Matt Giraldi | Fri, Sep 18th 2020, 10:16am EDT

FanDuel NFL Cash Game Lineup Advice: Week 2 (2020)

Week 1 saw a lot of chalk hit as a lot of teams looked like they were playing in their second game of the preseason. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from the early part of this season other than to expect the unexpected.

Of course, injuries also factored in heavily. Players missed Week 1, players left Week 1, and others made it through but have now found themselves either out for Week 2 or in danger of missing it.

As referenced last week, the inactive list is your best friend, and it will continue to be your best friend this season. Always be willing to adjust to breaking news. Personally, I was 50/50 on playing the Washington Football Team defense. Once Lane Johnson and Miles Sanders were ruled out, they became the de facto cash defense for me. While I still kept Boston Scott as a cash play, DeSean Jackson’s upside lost some of its luster.

As Bill Belichick would say though: “We’re on to Week 2.”

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Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott (DAL): $8,300 vs. Atlanta Falcons
If you’re playing a cash game this weekend, have exposure to this game. One of the best possible ways to do so is by taking Prescott against a Falcons pass defense that will likely be targeted in DFS all season long. Pairing Prescott with one (or more) of his triplets at wide receiver isn’t a bad idea either, particularly with their prices.

Josh Allen (BUF): $8,200 @ Miami Dolphins
Allen might be one of my favorite plays this week in both cash and tournaments. In his four starts against the Dolphins, he racked up 318 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Allen has also thrown for at least 200 yards and two touchdowns in each meeting.

Speaking of throwing, did you know that last week was the first time that Allen surpassed 300 passing yards in a single NFL game? Allen led the NFL last week in play-action attempts, completions, and passing yards, according to PFF. The offense as a whole changed for Allen, as he wasn’t taking a bunch of deep shots either against the New York Jets. Allen’s aDOT has decreased as well since 2018, resulting in improved accuracy (perhaps one of the biggest knocks on him thus far).

Allen led the NFL last week with a hearty 3.08 seconds to throw the ball according to Next Gen Stats, and it showed. Buffalo’s offensive line played extremely well throughout the game, and they subjected Allen to only three sacks and four quarterback hits. The Dolphins’ defense will likely run into a similar issue with getting consistent pressure on Allen this week. Fire him up.

Other notables: Matt Ryan (ATL): $7,700 @ DAL; Jared Goff (LAR): $7,300 @ PHI; Aaron Rodgers (GB): $7,900 vs. DET

Running Backs

Jonathan Taylor (IND): $5,800 vs. Minnesota Vikings
While Taylor saw only 35 percent of the snaps last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the loss of Marlon Mack will hurl Taylor into a far more prominent role sooner than he — and the team — expected. While all the talk about the Vikings’ Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers focused on the performance of Aaron Rodgers, the Vikings allowed the fourth-most rushing yards (160 yards excluding the two kneel-downs) in Week 1.

Fortunately, Taylor turned his limited snaps into a productive outing. Taylor had 15 touches (six receptions and nine rushing attempts) on his 26 snaps for 89 yards. This week, Taylor is priced as the RB20, and his teammate, Nyheim Hines, is priced as the RB24. Taylor is going to be chalk in cash, and he’s hard to go against in FanDuel’s half-point PPR scoring.

Derrick Henry (TEN): $8,300 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
There’s a ton of cheap options available at running back this week. If you’re paying up, though, it’s hard to overlook King Henry. Playing on 75 percent of the offensive snaps last week, Henry failed to find the end zone, but he did rush for 116 yards and catch three passes for 15 yards.

The receptions are a sight for sore eyes, especially considering that the Colts’ running backs had 17 receptions between the three of them. The Jaguars ranked 10th last week in rush defense DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. Last season, however, they were 31st in rush defense by the same metric. Over Henry’s last three games against the Jaguars, he has rushed for 441 yards on 53 carries (8.32 YPC) and has six rushing touchdowns.

