Ownership rates have a strong correlation with players hitting value, as DFS players tend to make wise investments with their money rather than flushing it down the toilet. So as you might expect, projected ownership rates give us a sneak preview of who will be the wisest cash game plays. On the flip side, it will help us target contrarian GPP options who may slip under the radar and enable us to win a couple hundred thousand dollars. Let’s dive in position by position to see what the weekend has in store for us.
Get our complete projected ownership report here 
Quarterback
There are a handful of solid options this week in both cash games and GPP. This list has to start with Alex Smith, who has at least 15 fantasy points in every game and has a terrific matchup against a shoddy Giants defense. Tom Brady has also been exceptionally consistent and has an excellent matchup against the Raiders in what could be a shootout. Picking between them and some of the others may be difficult, but I’d advise you to build the rest of your lineup first then let the tiebreaker be who fits best into your remaining budget.
Ownership rates have a strong correlation with players hitting value, as DFS players tend to make wise investments with their money rather than flushing it down the toilet. So as you might expect, projected ownership rates give us a sneak preview of who will be the wisest cash game plays. On the flip side, it will help us target contrarian GPP options who may slip under the radar and enable us to win a couple hundred thousand dollars. Let’s dive in position by position to see what the weekend has in store for us.
Get our complete projected ownership report here
Quarterback
There are a handful of solid options this week in both cash games and GPP. This list has to start with Alex Smith, who has at least 15 fantasy points in every game and has a terrific matchup against a shoddy Giants defense. Tom Brady has also been exceptionally consistent and has an excellent matchup against the Raiders in what could be a shootout. Picking between them and some of the others may be difficult, but I’d advise you to build the rest of your lineup first then let the tiebreaker be who fits best into your remaining budget.
Running Back
There are options galore in GPP contests, but cash game lineups will be a challenge to build because there just isn’t a ton of reliability at the top. Kareem Hunt has a terrific matchup and will likely be the most used player as a result, but I am not willing to trust him enough to use in cash games. The same is true for Kamara, who has been tremendous, but doesn’t get enough touches to scream safety. Your best bet may be to spend down at the position on feature backs and spend up everywhere else.
Wide Receiver
Almost unbelievably, we project 11 players to have at least 10% ownership this week at wide receiver. That is in no way typical and it tells us that there are no must-plays and plenty of quality options. Tyreek Hill is a great play in GPP contests, but using him in cash games is a daring move. If you are using cash games, I’d avoid him and focus on the players who are sure bets to see 8+ targets in good matchups like Mike Evans, Michael Thomas and Devante Parker, who very rarely bust and all have major upside this week.
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Tight End
You may be caught up entirely in Travis Kelce, and for good reason, and his matchup against the Giants might make him the best play of the year, but don’t forget about four other players who are all also great plays. The list starts with Rob Gronkowski who gets a lousy Raiders tight end defense. Evan Engram is still a solid price and is getting too much volume to ignore, then there are Jared Cook, who has been blazing, and Cameron Brate, who has another top-notch matchup against the Dolphins. It is hard to go wrong at the position this week.
Defense
You can play games if you want and risk your lineup on Cincinnati or the Chargers’ mediocre defense against crummy quarterbacks, but you will be fading obvious chalk, as Jacksonville has the top projected fantasy points of the season at the position. Not only is Deshone Kizer the worst quarterback in the NFL and the Jags the top defense in maybe two decades, but they will be playing in heavy wind and some snow.
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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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