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We’re nearing the quarter poll of the 2016 season, and what was new is now a trend. What we thought we knew has been abandoned, and things we weren’t sure about are becoming a little clearer. I’ll be building this lineup around my favorite matchups we’ve spotted early in the season.
QB: Brian Hoyer: $6,000
Hoyer has a great matchup against the Lions this week. The Lions have given up 10 touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks, and Hoyer is good enough to sneak up on a bad defense and have a big day through the air.
RB: Melvin Gordon: $7,600
New Orleans has been generous to opposing running backs so far this year. With Melvin Gordon coming on strong, and a tasty matchup, I don’t mind spending a little extra on my RB1 this week.
RB: Isaiah Crowell: $6,600
Crowell and the Browns will be heading to DC to take on the Washington Redskins. This is a decent matchup for the Browns rushing game, and Crowell is taking that step forward even if it is a year later than some of us hopped. Good salary and upside here.
WR: Travis Benjamin: $6,600
Benjamin is the last wide-out standing for a Chargers side that has once again been decimated by injury. He’s meshed well with Phillip Rivers in their first few games together, and the New Orleans secondary is a sieve again this year.
WR: Marvin Jones Jr.: $7,600
Regardless of what you thought Jones’ role would be with his move to Detroit, we now know that he is the unquestioned number 1 in the Lion’s passing game. He is heavily targeted and making the most of those targets. His price is beginning to catch up to his production, but he’s still a nice value at $7,600.
WR: Kelvin Benjamin: $7,700
I’m just going to ignore the goose-egg Benjamin laid last week. Against a bad Falcons secondary, I think we see Cam make up for his past transgressions, getting Benjamin involved early and often against the Falcons.
TE: Greg Olsen: $7,900
I’m double-dipping on talented Panthers pass-catchers against a bad Falcons D. Olsen is putting in a very Olsen-like season so far, slow and steady with some nice high-points in games where he gets that touchdown.
K: Dustin Hopkins: $4,500
The 2nd highest scoring kicker is min-priced. I don’t see the Redskins fixing their red-zone woes anytime soon, so, GO HOP!
DST: Arizona Cardinals: $5,300
The Cardinals are off to a shaky start, but they’re consistently getting to the quarterback and putting up good sack numbers. The Rams offensive output is beyond me to predict, but this Jeff Fisher crew is a real threat to put up a 0 on any given Sunday.