NFL Sunday is upon us, and a ripe 13-game slate awaits on DraftKings. I mainly happen to be a cash game player (roughly the top half of their field gets paid out) versus a tournament player (roughly top 20 percent get paid on a scale), so below I’ll provide you with some of the safest players on this slate that are on my radar:
QUARTERBACK
Patrick Mahomes ($7,000) vs. SF — He’s due for an obvious regression, but it’s unlikely to come in a nearly perfect home matchup against this swiss cheese 49ers defense.
Jimmy Garoppolo ($6,500) at KC — While Mahomes got all the hype, Big Ben actually outscored him in DraftKings points. KC is a dream matchup because we know they’ll put up points, leaving Jimmy G playing catchup against another horrible defense.
Drew Brees ($6,400) at ATL — The games in KC and ATL boast the highest projected totals on the slate. While a divisional matchup here has sometimes let us down when it comes to points on the board, Brees is a road underdog, playing indoors against a defense missing a couple key pieces.
Deshaun Watson ($6,100) vs. NYG — Watson had a bounce-back game in Week 2, but Week 3 sets up even stronger for him. He’s simply too underpriced for a home matchup against the woeful Giants.
Cam Newton ($6,000) vs. CIN — Cam’s price is down $900 since the start of the season, but with no real reason. Andrew Luck and Joe Flacco had good fantasy days against the Bengals, Cam should too — and his running abilities keep him as safe as anyone.
Matt Ryan ($5,700) vs. NO — Ryan carved up the Panthers for over 30 DK points last week, but somehow is well under $6k for a home matchup against the Saints. If you need to pay down at QB, this is the spot to do so.
RUNNING BACK
Alvin Kamara ($9,500) at ATL — Kamara has home run ability every time he touches the ball, and the Falcons allow the most catches to the RB position in the league. Kamara has the highest ceiling on the slate in this matchup.
Todd Gurley ($9,200) vs. LAC — While I prefer Kamara, Gurley is a nice pivot play to save $300. He’s in line for a big day against the Chargers, the question is can he outscore Kamara?
Kareem Hunt ($6,000) vs. SF — Hunt’s salary has plummeted since the start of the season, and he’s reached a salary we can’t ignore. In a high scoring game, you’d imagine Hunt can earn enough touches to have a big game. The 49ers have a poor rush defense, so the Chiefs may make a point of establishing Hunt.
Latavius Murray ($5,800) vs. BUF — While I’d prefer Murray to be $1,000 cheaper, Dalvin Cook will miss this game, leaving Murray as the starter. As 17-point favorites, we could see a ton of Murray pounding the rock in the second half.
Lamar Miller ($5,000) vs. NYG — The Giants allow 137 yards per game on the ground this season. Miller is slotted in to handle close to 80 percent of the snaps, so he’s much too underpriced at just $5k.
Corey Clement ($4,300) vs. IND — No Jay Ajayi and no Darren Sproles for the Eagles, which leaves Clement as the lead back. Be cautious as he might be limited with a quad injury of his own, but there’s huge upside after Clement showed a lot of promise in Week 2.
WIDE RECEIVER
Tyreek Hill ($8,500) vs. SF — Hill’s salary is absurd for someone with 14 targets on the season — up $2,000 since Week 1. That said, this defense stinks and we know he’ll be in position to make home run plays. Hill’s on the radar in tournaments to stack with Mahomes.
Julio Jones ($7,900) vs. NO — Julio may be the chalk play of the week at WR, as he’s pretty underpriced given the matchup. With 28 targets on the season, his salary is inexplicably low.
T.Y. Hilton ($6,700) at PHI — Hilton is a sneaky play, but has 11 targets and a touchdown in each game so far this season. Indy could be playing from behind in Philly, leading to a lot of throws downfield.
Nelson Agholor ($6,100) vs. IND — Carson Wentz is back, but Alshon Jeffery is not. Agholor is locked in as the Eagles top WR in an offense missing a lot of bodies. The matchup is also favorable.
Will Fuller ($5,900) vs. NYG — The second cornerback position might be the biggest hole in an already terrible Giants defense. Fuller had a huge day in his season debut last week, catching 8-of-9 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. He has an even higher ceiling in this matchup.
Cooper Kupp ($4,900) vs. LAC — Kupp is $600 cheaper than last week, but brings a very safe floor into this matchup with the Chargers. We’re underpaying for a guy that has an 11-115-1 line on the season on 15 targets.
Tyler Boyd ($3,700) at CAR — Boyd is playing on 81 percent of the Bengals’ snaps and caught 6-of-9 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown in Week 2. That type of production generally costs double what Boyd is priced at.
TIGHT END
Travis Kelce ($6,700) vs. SF — I don’t love paying up at TE with Gronk off the main slate, but Kelce is where I would if I had the salary. This KC/SF matchup has potential to be an insane shootout, and Kelce is fresh off a pair of scores against the Steelers.
Jared Cook ($4,000) at MIA — Cook didn’t fall as far of the radar as people think in Week 2, and has another terrific matchup for TEs this week. Something in-between is two performances so far on the season seems reasonable to expect.
Eric Ebron ($3,400) at PHI — Ebron is the absolute chalk this week. Jack Doyle was surprisingly ruled out on Friday, so Ebron should get the large majority of TE looks from Luck to himself.
Austin Hooper ($2,900) vs. NO — Hooper simply provides a way to get cheap exposure to this projected barn burner in Atlanta. He’s coming off a great game, and is a nice pivot off Ebron at an affordable salary.
D/ST
Vikings ($4,300) vs. BUF — I’ve mentioned targeting against the Bills every week in this segment. As 17-point road underdogs, give me the home defense facing them.
Bears ($3,500) at ARI — Chicago measures out as the best defense in the league by some metrics. The Cardinals have scored six total points this season … you do the math.
Cowboys ($2,200) at SEA — Here’s the cheap defense of the week if you need one. The Seahawks are a completely different team, and Dallas is solid on the defensive side of the ball.
