Quarterback
Lamar Jackson- Jackson was the cover-boy of this article a week ago, and he responded to that honor with over 300 yards through the air against the Dolphins with FIVE touchdowns through the air. Sure, he probably won’t ever be that efficient again as he completed a whopping 85% of his passes with a perfect Quarterback Rating…but the matchup this week is just as juicy against a Cardinals secondary missing Patrick Peterson and an increased-pace expected given the no-huddle, air raid offense called by Kliff Kingsbury on the other side. People can say that he only did it against the Dolphins all they want, but the fact is that the accuracy he demonstrated with his passes is going to be there in most games, and he also did virtually nothing with his legs, meaning we should expect the floor to remain high in this matchup thanks to the rushing ability. The secret is out after last week, and people now know that Lamar has a realistic chance to be the number one overall player in fantasy football this season, and I will continue to ride him in positive matchups such as the one on Sunday.
Josh Allen- “Cowboy Cam” overcame a dreadful first half to lead a stunning comeback for the Bills in Week 1, with 254 yards and one touchdown through the air while adding 38 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. The rushing upside is very real when it comes to Allen, just as it is for Jackson, and Allen will benefit from the more man-heavy scheme of the Giants defense that Dak Prescott absolutely shredded in Week 1. I was initially dead-set on Jackson as my cash game QB this week, but the savings you get with Allen do come in handy and it’s going to leave us with a tough decision. I plan on being well overweight on both of these QB’s in my overall player pool, however, so one move could be to hedge and have one in my cash game build on DK, and the other on FanDuel.
Note: I do think that other QB’s are in play for cash games this week — such as Jared Goff, but as of now these are the only two I am personally considering in my own cash game builds.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara- Kamara is set to be Week 2’s highest-owned Running Back, and for good reason after the Rams surrendered over 200 all-purpose yards to Christian McCaffrey in Week 1. This defense ranked just 27th in run-defense DVOA a year ago, and Kamara himself is a very similar player to McCaffrey given his shiftiness and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Off-season workload concerns were put to bed in Week 1 when Kamara saw over 75% of the snaps for the Saints, and he was able to top 20 PPR points without even finding the box, speaking volumes to his floor. Kamara may very well be my highest-owned player overall in Week 2.
Austin Ekeler- Not including Ekeler in my cash game builds was one of my biggest Week 1 mistake’s, and while we can’t expect three touchdowns from him again, the usage will be there especially with Hunter Henry (and potentially Mike Williams) out for this game. Ekeler saw over double the touches of Justin Jackson, and the Chargers will continue to prioritize getting the ball out quickly to him, something that the Cardinals exploited in this exact matchup with David Johnson last week. He saw a price increase, but it still feels too low — especially on DraftKings, and Ekeler has continued to grow on me as the week has progressed.
Mark Ingram- With us not having to deal with a mis-priced Josh Jacobs on FanDuel, one other option I’m considering is Mark Ingram. Ingram is slated as a massive home-favorite against a Cardinals defense we have attacked with Running Backs for the past few seasons, and will get a bump similar to Jackson due to the Cardinals fast-paced offense. Ingram looked great in Week 1 rushing for over 100 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries, and he saw five touches in the red zone as well. He didn’t record a catch, but also never really got the chance with the Ravens scoring so many long touchdowns, so I can see him picking up a few this week and I’m also expecting more than 14 carries. I don’t think his ownership will climb much even after a big game last week, and I’m comfortable with him in all formats — honestly, the lower-owned, the better.
Josh Jacobs (DK Only)- This is a DraftKings only play, with the site foolishly leaving Jacobs priced at under $5,000 before his dominant Monday Night Football performance against the Denver Broncos. This is the highest O/U of the week, and with the Raiders being too cheap across the board, it’s going to create some very chalky builds in cash games. I, personally, am a bit concerned with Jacobs one target in Week 1, and it’s easy to see that the Raiders will not be smashing the Chiefs like they did the Broncos, even at home. I am solely considering him for his price, but I think he, and most of the Raiders, are traps overall and I will be full-fading here in tournaments.
Note: It seems to me like Joe Mixon will be able to play this weekend, but should news break over the weekend that he will be out for this game, Gio Bernard will be elevated to a top-tier cash game play.
