It’s time for the week five edition of “Buy or Leave Dry.” As we do every week, we take a look at some players to use and avoid when constructing your daily fantasy (DFS) teams for DraftKings and FanDuel. With the exception of Matt Ryan, we did pretty well last week buying Matt Jones and leaving Matt Forte. So let’s keep the momentum going with our look into the fifth week of the 2016 DFS NFL season.
QUARTERBACK
BUY: Derek Carr Raiders VS Chargers
Salary DraftKings $6,800 FanDuel $8,100.
Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders return home after back to back east coast wins against the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens. Oakland is 3-1 and off to a very good start to the season. Carr and the Raiders face the San Diego Chargers defense ranked 27th against the pass. In what should be a high scoring game look for the Raiders to move the ball through the air. Latavius Murray is not expected to play which should allow Carr to look for his wide receivers even more.
LEAVE DRY: Matt Ryan Falcons @ Broncos.
Salary DraftKings $7,100 FanDuel $7,700.
So for the second week in a row Matt Ryan falls in the “leave dry” category. Obviously we were very wrong last week as Ryan lit up the Carolina Panthers for 500+ yards in the air. This week the Atlanta Falcons travel to Denver to face the undefeated Broncos. The Denver defense has been spectacular through the first quarter of the season and are even more dominant at home. This is the ultimate litmus test for Ryan and the Falcons. While I do expect this game to be close, it is going to be very difficult for “Matty Ice” to move the ball through the air against the Denver secondary. Better Options other than the aforementioned Derek Carr include Philip Rivers, Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger.
RUNNING BACK
BUY: Jordan Howard Bears @ Colts
Salary DraftKings $5,200 FanDuel $7,200
Jordan Howard and the Chicago Bears travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts in week five. Chicago is coming off a gritty win against the Detroit Lions last week and now face a Colts team in desperate need of a victory. Howard in his first career NFL start looked very sharp last week running for 111 yards against the Lions. Howard should be in line for a very good game against the Colts 28th ranked defense against fantasy running backs. Howard shows good vision and ball catching ability which makes him a dual threat for the Bears out of the backfield.
LEAVE DRY: Matt Forte Jets @ Steelers
Salary DraftKings $6,200 FanDuel $7,100
Matt Forte comes into this game a little banged up and coming off very pedestrian performance against the Seattle Seahawks in week four. Forte and the New York Jets travel to Pittsburgh to face Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. While the Steelers defense does give up big plays through the air, they are ranked fourth in the league allowing only 78.3 rushing yards against. Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Keith Butler knows Forte is a big part of the Jets offense so look for the Steelers to focus on not letting Forte beat them. With Ryan Fitzpatrick struggling with interceptions, on paper this could be a long day for Forte and the Jets. Better Options include C.J. Anderson, Melvin Gordon and Eddie Lacy.
WIDE RECEIVER
BUY: Amari Cooper Raiders VS Chargers
Salary DraftKings $7,200 FanDuel $7,200
If you been following this column, you know that we like to find the QB/WR stack for your DFS lineups. Amari Cooper has been a bit of a disappointment early in the season not reaching the end zone. Michael Crabtree has emerged as a big target for Derek Carr and has gobbled up a lot of touchdowns fantasy owners were expecting to go Cooper’s way. This week against San Diego that all changes. With All-Pro cornerback Jason Verrett out for the season with a torn ACL, this is a big chance for Cooper to explode. DFS players are down on Cooper which should lead to low ownership %. Take advantage of that this week and put Amari in your lineup.
LEAVE DRY: T.Y. Hilton Colts VS Bears
Salary DraftKings $7,400 FanDuel $7,700
T.Y Hilton and the Indianapolis Colts return home after a long trip to London to face the Chicago Bears. Hilton has scored in back to back games and his proven to be a top target for Andrew Luck. The Bears quietly have allowed only 210 yards per game in the air and have been eight best in the league against fantasy wide receivers. The price for Hilton is a little high this week and even though there is potential for a good game, Hilton’s potential high ownership takes away any value for him this week. Other options include Jordy Nelson, Jordan Matthews and Travis Benjamin.
Scott Burke- DFS enthusiast, All-around sports Junkie.
