, then using the rest of the money for big-time players like Manning or Jimmy Graham.
Without further ado, here are some suggested plays for Week 9. We will outline a stud and a scrub from each position that can help you get a seat at the FAFC.
Quarterback
Scrub: Ryan Tannehill $6,250
Tannehill is among the lowest priced starting quarterbacks for Week 9, and he's a good option with guys like Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford on bye. The Dolphins are facing San Diego, who gave up four touchdowns to Derek Carr two weeks ago, and were torched by Peyton Manning last Thursday night. Tannehill has been as efficient as can be in the last five games with at least one touchdown and 15 fantasy points in each contest, so his low floor and good matchup equate to a good value on Fantasy Aces.
Running Back
Stud: Marshawn Lynch - $5,650
Lynch has not scored a touchdown since Week 5, and he has managed only 21.7 total fantasy points on Fantasy Aces in his last three games. Add the rumors that the Seahawks are reportedly "over" Lynch's "antics", and it sounds like a recipe for disaster. But the Seahawks return home this weekend, where they are a different football team offensively. In the Seahawks first two home games this season, they ran for a total of 336 yards and Lynch was the primary source of that production. The Raiders will travel to Seattle, and Oakland has allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs, including 355 yards and four touchdowns in three of the last four games to the Cardinals, Chargers and Dolphins.
Scrub: Mark Ingram - $4,500
Keep an eye on the Saints' injuries this week, as Pierre Thomas (shoulder) and Khiry Robinson (are) are both ailing. With both out in Week 8, Ingram went crazy on the Packers, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown. Ingram has been active for four games this season, totaling 331 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The lone week where he did not score a touchdown was against the Lions defense, which ranks among the best against the run. At just $4,500, a feature running back is a steal. Ingram faces the Panthers, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to running backs this year, including two touchdowns in three of the last four games. From Week 4 to Week 8, the Panthers have allowed opposing running backs to score seven touchdowns and accrue close to 700 yards in five games.
Wide Receiver
Stud: Kelvin Benjamin - $5,000
Pricing for wide receivers seems modest in Week 9, but that is due to the fact that Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb are all on bye weeks. This makes Benjamin a top play against New Orleans. The Saints have allowed 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns to wide receivers this season, and a wideout has caught a touchdown in all but one game. With Benjamin receiving the overwhelming amount of targets amongst Carolina wide receivers, he makes for a strong play this weekend. Benjamin will likely line up against Keenan Lewis, who has struggled this year allowing 350 yards and three touchdowns on 41 targets in coverage.
Scrub: Denard Robinson - $4,700
Robinson is the starting running back for the Jaguars, but he's still listed at wide receiver on Fantasy Aces. Robinson has totaled over 100 yards rushing in each of his two starts and faces a Bengals defense that is allowing 18 fantasy points per game to running backs. It's not often that a player has eligibility at other positions in DFS, so be sure to exploit it with a value this weekend.
Tight End
Stud: Rob Gronkowski - $5,700
Any doubts that Gronk was getting healthier each and every week were put to rest this past weekend, as the Patriots tight end exploded for 149 yards and three touchdowns. He is now tied as the highest-priced tight end on Fantasy Aces and for good reason. Gronk and the Pats are home against the Broncos. Denver just allowed Antonio Gates to reach pay dirt twice last week. In addition, Gronkowski has seen an average of 10 targets per game in the last four weeks, and he's clearly the top option for Tom Brady and the Patriots passing attack.
Dud: Travis Kelce - $4,650
Despite Kelce playing just over 50 percent of the snaps this season, he is still a good value at tight end. Kelce has caught 28 of his 36 targets on the season, and leads all tight ends in yards after catch with 248. Kelce will face the Jets, who have allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends.
Kicker
Graham Gano - $2,900
Defense/Special Teams
Minnesota Vikings - $2,800
"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity" was one of Albert Einstein's most famous quotes. It's possible that he was talking about the Vikings defense. The Vikings price has still yet to increase, and for three straight weeks they have impressed. For the third week in a row, the Vikings have been able to get to the quarterback four times or more. Minnesota has forced six turnovers in the last two weeks and should continue that trend this week against the Redskins. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Vikings will have a good matchup against an offensive line that has struggled mightily, as they have allowed 77 pressures in just 258 dropbacks to Kirk Cousins and Robert Griffin III this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
My Fantasy Aces Lineup (GPP)
QB – Russell Wilson - $6,800
QB – Carson Palmer - $6,600
RB – Marshawn Lynch - $5,650
RB – Le'Veon Bell - $5,750
WR – Denard Robinson - $4,700
WR – DeAndre Hopkins - $4,900
TE – Travis Kelce - $4,650
FLEX – Julius Thomas - $5,450
FLEX – Mike Wallace - $4,800
K – Graham Gano - $2,900
DST – Minnesota Vikings - $2,800
My Fantasy Aces Lineup (Cash Games)
QB – Nick Foles - $7,000
QB – Tony Romo - $6,900
RB – Ahmad Bradshaw - $4,950
RB – Mark Ingram - $4,500
WR – DeAndre Hopkins - $4,900
WR – Mohamed Sanu - $4,950
TE – Jordan Reed - $4,800
FLEX – Kelvin Benjamin - $5,000
FLEX – Rob Gronkowski - $5,700
K – Stephen Gostkowski - $3,200
DST – Cincinnati Bengals - $3,100
