Photo courtesy of XFL.com
Written by: Nikunj Patel @NickOfTimeDFS
Like last week, I’ll be posting my final lineups on Twitter @NickOfTimeDFS so follow me there for that, injury updates and other pertinent information. Feel free to reach out with any questions as well. I also have a weekly average stat sheet for each team on my profile, if you can’t find it just shoot me a message.
Favorite plays:
Cardale Jones: Before week 3, Jones was a good quarterback on a team that loves to throw. This team is still good, they just had a bad week. With the performance that they had last week, the DC players’ price slightly decreased meaning you get more room than usual when playing these guys. At $19, Jones looks like a solid play at a lower cost. Walker, of course, is the safest, by far and always has the potential to break the slate so play Walker if you don’t feel like taking a risk. Everybody will be on Walker so if he does well, great, and if he doesn’t, still great because everyone else had him too.
RBs: STL is a run-first team. Both Jones and Michael can reach their value. I might even play both running backs. The upside of Jones is he gets more endzone looks than Michael which makes his price justifiable, but like we saw last week, both can score. Dunbar is a player who should get plenty of targets with Dallas facing Houson.
WRs: Houston vs Dallas. This is the game to target for your pass catchers. This has the potential to become an absolute shootout and I am all here for it. Through 3 weeks, Dallas has attempted 124 passes - that’s most in the league and 17 more pass attempts than 2nd place, who surprisingly, is actually Tampa Bay. Which brings me to Tolliver. Cornelius is getting the start this week and Tolliver seems to be his favorite target.
TEs: Parham.
Value/Sleeper Plays:
Brandon Silvers: Silvers doesn’t look terrible like a certain NY QB and could reach his value at $17 with Seattle being 10 point underdogs. I’d stack him with Austin Proehl since he should receive a major share of the targets.
Brandon Barnes: Nelson Spruce owns 27% of the target share and that has to go somewhere. I can see Barnes getting a few extra targets this week since the focus will be on Smallwood and McBride.
NY: Sigh. Last week I put McGloin and McKay here and boy did they suck. McKay was targeted TWICE the entire game and his first reception was in the second half. Being the team’s supposed #1 WR, that is absolutely ridiculous. I could rant on and on about this but I’ll leave you with this: Duke offers a decent floor since he seems to be getting the screens and check down receptions which could build up considering the QB play from the Guardians. The running backs offer pretty good value, especially Cook if Victor sits out. That’s something to keep an eye out for.
SJ Green: Tampa Bay acquired SJ Green last week and reports state he will be playing in this game. We don’t know the extent but I would guess maybe 15-20 snaps. He’s a veteran receiver who has amassed over 10,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in his career in the CFL so he knows what he’s doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he catches a touchdown in his first game.
Nick Holley: Like, I mentioned earlier, HOU vs DAL is the game to target for WRs. Holley is a great value play and should see more than his usual 4.3 targets per game.
Josh Crockett: For two weeks in a row now, he’s been getting multiple deep looks and he would’ve had a TD if it weren’t for a bad pass (Badet would have had a TD if Jones threw a better ball and I would’ve made a couple grand but let’s try and forget about that). I’m thinking 3rd time’s the charm for Crockett. He’s priced at only $12 and opens doors for other players you want to pay up for.