Last week’s cash games were virtually won by having one of the three top defenses in your lineup. This week, as is almost always the case, should be decided more by skill. There are a few obvious plays, so don’t get cute at those positions, then take the value that comes to you for the rest of your lineup. This is how it all came together for me.

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Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers (GB @ ATL): $9,100

Tom Brady at New Orleans is a tremendous option to week too, but Rodgers throws more passes and is more consistent, plus we don’t have to worry about whether his arm might all of a sudden be done at 40 years old. Rodgers has torched the Falcons his entire career and is excellent in domes. This game has an absurdly high 55.5 over/under and should be kept close enough that the passes and touchdowns continue to pile up until the final whistle. Atlanta’s secondary has taken strides forward since Dan Quinn took over, but is still among the bottom 10 units in football so make sure to get this safe play in your lineup.

Running Back

Ty Montgomery (GB @ ATL): $6,500

It rarely makes sense to use a running back and quarterback from the same offense in your lineup, but we know the Packers will score somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 points, and with Montgomery’s cheap price, it works here so we can cover all possible touchdown avenues. Montgomery’s pass blocking took a big step forward this off-season so the Packers made it clear in Week 1 that they intend to use him as a workhorse. At this price, with his volume and in this game script, he is the top RB to own this week.

Christian McCaffrey (CAR vs BUF): $6,600

While there are better values to be found in players like Ezekiel Elliott (@ DEN), Marshawn Lynch (vs NYJ) and Jay Ajayi (@ LAC), putting both Rodgers and Gronk in our lineup forces us to go down to the safest running back under $7,000. You may not think of McCaffrey as safe because he isn’t a 20 carry workhorse, but he was on the field for a ton of snaps, whether out of the backfield or from the slot, and he has a great matchup at home against the dismantled Bills defense. He is a sure bet for 60+ total yards with a handful of receptions and a touchdown likely.

Wide Receiver

Larry Fitzgerald (ARI @ IND): $6,600

For the second straight week, Fitzgerald’s incredible salary makes him the top value at the position. He is projected for the 9th most points at the position this week, but is the 24th most expensive. With David Johnson and John Brown both ruled out, Fitz should get even more targets than usual, which is really saying something considering he led the NFL in receptions last season. The Colts proved last week when they surrendered 46 points to the lowly Rams offense, that they are among one of the worst defenses in the league, especially without Vontae Davis.

Demaryius Thomas (DEN vs DAL): $7,000

Thomas will likely be overlooked this week because Siemian is anything but safe and the Cowboys handled the Giants on prime-time football. Their secondary likely won’t keep that up, however. They were among the worst units in the league last year and didn’t make enough progress in the offseason to expect anything different in 2017. Thomas is consistently one of the most targeted receivers in football and was again in Week 1’s battle versus the Chargers. He can be relied on as a safe play in cash games and has a fairly lofty ceiling as well.

DeSean Jackson (TB vs CHI): $6,700

I imagine most of you will laugh at the notion of D-Jax being a cash game play any week, but the matchup and price point just make him too good to pass up. Let’s not forget that he has had dink and dunk passers, Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez throwing him footballs the last few years. He is a deep weapon that needs a QB like Jameis Winston and his big arm. In fact, he still has three 1,000+ yard seasons in his last four years despite the QB shortcomings and ended last year with four 100 yard games in his last six contests including a 114 yard outcome against the Bears. Chicago has been known to slow down #1 WRs while allowing #2 WRs to bust out so we should see some fireworks from him in his first game of the year.

Tight End

Rob Gronkowski (NE @ NO): $8,100

This is the most obvious play we may see all season. With some nice cheap options, you may be tempted to save some money, but again, don’t get too cute. Gronk is projected to have one of the best games of the season out of the position thanks to Edelman, Amendola and Mitchell all being out, plus the 57 over/under for the game and 32 point implied total for the Patriots. He is safe and has multi-touchdown upside this week, so build your lineup around him.

Kicker

Wil Lutz (NO vs NE): $4,700

When in doubt, use the kicker against the Patriots. They don’t give up many points, but a lot of that is because they are so great defensively in the red zone. In two of the last three seasons, they have allowed the most field goal attempts in football. Plus, there is the fact that this game has an amazing 57 over/under.

Defense

Baltimore Ravens vs CLE: $4,700

Last week, I was fortunate enough to use the Jaguars all over the place. This week, there are three strong options with the Seahawks (vs SF), Cardinals (@ IND) and the Ravens (vs CLE). All three are top-tier defenses and all three play bottom-tier offenses with turnover-prone quarterbacks. Perhaps the only thing separating the three are their prices, and the Ravens are the cheapest of the bunch. You can’t go wrong with any of these, but if I wanted to use Seattle or Arizona, I would have needed to downgrade a RB or WR to a more dangerous play.

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Thanks for reading. If you haven’t already, please check out the FantasyPros Football Podcast (below) that I co-host with Mike Tagliere. Good luck this season.

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