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FanDuel: $1,250,000 Week 9 Fantasy Football League
Many of you play in season-long fantasy football leagues, while more and more of you are playing one day fantasy leagues. If you like the action of the one day leagues, make sure you join the FanDuel/SB Nation one day fantasy football leagues. All you need to do is click on the link below and join a league.
Enter the $1,250,000 Week 9 Fantasy Football League
- Starts Sunday 1pm ET, ends Monday
- $1,250,000 cash prize pool
- First place wins $100,000
- Top 57,500 teams paid, only $5 entry
- Pick anyone you want - stay under the salary cap
FanDuel/SB Nation $1,250,000 Fantasy Football League: Week 9
Last week was a tough one if you didn't have any exposure to the Saints vs. Giants shootout. Brees was rarely played, if at all, in cash games, so his outing didn't hurt you if you didn't play him. Odell Beckham Jr. on the other hand was tough to go up against. With him being a higher played guy, it put you into a tough hole to get out of. This is where I found myself last Sunday. I had zero exposure to the Saints vs. Giants game in my cash game lineups. Good news is that games like this happen so infrequently, we won't see another like it for a long time. We move forward now into week 9, and I see some great plays we should be able to take advantage of here in our cash games.
I will give you a few options at positions, and then at the end say who I am going with for my main cash game lineup. Now let us jump into the picks. Players are listed by position, and then ordered by the ones I like most.
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady ($9,500) - As safe as they come in the entire game. Until his salary reaches $10,000 or higher, he may not make it into consideration for cash games. Brady has yet to have a game of less than 22 fantasy points. He is going to be a sure thing to reach double his salary. The Redskins secondary isn't good, so that just adds into this pick, even though Brady doesn't need that to be great.
Ben Roethlisberger ($8,300) - If that high salary for Brady is too much for you, Big Ben is a great play at $1,200 less. While his first game back was underwhelming, I am not worried. Roethlisberger needed to acclimate himself to the game again after his injury. If you exclude a Peyton Manning game (why does it seem like I write something like that about Manning each week?) the Raiders have allowed at least 17 points to each QB they face. Ben should have no trouble throwing the ball against this Raiders defense.
Running Backs:
Devonta Freeman ($8,900) - For the past couple of weeks I have been recommending Gurley over Freeman and that has been working out. Now I am going to recommend Freeman over Gurley. This is becauase Gurley saw his salary increase from $8,000 last week to $9,000 this week. Freeman is $100 less now this week, and has the better matchup. Freeman is also more involved in the passing game for his team, and I don't believe there is a limit as to how much they will give Freeman the ball.
DeAngelo Williams ($6,500) - Even with recommending Roethlisberger above, Williams is still a great play here. When Williams was the starter the first two weeks, he was a top 10 guy at his position. With Le'Veon Bell out Williams gets his shot at all the work yet again. I think 100 yards and a TD should easily be attainable here for him. I expect the Steelers to put up a lot of points in this game, allowing all Steelers options a chance to be great.
Doug Martin ($7,100) - The Giants have allowed over 100 rushing yards for four consecutive week to opposing Running Backs. Doug Martin should easily be able to help keep that streak alive this week. In addition to those yardage numbers, the Giants have also allowed one TD to RB's in each of those four games. Martin has had a renaissance this season, and you can't deny him any longer. Great matchup and has found his old form make him a great play.
Also consider Jeremy Langford ($6,400). He is someone I am not as bullish on because he is in the Bears offense, but his salary is cheap enough to use if you need to make a slight cut in your cap to fit in other players.
Wide Receivers:
Odell Beckham Jr. ($9,000) - Is there any question if Beckham is hurt anymore? While this may feel like an overreaction to what happened last week, believe me it is only like 20% of an overreaction. The other 80% of me sees that Beckham Jr. has the best matchup possible for a receiver. That makes him a great play again this week, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Giants continue to run a full out Charges like air it out offense here against the Bucs.
Julian Edelman ($8,000) - Outside of Gronkowski, Edelman is the most consistent receiver for Brady. Edelman even with being only the second most consistent receiver on his own team, he is one of the most consistent guys in the NFL. The Redskins secondary is weak, making this an even better matchup for Edelman. He has 6 TD's through 7 games this year, and should have no trouble making that at least 7 in 8 games after this week. Around 90 yards, 1 TD, and 7 receptions should be expected here.
Alshon Jeffery ($7,900) - I recommended Jeffery last week and I am going right back to him again. He has had two straight games after coming back from injury of over 100 yards and 1 TD. If he does this, which he should have no problem doing, he will be a great play. This game has the feeling of one that has both teams throwing the ball all over the field.
Stefon Diggs ($7,400) - Just like Brady, can you not consider Diggs every week? While he won't be locked into my lineup like the past couple of weeks, he is still a bargain for the production he has been giving. I am only a little worried about the matchup with the Rams. The only worry I have is whether Bridgewater will have enough to time to get the ball out to Diggs. I think that he will get the ball out there enough times to make Diggs a good play once again.
Stevie Johnson ($5,400) - Well someone has to benefit from the surprising Keenan Allen injury. One man's loss is another man's gain. Johnson was good an solid in the first two weeks, but after that he fell off when he got hurt. Johnson is now healthy, and should become a target monster for Rivers. This Monday night game should turn into an air attack, something both teams know a lot about.
Tight Ends:
Heath Miller ($5,800) - And we are back to going with the TE facing the Raiders. The Jets, yes even the Jets who don't even have a discernable TE had one score a TD last week. Miller has a lot going for him here, and this Raiders matchup isn't even the biggest factor for this pick. Big Ben is back, and he loves to look for Miller on his shorter passes. I also want to know if the Steelers will go for 2 point conversions again with Big Ben fully healthy now. Last week they didn't, but I think that might have been because of how the game was going. Great QB looking for him often, and the best matchup with the Raiders defense make him my top TE play here.
Rob Gronkowski ($8,500) - This isn't a knock on Gronkowski being listed second here. I just love the salary relief I get from Heath Miller, and his matchup is as good as it can get. Gronk however is the guy you need to always consider when creating your cash game lineups. You know what you can expect out of him, so if the salaries work, put him in.
Kicker:
Sebastian Janikowski ($4,500) - The minimum priced kicker of the week for me. He has averaged over 9 points per game, which means he is providing the necessary return needed from him. The Raiders offense has looked good, and is moving the ball well. Janikowski should have a great chance to reach 10 points in this game.
Defense:
New England Patriots ($4,900) - When in doubt, you pick on a below average QB who turns the ball over. Well Kirk Cousins is the guy I am picking on this week. The Patriots defense has been a little up and down so far this season, however when they play bad QB's, they are great. The Redskins will struggle to score more than 14 points in this game, and add that to the fact that they should cause at least 2 turnovers and have 3 sacks, and it is a nice safe pick.
My Cash Lineup:
QB: Tom Brady $9,500
RB: Doug Martin $7,100
RB: DeAngelo Williams $6,500
WR: Julian Edelman $8,000
WR: Alshon Jeffery $7,900
WR:Stevie Johnson $5,400
TE: Heath Miller $5,800
Kicker: Sebastian Janikowski $4,500
Defense: New England Patriots $4,900