By Kyra Wiaterowski
Welcome to my first ever edition of Kyra’s Kash Grabs. Being the new kid is only cool when you go to a brand new school and everyone wants to get to know you and talk to you to find out what you are all about. However, in the fantasy industry, it is more like “Well, where is your credibility, bro? Why should I listen to you? Do you even have 50,000 followers?” And to that I say, no. But I have most definitely put in more than 50,000 hours of work in my lifetime to do what I do, and am more than excited to help you make smart and educated decisions while finding value in your DFS lineups.
So, here we go! It’s Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season and it’s another week of this inevitable pattern of COVID scares to make us worry about which teams are now on a bye week. The year 2020 has decided to take us on its never-ending emotional roller coaster as we clench tightly to our fantasy seasons, hoping that they continue on.
Speaking of 2020, one thing that Week 5 does bring to us is the ability to see things a little bit more clearly for what they are. There are a couple of things that follow “death, taxes, and tight ends scoring against the New Orleans Saints” that we should absolutely be targeting in our DFS lineups. We are able to spot some patterns and situations among NFL defenses that we want to get our hands on to give us some of the highest upside for the best value plays. In doing this, I will discuss what some of those weaknesses are, and I hope to bring to you the best bang for your buck in putting together a strong DFS lineup. I don’t recommend building a team on pure value alone because not all of these players are going to skyrocket you to victory. But if you can sprinkle in a couple here and there along with a few consistent studs, then you should be well on your way to the money. Time to kash out!
QUARTERBACKS
Teddy Bridgewater (DK:$5,900 / FD:$7,100)
Dang Atlanta, what happened? Sorry to be a mean girl, but right now Atlanta is giving up the third-most fantasy PPG to the QB position. So how can we not love Teddy here at this price point? I don’t think Carolina is nearly as bad of a team as we all suspected they’d be and they have the weapons to keep up with Atlanta’s offense in this divisional showdown. I am personally loving the idea of stacking him with waiver wire darling Robby Anderson or, dare I say it, D.J. Moore! The air yards are there… the talent is there… he is DUE and people have all but given up on the guy. I have more patience than most, so I’m willing to risk it for the biscuit or to get hurt again!
Daniel Jones (DK:$5,400 / FD:$7,000)
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, it’s true — I’m crazy. But hear me out! We know Daniel Jones hasn’t looked great at all in his first few games, and in his defense, he has played some pretty tough matchups to start the season. The Steelers, Bears, 49ers, and Rams haven’t been particularly generous to the QB position. But, you know who has? The Dallas Cowboys. They’re giving up the sixth-most fantasy PPG to QBs. Dallas has a big problem and it has little to do with its offense and everything to do with their defense. Dak and company should have no issue scoring, and that should leave Daniel Jones playing a game of catch up, and garbage-time points that Dallas should be more than willing to give him — considering they have not been able to stop the bleeding. I personally dig stacking him with another value play in Evan Engram or Darius Slayton. (More on those two later.)
Honorable mention: Matt Ryan (DK:$6,100 / FD:$7,700)
RUNNING BACKS
Jerick McKinnon (DK:$5,800 / FD:$6,400 )
McKinnon, to me, is in an absolute smash spot in this baby-soft matchup. We do have to pay attention to Raheem Mostert’s availability this week, but so far, he hasn’t practiced yet, so I am not all too confident that he will be able to play this weekend. Miami should not be up in this game with San Fran an 8.5 point favorite. With uncertainty at the QB position, I’m just really feeling McKinnon here.
David Johnson (DK:$5,200 / FD:$6,400)
This is like looking through a rack at TJ Maxx and seeing something name brand for dirt cheap and feeling like you got the ultimate steal of a deal. We just watched Joe Mixon explode and impose his will on this Jaguars defense, Myles Gaskin almost reached 100 all-purpose yards against them in Week 3, and there are similar stories for the RB’s in Weeks 1 and 2. What I’m getting at here is the Jags are no scaredy-cat versus the run, and DJ is way too cheap to not use him as a value play this week. The Texans might be a mess, and the WR situation is head-scratching, but DJ has been fairly consistent for us on that offense.
Honorable mention: Antonio Gibson (DK:$5,000 / FD:$5,800)
WIDE RECEIVERS
Laviska Shenault (DK:$4,500 / FD:$5,600)
A big-play threat and utilized in creative ways through the offense — yeah sign me up at this price point. This game could be a sneaky shoot out against a Houston Texans defense giving up a lot of points. Look for Minshew to stretch the field and for Shenault to become a beneficiary of some of those big plays.
Robby Anderson/D.J. Moore (DK:$5,900/$6,000) (FD:$6,200/$6,600)
Is it time for us in the fantasy community to accept that Robby Anderson is a better football player than D.J. Moore? Nah. Not yet! But they’re both in a mouth-watering spot as a great high upside DFS play for me this week. Have you ever heard the expression that someone is just “due”? I think D.J. Moore is just “due”. A lot of us have fallen off his bandwagon, but I’m still hanging on for one more week. If he can’t do what I think he’s capable of here, then I will let go of what coulda-shoulda-woulda been in DJ Moore. His slightly cheaper and more productive counterpart, Robby Anderson, is also a top-notch value play this week. Plug em’ in! Stack them with Teddy for the ultimate value play.
Honorable mention: Darius Slayton (DK:$4,800 / FD:$5,800)
TIGHT ENDS
Evan Engram (DK:$4,600 / FD:$5,500)
Oh yeah! The Jason Garrett revenge game! I say that sarcastically, but also may be serious. I love this price for Engram, especially with what we know about the Cowboys defense and Engram leading the Giants in targets. Defending the tight end position has been a weakness for the Cowboys and I think this is where we see Evan Engram utilized a lot and in a big way. I’m confidently inserting him into my DFS lineups.
Eric Ebron (DK:$4,000 / FD:$5,100)
Dirt cheap against a Philadelphia team who is giving up a plethora of fantasy points to the TE position. If you want to build a strong line up at the RB/WR positions and take a dart throw on a TE, then Ebron is in a good position to give you the ability to do just that.
Honorable mention: Dalton Schultz (DK:$4,800 / FD:$5,300)
D/ST
Indianapolis Colts vs Cleveland Browns (DK:$3,300 / FD:$4,500)
Kansas City Chiefs vs Las Vegas Raiders (DK:$3,500 / FD:$4,300)
Honorable mention: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Philadelphia Eagles (DK:$3,800 / FD:$4,400)
Looking for more Week 5 content? Be sure to check out Ryan’s Streams of the Week and Josh’s Confidence Plays!