What’s up everyone? Welcome into my third 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 and final thoughts cheat sheets for every main slate, you can click here.
Quarterback
Josh Allen- People are finally starting to catch onto Allen, and he is at the top of my board again this week against the Las Vegas Raiders. I absolutely love what Brian Daboll has done with this Bills offense this season, and we can’t ignore how good Allen has been throwing the ball deep. I pretty much exclusively use QB’s with rushing upside in cash games these days, and Allen will continue to log heavy red zone work with his legs. This Raiders secondary took a hit losing Damon Arnette to injury, and Allen should have John Brown ready to go for Week 4. This total has shot up to 52.5, and I would be fine rolling with him on either site in my main build — in a stack or naked.
Joe Burrow- Burrow will 100% not be owned in cash games, but I’m completely fine taking a stand and trusting my research. This is a dream matchup for Joey the Kid, who comes into Week 4 ranking second in the NFL in pass attempts (141). The Jags are allowing opposing QB’s to complete over 75% of their passes. While I love this spot through the air, I like it even more on the ground. Burrow has more attempts than guys like Watson and Dak Prescott this season, and Ryan Fitzpatrick just shredded them on the ground in their last game. This is the perfect spot for Burrow to get his first NFL win at home, and I think he can do it in dynamic fashion. He is my favorite play on the Week 4 main slate, and I love him in stacks with Tyler Boyd and DJ Chark.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (DK)- “Fitzmagic” is a DK-only play priced at only $5,400 against the Seahawks. Only the Atlanta Falcons have allowed more DraftKings points to QB’s this season than the Seahawks, and that seems really bad when you bake in that Dak Prescott ran three touchdowns in vs Atlanta. We’ve seen hot stretches from Fitz before, and after a mini-bye following a Thursday night win over Jacksonville, I will be considering him heavily for my main lineup.
Other Options: Russ Wilson, Deshaun Watson
Running Back
Zeke + Kamara- These are two of the most obvious plays on the slate, and I can’t see constructing an optimal lineup without both of them — especially on DraftKings. Zeke’s run efficiency will get a major boost if Tyron Smith is indeed active, and his role is secure with career-high passing game usage. Kamara has nine and 14 targets over the last two weeks sans Michael Thomas, and MT has been ruled out again this week. The Lions are one of our favorite matchups for opposing backs, remember Kenyan Drake last week? And his ceiling is much higher than his $8,000 price tag.
Kenyan Drake- I’m not sure if I personally will end up here, but Drake is 100% playable in all formats. The Panthers continue to get gashed on the ground, having allowed a rushing touchdown in 14 straight games. His lack of passing game involvement has capped his upside, but we should see scoring opportunities here and a spike in efficiency.
Mike Davis (DK)- Davis has been used like CMC since he went down with an injury, racking up 16 targets over the last two games. The Cardinals have coughed up an average of 67 receiving yards per game to running backs this season. He was on the field over 80% of the time, and there is seemingly no threat behind him to take work. He makes more sense on DK, where we get a full point per reception.
Darrell Henderson- Henderson is someone I’m taking a stand with this week, and I love this spot against the Giants. NYG has faced the ninth-most rush attempts in 2020, and now match up with the Rams who have been the most run-heavy team in the NFL through three weeks. They are double-digit home favorites against a horrible offense, so we should expect another run-heavy game-script from Sean McVay. Henderson has taken a commanding lead in this backfield race, and with Cam Akers out again, he is less likely to be trolled.
Note: We could get some more value should Joe Mixon (Q) miss. Be sure to be in Discord on Sunday morning!
Other Options: Dalvin Cook
Wide Receiver
Tyler Lockett/DK Metcalf- I don’t need to go into a ton of detail as to why these two are cash game plays, and I love both this week against the Dolphins. Miami has been flamed in the slot this season, and Metcalf’s outlook improves with Byron Jones out for this game. The Seahawks defense has forced them into shootouts every game this season, and I’m confident that the Dolphins can put up enough points to keep them in the game. Lockett makes more sense on the full-PPR scoring of DraftKings, while Metcalf is a better play on FanDuel. I would love to get to one of them in cash games if possible.
Will Fuller- This is a potential explosion spot for Fuller, and if I don’t end up on Watson I would feel safe getting some exposure to him through Fuller. We’ve seen massive games in the past from him, and we can take advantage of recency bias after a slow start to 2020. He’s had a nightmare stretch of matchups, but is set to get loose against a leaky Vikings secondary. They have struggled to defend speed all season, which bodes well for Fuller — a 4.32 speedster. I think Cooks could end up pretty popular, but I prefer Renfrow (see below) in that tier and am planning on being overweight to Fuller.
DJ Moore- Moore is a better play on DraftKings, where he might be the highest-owned receiver on the slate at a sub-$6,000 price tag. He’s yet to have a big game, but his metrics will tell you a breakout is looming. He’s second in the NFL with a 49% share of the Panthers Air Yards, and the state of the Panthers defense should keep them throwing throughout the game. We’ve seen a few wideouts have monster games against this Cardinals secondary, notably Terry McLaurin, and it’s important to not forget how high Moore’s ceiling really is.
Hunter Renfrow- I’m surprised I haven’t seen more buzz on Renfrow this week, but I have been in my bunker drowning out outside noise. He posted a 6-84-1 line in Week 3, and gets a bump with the Raiders likely missing Henry Ruggs in addition to Bryan Edwards. The Bills have been gashed in the slot all season, coughing up big games to Jamison Crowder, Isaiah Ford and Cooper Kupp. Even with two receivers out, Renfrow will remain in the slot in Sunday and actually has a ceiling at this price tag.
Other Options: Tyler Boyd, Odell Beckham
Tight End
Mike Gesicki- Tight end is straightforward for me this weekend, with two options standing out above the rest. Gesicki is leading the Dolphins in team share % of Air Yards and targets. He’s basically playing exclusively in the slot, which is one of the best matchups on the slate. Seattle has been victimized in the slot all season, and Gesicki is basically a $5K wide receiver in an expected shootout.
Logan Thomas- Thomas was already on my radar, but now we have the news that Steven Sims is out and Terry McLaurin is also in jeopardy of missing the game. Despite lackluster results, Thomas has seen increasing routes run weekly and is top-five at this position in target share. The weak spot of the Ravens defense has been in the middle of the field this season, and I think Thomas is too cheap once again.
Other Options: Darren Waller (I’m underweight)
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