Other notables: Ezekiel Elliott (DAL): $8,600 vs. ATL; Ronald Jones (TB): $5,900 vs. CAR; Benny Snell Jr. (PIT): $4,600 vs. DEN

Wide Receivers

Mike Evans (TB): $7,400 vs. Carolina Panthers
I honestly don’t know what more to say than: “Just plug in Mike Evans in Week 2 and move on.” But I’ll try to expand on that a bit.

First and foremost, Evans is priced as the WR7, and he’s $400 cheaper than teammate Chris Godwin (who is dealing with concussion symptoms). Second, he’s facing a Panthers secondary that doesn’t have a corner taller than 6’0 or over 200 pounds, and it’s now missing James Bradberry. Third, the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” treatment might be in play too after Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said, “I never want to come out of a game without 10 targets to Mike, at least.” Lastly, Evans saw 22 snaps in the slot last week against the Saints per PFF, which was the third most snaps in the slot in his career. Yes, please.

Davante Adams (GB): $8,600 vs. Detroit Lions
In the two games Adams has played against the Lions since Matt Patricia took over as head coach, Adams has posted a 9/140/1 and 7/93/1 box score. He had 12 and 13 targets, respectively, in those two games. Adams is coming off a Week 1 win where he caught 14 passes on 17 targets for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

This week, he may line up across from Amani Oruwariye, who did not fare well against the Chicago Bears last week. With Desmond Trufant nursing a hamstring injury and Justin Coleman on (short-term) IR, the Lions are bleeding at cornerback right now. Jeff Okudah could make his NFL debut, but throwing the rookie against one of the best receivers in the NFL, his first time out may not produce the desired results for the Lions.

There is an unbelievable amount of value this week. Getting Adams into a lineup is not difficult at all.

Other notables: Michael Gallup (DAL): $6,000 vs. ATL; Parris Campbell (IND): $5,300 vs. MIN; Marquise Brown (BAL): $6,200 @HOU

Tight Ends

Dallas Goedert (PHI): $5,500 vs. Los Angeles Rams
While Zach Ertz is, and will continue to be, an elite option at tight end, Goedert isn’t that far behind him in the pecking order. Particularly as it pertains to the Eagles’ passing game.

Last week against the Washington Football Team, Goedert had eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Goedert played just four fewer snaps than Ertz, but he led the team with a 21.43 percent target share. He also had the ninth-most yards after the catch in Week 1. The Eagles led the NFL running “12” personnel in Week 1 with a whopping 44 snaps (66%) using Warren Sharp’s personnel grouping statistics. The next closest team had just 27 snaps (40%). This wasn’t just the case because of Lane Johnson’s injury, either. Last season, the Eagles led the NFL in “12” personnel snaps as well.

Logan Thomas (WAS): $4,700 @ Arizona Cardinals
Thomas played 74 percent of the snaps on offense against the Eagles Week 1, and he led the team in targets and air yards. He ran a route on 30 of 36 passing plays and was second among tight ends in the percentage of his team’s air yards (31.7%), behind only New Orleans Saints tight end Jared Cook. Five of Thomas’ targets came on third down.

Now he gets the Cardinals, a team that was gashed by tight ends all season last year. While Arizona didn’t get burned last week, that could also be partially explained by the injury sustained by San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle. The 49ers tight ends still caught six passes for 56 yards, however. If you’re looking to jam in one more cheap option this week, Thomas is definitely in play. This game has seen the Vegas point total rise by two full points, and it even touched 48 points earlier in the week. This might be the last week that he’s this affordable, especially if his usage mirrors Week 1.

Other notables: Mark Andrews (BAL): $7,500 @ HOU; Hunter Henry (LAC): $6,100 vs. KC

Defense/Special Teams

Washington Football Team D/ST: $3,700 at Arizona Cardinals
They’re cheap. They just got eight sacks against the Eagles (and a decimated offensive line).

Kansas City Chiefs D/ST: $4,300 @ Los Angeles Chargers
The Chiefs defense got good pressure Week 1. Now they get a Chargers team that just lost its starting center. If you’re paying up for a defense, the injury bug that has repeatedly bitten the Chargers over the years just gave everyone an easy out.