This is without question my wife’s least favorite time of
the year. School is back in session, the kids are kicking off another
season of soccer and softball, and work becomes hectic as bright
eyed and naive residents arrive at the hospital ready to be taught
how to deliver babies (the misses is an OBGYN for those not following
my train of thought).
But the thing that bugs her most about the calendar moving to
August is my yearly tradition of retreating into what she calls
fantasy football land, where I am present but not really there,
as my mind is constantly thinking of my draft board and how my
upcoming fantasy drafts will unfold.
Early on in our marriage my yearly journey to fantasy football
land caused numerous fights. As the years went on and nothing
changed, she realized it is a part of who I am and it was here
to stay. So she learned accept it, albeit begrudgingly, and looked
forward to the day after my final draft when I would emerge from
my mental cave and return to reality.
With my league of record draft only four days away, I am entrenched
in film review and stat combing as I look to finalize the big
board. As part of my review, I like to take a few steps out of
the yearly fantasy cave and present a few first week DFS picks
that I am targeting in my DraftKings and FanDuel lineups to start
the season.
Stafford continues to look sharp in the Jim Bob Cooter offense
and the addition of Anquan Boldin and Marvin Jones will help overcome
the loss of Megatron. Vegas views this as a fairly high scoring
game with an over/under of 50 points. I also like similarly priced
Eli Manning in what could be a shootout with Dallas.
I’m predicting a similar breakout first game with Hue Jackson
and Cleveland like he did with Washington back in 2012. Also predicting
he will have little value after the novelty of RGII wears off
on the Browns coaching staff or he gets hurt. Not sure what happens
first. He’s a nice homerun play in a GPP against a poor
Eagles defense.
Crabtree is a consistent performer who is criminally undervalued
in season-long leagues and DFS. He has a great matchup against
a poor NO secondary in what should be a shootout. He’s a
staggering $1000 less than his teammate Cooper, yet it wouldn’t
surprise me if Crabs outperforms him this week. Donte Moncrief
is also a strong option and underpriced.
This will be your one and only time to buy Sharpe at a bottom
barrel price of $3,000 on DK. A rookie from UMASS who has shined
in camp and preseason games, he is quickly becoming a favorite
of Mariota. I wouldn’t be surprised if his salary doubles
by Week 3. He’s a perfect homerun play Week 1, although
he is getting too much press right now and could be over-owned.
Green is a popular season-long candidate to take the next step
into the tier of Brown, OBJ and Julio. It could happen, but I
don’t like this matchup against Revis and his ownership
percentage will be too high for my liking because of the season-long
league hype.
Tight Ends
H2H/Cash - Jason
Witten vs. NYG (DK $4,100/FD $5,000)
Over the past three seasons, Witten has posted some of his best
games against the division foe G-men, including 14 catches for
133 yards and two touchdowns in 2015, and 12 catches for 107 yards
and 4 TDs in 2013. At just $4,100 on Draft Kings when other people
are going to be spending money on trendier and more expensive
picks, Witten is a nice play for owners looking for a decent floor
with high TD upside.
A nice homerun pick for a GPPs, as I anticipate Belichick unleashing
his new toy against the Cardinals Week 1. What is the best way
to ease a young QB into a game against a tough defense? Tight
end and running back throws.
Fleener is an overpriced play this week that thousands of DFS
players in both Cash and GPP contests will utilize, despite the
fact that he hasn’t been very impressive in preseason action
and Sean Payton has referred to as a work in progress. Let the
competition play Fleener and go after cheaper and higher upside
players at the position for Week 1.