UPDATE #1: I’m adding Matt Breida to my cash game RB pool, on FANDUEL only.
Wide Receiver
Keenan Allen- Allen hauled in eight of 10 targets for 123 yards and a score in their overtime winner against the Colts last week, and could see those 10 targets expand even further with the Chargers likely down two more pass catchers (see above). The Lions were victimized in the slot by the Cardinals on multiple occasions last weekend setting up for a vintage 10+ catch Allen outing in Week 1 if all goes according to plans. I like the under in this game — as I noted on the Wednesday night Game Theory podcast, but it’s hard to ignore both Allen and Ekeler given their volume and with the Chargers target tree shrinking by the day.
Sammy Watkins- If you don’t plan on spending up for Keenan Allen, it’s likely because you are prioritizing Sammy Watkins who exploded for 198 yards and three scores in the absence of Tyreek Hill in Week 1, and will show no signs of slowing with Patrick Mahomes at Quarterback and Hill still sidelined. Now, we can’t expect three touchdowns again, the volume will certainly be there and he will continue to be a top-five/ten fantasy WR until Hill returns, locked in as the top WR on this explosive offense. There are concerns that others can steal his touchdowns in this matchup, but the situation is too good to ignore, especially in a game with a 52.5 O/U. We should feel good about Watkins having a chance to beat value even without finding the end zone, and with the Raiders pass rush still in question, Mahomes should have plenty of time to pick out Watkins on a deep ball or two.
Cooper Kupp- Kupp is my top Rams player on this slate in cash games (that title belongs to Brandin Cooks in GPPs) given that he drew 10 targets in Week 1 while leading the Rams receivers in snaps. He has a smash matchup in the slot against PJ Williams, someone that we have attacked dating back to last season. This is arguably the number one game this weekend in shootout potential, so grabbing at least one piece of LA to run-back with Alvin Kamara makes a ton of sense on any site.
Tyrell Williams- Our next guest on “Mis-Priced Raiders Players” is Tyrell Williams, who may end up as the highest-owned WR on the slate after a 6-105-1 night against the Broncos in primetime. With Antonio Brown out of town, this is definitely the Raiders player I feel best about, and it’s hard to ignore the price tag on DraftKings. FanDuel actually priced him appropriately (shocking) and I do not think he is a must-play there.
Tight End
Travis Kelce- Whether or not to spend up at Tight End is one of the biggest questions in cash games this week, with Travis Kelce another piece of the incredibly juicy Chiefs/Raiders game. Kelce ran extremely bad in Week 1 as he was drug down right before the end zone on one play, and then missed by Mahomes wide-open in the end zone on another play where he tried to no-look the ball his way rather than just hitting him for the score. It does feel like he is “owed” a TD (or two) this week after that game, and regardless his volume will only go up with Tyreek Hill sidelined for the foreseeable future. Kelce is averaging over 100 yards per game against the Raiders over their last three meetings, and the matchup gets an even bigger boost with star rookie Safety, Jonathan Abram, being placed on IR by Oakland this week. He’s a tough fade in any format, and someone I want to be overweight on come Sunday.
Evan Engram- I tagged Engram as my favorite overall Tight End play in this article last week, and he put up yet another double-digit fantasy point game without Odell Beckham, and continued his assault on the Cowboys posting an 11-116-1 line on the back of 30% of the teams targets. That 30% mark should do nothing but increase further this week, with Sterling Shepard joining Golden Tate on the sidelines for this game. The Giants simply have nobody else to throw (reliably) outside of Saquon Barkley and even in a tough matchup with an above-average Bills secondary, Engram is firmly in play in all formats from a volume standpoint alone.
Darren Waller/TJ Hockenson- Both of these guys enter the cash game conversation given their prices, and I would assume that this ends up being the chalky tier due to the possibilities it opens with roster construction. Both of these guys had huge Week 1 performances, and are in line to comfortably beat value even if they take a step back in production this week, which they certainly could. I think as of now that Waller will end up as the higher-owned option, but I’m going to personally have to lean towards Hockenson as I am not looking to play three Raiders players in cash games this weekend. Both are great cash game options, it just depends on what you want to do with your build.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
