Whats’s up everyone! Welcome into my second NFL Building Blocks of the season. In this article I will highlight my top graded plays for cash games. If you are interested in my cash game core plays + final thoughts cheat sheet for every main slate, you can click here.
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson- It’s hard to argue with Jackson on any slate, and with the abundance of value at WR again this week he can be stuffed into cash games. He showed how high his floor really is with 27 DraftKings points in Week 1, despite only running the ball seven times. The Ravens popped off for 40 points against this Texans defense last season, and I expect them to roll in this spot.
Josh Allen- I think Kyler Murray is going to end up the highest-owned QB in cash games, and Dak Prescott is in a great spot himself should Tyron Smith be able to suit up. With that being said, I just can’t get away from Josh MF Allen. The stars are aligning for an epic Allen performance on Sunday, and I plan on being overweight in all formats to him and the Bills offense. The Dolphins came out with 80% man coverage in Week 1 against New England, which we know is a huge plus for running Quarterback’s. Cam Newton flamed them for 75 and two touchdowns on the ground, and I think the Brian Daboll and the Bills will replicate this game plan in their matchup this week. They ran a ton of four-wide sets, and their offense looked completely different than it did in 2019. Allen is one of the few guys with a ceiling that can match Jackson’s, and I think he comes in under-owned despite the elite match-up.
Other Options: Dak Prescott, Kyler Murray
Running Back
Three-Headed Monster- This is one of the weirdest weeks I can remember at Running Back — Zeke Elliott, Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor are all CLEAR cash game plays. Elliott is at home against the Falcons, Henry is a double-digit home favorite against the Jags and Taylor is in line for increased work at home against Minnesota. I don’t pay a ton of attention to player props, but it is worth noting Henry’s sits at a massive 118 rushing yards for this weekend. People will make mistakes, like always, but I personally think you have to build around these three backs in an optimal-type builds. I won’t be getting cute at this position in Week 2.
Saturday AM Update- It looks like Tyron Smith is actually in jeopardy of missing this game. If this were the case, it would knock the Cowboys down across the board for me and make for some very interesting decisions. I still would be inclined to play Zeke Elliott, but anything can happen. I will update this in my Final Thoughts sheet, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Miles Sanders are names I would bump up a bit.
Wide Receiver
Davante Adams- Adams hauled in 14 of 17 targets for 156 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1. He is a solid bet to lead the slate in targets again this week, and still isn’t at a Michael Thomas-level price tag. The Lions were bottom-four in the NFL with only six QB Pressures against the Bears, which will award Aaron Rodgers plenty of time to pick out Adams downfield. His volume is so secure it makes him one of the top plays on the slate again.
Amari Cooper- Cooper, like his Quarterback, was much better at home in 2019. He averaged over 20 fantasy points per game in the split, and over 800 of his 1,100 receiving yards came in JerryWorld. This is the best game atmosphere on the slate with a 50+ O/U and a bad Falcons secondary on the opposing side. Cooper is simply too cheap on all sites, and a strong consideration for me on my main team.
Terry McLaurin- McLaurin is a late addition to my pool, and I’m starting to really like him at this price point. I’m not on the Cardinals as much as others are this week, but I do think it’s clear this could be one of the faster-paced games of the weekend. Pat Peterson isn’t exactly the elite corner he was years ago, and McLaurin is good enough to win in almost any matchup anyways. This Redskins offense is extremely condensed between McLaurin and Logan Thomas, and if they put up points it’s a good bet that one of those two were involved in getting them there.
Mike Evans is someone I expect to get some ownership should Chris Godwin miss, so I may end up bumping him into this article as well later on Saturday.
Value Pool- We are once again loaded with value at WR, and it will make for some difficult decisions on Sunday. I have all of CeeDee Lamb, Diontae Johnson, Parris Campbell, Scotty Miller, Mike Williams and Corey Davis as cash game graded…and all six are below $5,000. This is not to even mention Breshad Perriman at $3,800, who I personally won’t be playing but will project for decent ownership due to the absence of Jamison Crowder. Ultimately, I will give my final decisions on this tier in my Final Thoughts cheat sheet, but I think the strategy on DK could very well be to find two of these guys and plug them in .My early looks have Diontae Johnson, Parris Campbell and Scotty Miller sticking out.
Tight End
Logan Thomas- Anyone that follows my content knows Logan Thomas was featured in this article last week, and I’m going back to the well in Week 2. He gets one of our favorite matchups as a Tight End against the Arizona Cardinals, and is still priced below $4,000 on DraftKings and $5,000 on FanDuel. He drew eight targets in Week 1, while leading the team in % share of Air Yards and running a route on over 75% of Dwayne Haskins’ dropbacks. The Cardinals can’t be as bad as they were last season vs this position, but the Redskins should continue to play faster on offense than last season and I think he is still under-priced.
Jordan Reed- I expect many to be on Chris Herndon at $3,300, but I think we can look in the same game at Jordan Reed for only $2,600 on DraftKings! You only need a few catches from someone at this price point, and this was one of the top fantasy Tight Ends once upon a time in Washington. I can count on Kyle Shanahan to effectively scheme some plays for him in the absence of All-Pro George Kittle, and I’m always going to be interested in someone at this low of a salary.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
