It’s almost time to fill out your daily fantasy football roster.
Don’t waste all your money on one or two players. Find the steals at each position to fill out your roster the best it can be to compete.
Here’s our steals at each position for week 3 of the NFL season.
Quarterback
Last week: Carson Palmer, 21.20 points
This week: Josh McCown, Cleveland, $23 (least expensive starting quarterback)
We understand that McCown isn’t a Pro Bowl quarterback. But during his short stint against the New York Jets defense, which has shown to be pretty good thus far this season, McCown was 5-for-8 with 49 yards passing and 23 yards rushing.
He is the cheapest starting quarterback option available and he’s facing one of the worst defenses in the NFL. With a value that high, it’s hard to pass him up at a relatively deep position anyway. We expect McCown to throw a few touchdowns and avoid turnovers during a win against the Raiders.
Running back
Last week: Chris Ivory, 6 points
This week: Latavius Murray, Oakland, $24
We’re staying with the Cleveland vs. Oakland theme so far this week, and exposing a quality matchup.
The Browns are the worst team in the NFL against the run, which also happened to be their main Achilles Heel last season, too. We anticipate the Raiders to utilize the running game early and often, especially since Cleveland should own a major edge between its secondary against the Raiders’ wide receivers.
Murray should log plenty of carries, and at that price, 20 other running backs have a higher price tag than him in daily fantasy football. Murray tallied 14.70 points last week and we anticipate him to keep churning out the points.
Wide receiver
Last week: Jarvis Landry, 11.60 points
This week: John Brown, Arizona, $19
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is hot. He would have put up even bigger numbers last week had the Chicago Bears not been so bad that the Cardinals had to start milking the clock early in the second half.
San Francisco should put up a little bigger fight, but we expect the Cardinals to sling the ball all over the field against San Francisco. Minnesota and Pittsburgh went into weeks 1 and 2 and threw the ball on the 49ers. We all saw how well that worked out last week for the Steelers.
The Cardinals will likely look to do the same, with Brown likely to be the biggest benefactor after Larry Fitzgerald went off last week against the Bears. Expect San Francisco to overcompensate toward Fitzgerald, allowing Brown to go wild against San Francisco.
Tight end
Last week: Tyler Eifert, 10.90 points
This week: Eric Ebron, Detroit, $14
Quarterback Matthew Stafford is singling out Ebron in the passing game.
Ebron has a touchdown in each of his first two games, and he’s not only getting a few looks. During a loss against Minnesota last week, Ebron collected 10 targets and hauled in five catches.
You could waste money on 19 other tights ends who are more expensive than Ebron in daily fantasy. Ebron will be featured heavily during the Lions game at home against the Denver Broncos. Spend your money on other positions. Take the cheap option at tight end.
Flex
Last week: Ameer Abdullah, 1.80 points
This week: Joseph Randle, Dallas, $20
With the cheap price (there are 31 running backs more expensive than him), Randle should be a decent move this week, and with a little luck, he could prove big dividends.
Without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, the Cowboys will focus even more on the rush game. The only issue with Randle is that he has split plenty of carries with Darren McFadden this season, but last week against Philadelphia, he was by far the number one option for Dallas.
Sometimes in daily fantasy you have to be willing to gamble a bit. This might require some luck, but if Randle develops the hot hand, he will put up several points for fantasy football owners.
Defense
Last week: New England Patriots, 13 points
This week: Arizona Cardinals, $12
With 13 other defenses more expensive, Arizona should have the best value going into Sunday.
Let’s face it, its opponent of San Francisco doesn’t have much firepower. The 49ers were inept on offense last week against Pittsburgh before putting up some garbage time numbers. Against Minnesota in week 1, it was more about the Vikings being unable to stop the run than the 49ers having much offensive ability.
The Cardinals should be able to create some turnovers and limit the 49ers’ offense in this game. The only fear is whether the Cardinals get up early and San Francisco once again piles up the garbage time stats. Don’t worry about that this Sunday and take the Cardinals for big defensive points.
