daily fantasy sports articles

Week 5, and it’s the final mega slate for a while, with the first of the bye weeks commencing in week 6. Last week, the totals finally started to increase, with the game average increasing by around a touchdown to 48.9 in the daytime Sunday slate. And whilst many thought this would be the catalyst to see the totals start climbing once again, it hasn’t quite worked out this way. Whilst totals are being lined across the board slightly higher by the books, they are still anticipating scoring to be down on years gone by, and as such finding value is just that little bit trickier.

Last week we had some great selections, interspersed with some duds, so we will hope to be a little more consistent this week. Draftstars are ponying up once again, with a $50,000 slate for Monday morning, with a first prize of $4,935. There’s plenty of other contests that might tickle your fancy, so get on over to Draftstars and get involved.
 

Quarterback

Tom Brady - $13,060

TB12 finally broke out last week, with his first score over 15 this season. There is surely no coincidence that this was the first game he had his best two receivers back, with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both playing a substantial portion of the offensive snaps for the Buccaneers. This continues in week 5, and with a matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, I expect the GOAT to eat in fantasy. Atlanta are one of the poorer defences in the league according to DVOA, and Brady has never lost to the Falcons. In his past 4 games between the NFC South rivals, Brady has thrown for 15 touchdowns and 1,433 yards. With all the off-field drama and the Bucs starting 2-2, I expect a huge performance this week from Brady.

Josh Allen - $15,820

Was our QB1 last week, and despite only throwing for 213 yards and 1 touchdown, still managed to punch out 24.5 points. This guy is a do-it-all quarterback, and coming into a contest where his side is favoured by 14 points (largest spread all season), expect Allen to have a big game once again. The concern is the Bills will get out to an early lead and lean on the run game to ease past the Steelers, however even if that’s the case, Allen could have scored enough points early to leave you satisfied. The Steelers haven’t been horrible against opposing quarterbacks, however apart from a rusty Joe Burrow in week 1, they haven’t taken on any decent fantasy quarterbacks. That changes here.

Running Back

Nick Chubb - $13,880

Chubb has been on fire this season, second in rushing yards only to Saquon Barkley. He has run for over 100 yards in 3 of the 4 games so far this season, and in the only game he didn’t bring up the tonne, he ran for 87 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Jets. This week, Chubb comes up against one of the worst run defences in football, the Los Angeles Chargers. The past two games, the Chargers have given up 100-yard rushers, and I see it being 3 in a row here. Whilst he doesn’t get too involved in the pass game, there are easily enough explosive plays in his arsenal to be worth selecting as your running back this week.

Damien Harris - $9,550

Harris has been solid without being spectacular, as a third down scat back for the Patriots who gets the redzone snaps. Coming up against a Lions run defence that concedes two rushing touchdowns per game, I like the chances of Harris to sneak it into the endzone, whilst also getting enough snaps to get good rushing and receiving yardage. Not an option as your RB1, however has a solid floor for your RB2 at a decent price.

Austin Ekeler - $16,360

We picked him to get out of his early season funk last week, and he rewarded us with a massive 34.9 points. Whilst his usage rate last week didn’t change all that much from previous weeks, it was where and when he got his usage that was the difference. Ekeler was far more involved on early downs, whilst also running more routes per drop back. Ekeler also reclaimed all the redzone snaps, resulting in 3 total touchdowns. Another favourable matchup this week against a Browns defence that has struggled to contain running backs and receiving backs. An absolute consideration for your RB1 position or FLEX this week.

Wide Receiver

Cooper Kupp - $18,830

It’s hard to not have Cooper Kupp in your line-up right now, with his numbers mind blowing through the opening 4 weeks of the season. Last week, he caught 14 of 19 targets for 122 yards in a loss. The Rams offense is going through one man, and it’s Cooper Kupp. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kupp line-up on the outside for some snaps this week against Travon Diggs, who could struggle to cover the elusive wideout. Whilst I am a little concerned about the Cowboys defence stopping the Rams, it doesn’t seem to matter, as last week’s performance shows, with 29.2 points in a loss where the Rams didn’t score a touchdown.

Chris Godwin - $11,250

This is like the Tom Brady handicapping with Godwin having a great chance to go large against the Falcons. Godwin has slowly come back to form after injuries, and last week garnered 10 targets, the most of any Buccaneer. He will now primarily face rookie Dee Alford in the slot, and I expect Brady to once again get Godwin plenty of action. Over the past four games against the Falcons, Godwin has caught 28 receptions for 374 yards (93.5 per game) and 4 touchdowns. Brady and this offense love playing the Falcons, and I expect them to eat.

Terry McLaurin - $10,240

McLaurin has been used primarily as a deep threat this season, meaning his targets have dropped and his aDOT has increased to 15.6, good enough for 6^th in the league. This could be the week though for Scary Terry, as he takes on a Titans defence that is dead last in the league at defending the deep ball, according to DVOA. The three cornerbacks he will line up against this week in Kristian Fulton, Terrance Mitchell and Caleb Farley have an average passer rating allowed of 139.6. Carson Wentz has shown already he’s not afraid to air it out, and in a game where the Commanders may win, McLaurin could well be in for his biggest game all year.

DeVonta Smith - $9,290

We had Smith last week, and he stalled out, with only 3 catches for 17 yards. He has very much been rocks and diamonds this year, with scores of 0, 15, 33.9 and 4.7. Despite this, he is still warranted in selections as both a WR3 or FLEX with high upside, in an offense that is capable of putting up 30 points each week. His target share is still high (22%), whilst he is coming up against a bottom half of the league secondary in the Cardinals. He is by no means a set and forget WR2, however at this price he has a great upside that could put you over the top.

Tight End

Dallas Goedert - $8,940

In a tough week for tight ends, Goedert is a player who fits the bill with a good matchup and a solid offense this week. The Eagles and Jalen Hurts have been happy to use Goedert, who averages 5 targets per game and 4 receptions a contest. Is a high performer when it comes to yards after the catch, as he is second in the league to only Austin Ekeler in yards accumulated after the catch. The Cardinals are the second worst team for giving up fantasy points to a tight end this season, and Goedert should once again get plenty of targets.

Logan Thomas - $7,160

Thomas is a route running tight end, with his route run rate sitting at over 73% of snaps last week. Whilst he’s not a high-end tight end for this, or any slate, this week he gets a great matchup against the Titans. The Titans rank 32^nd and last in DVOA against tight ends, whilst conceding the highest catch rate to tight ends in the NFL. Thomas can go deep, and is also a viable option in the redzone for the Commanders. It’s a tough slate for tight ends, so don’t expect too much this week.

D/ST

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles currently have the best D/ST in DFS so far this season, and I’m struggling to find a reason not to back them here. I cannot see the Cardinals getting past 17 in this game, as they have shown absolutely nothing apart from scoring in garbage time. They have so far scored 33 points through 4 games in quarters 1-3, for an average of just over 8 points. After almost getting beaten from behind in week 1, the Eagles have really cleaned up their late game defence, only allowing 15 points in the final quarters of their past 3 games. I trust the Eagles defence to shut the Cardinals down, and to also continue their trend of creating takeaways on the defence.