By Kevin Curry
Picking the highest-scoring players in DFS is difficult enough, but if you don’t nail your value plays, you have no chance of winning a tournament. Period. Here are the bargain players — along with a few studs — that will be on most of my Week 6 rosters.
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Quarterback
Kevin Hogan (CLE at Texans (DK $4,600; FD $6,100) – He’s already shown good mobility (4 rushes, 30 yds) and is facing a Texans team that is now without the services of J.J. Watt. At this price, you don’t need much to get a good return on value. While he doesn’t have a standout-supporting cast, I was impressed with his TE David Njoku, who he hooked up with on a nice touchdown pass. A Hogan-Njoku stack is worth considering in a GPP, and will give you plenty of salary to mess around with to build a monster roster.
Case Keenum (MIN vs. Packers) (DK $5,000; FD $6,700) – Keenum stepped in for the injured Sam Bradford on Monday night and was sharp. He connected with Kyle Rudolph for a score and finished 17-of-21 for 140 yards. He now faces a Packers team that just let Dak Prescott go wild on them (Dak was my pick last week and it paid off). Game flow-wise, I see the Packers putting up enough points against this stingy Minnesota defense to keep Keenum busy. Keenum has some real weapons to throw to: Diggs and Thielen are studs and McKinnon has proven to be solid catching out of the backfield (just double check that Sam Bradford is indeed sitting out this one).
Top Plays: Drew Brees (NO vs. Lions), Tom Brady (NE at Jets) and Matt Ryan (ATL vs. Dolphins)
Running Back
Alvin Kamara (NO vs. Lions) (DK $4,500; FD $5,800) – Adrian Peterson, who just didn’t fit with the Saints offense, was traded to the Cardinals this week. Kamara, on the other hand, is a perfect fit. He is the type of runner that Coach Payton loves — reminiscent of the Darren Sproles era. While Peterson didn’t take away much work from Kamara as it was, it is one less mouth to feed, which can only help. Given the amount of touches he should see, he’s the ideal value play this week.
Ameer Abdullah (DET at Saints) (DK $4,900; FD 6,400) – This could be the week Ameer finally explodes! (been waiting a long time for this). The game flow should be favorable against a weak Saints defense. He’s a virtual lock for 15-20 touches and a few targets. Also you can put him in lineup with Kamara and have fun rooting for two elusive backs putting on a show. People will likely be scared to roster him after his poor game last week, but not me. It’s all the more reason to pounce and take advantage of his low ownership.
Top Picks: Kareem Hunt (KC vs. Steelers), Le’Veon Bell (PIT at Chiefs), Todd Gurley (LAR at Jaguars)
Wide Receiver
Ricardo Louis (CLE at Texans) (DK $3,900; FD $4,500) – Ricardo has led the Browns in receiving yards two weeks in a row now. With a combined 17 targets in those two games and now with that should be an upgrade at quarterback, there’s a lot to like here. A Hogan/Louis stack is another GPP option that leaves you with a lot of great options to fill our roster with. Get him in your lineups now and enjoy the discount while you can.
Marquise Goodwin (SF at Redskins) (DK $4,100; FD $5,100) – Favorable game flow and targets are what you want with your value receivers. You should get both with Goodwin this week against the Redskins.
Top Picks: Julio Jones (ATL vs. Dolphins), Randall Cobb (GB at Vikings) and DeAndre Hopkins (HOU at Browns)
Tight End
Evan Engram (NYG at Broncos) (DK $4,200; FD $5,300) – The Giants were hit hard by the injury bug last Sunday, to put it nicely. Engram is a hybrid TE that could be asked to run more receiver routes.
George Kittle (SF at Redskins) (DK $3,400; FD $5,300) – I noticed he was on the winning lineup that took down the DK Millymaker. These are the type of plays that can put you over the top and get you that top prize. Kittle isn’t such an unknown this week after his big game but I still like him and he’s still very affordable. Like I said before about Goodwin, I love the flow of this game for SF receivers.
Top Plays: Rob Gronkowski (NE at Jets), Travis Kelce (KC vs. Steelers), Martellus (gonna have a huge game soon) Bennett (GB at Vikings)
Defense (Top Plays)
Falcons (DK $3,500; FD $5,000) — Two words: Jay Cutler.
Jaguars (DK $3,600; FD $4,900) — This defense has been red hot and is almost a lock for double-digit fantasy points. They almost put Big Ben into retirement last week.
Defense (Value Plays)
OAK vs. Chargers; KC vs. Steelers; NE at Jets
Kicker Plays
Dustin Hopkins (WAS vs. 49ers); Matt Bryant (ATL vs. Dolphins), Stephen Gostkowski (NE at Jets); Matt Prater (DET at Saints)
Week 6 DraftKings Lineup for GPP
Fanduel Lineup GPP
Good luck everyone!
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