It’s time for the week four 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 Marcus Mariota, we did pretty well last week buying Jarvis Landry and leaving Larry Fitzgerald. So let’s keep the momentum going with our look into the fourth week of the 2016 DFS NFL season.
QUARTERBACK
BUY: Philip Rivers Chargers VS Saints
Salary DraftKings $6,900 FanDuel $8,500.
Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers return home after a tough loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Rivers is off to a fantastic to the 2016 season with a 109.3 quarterback rating. With a game against the New Orleans Saints on tap week four, Rivers should only improve on his great start. The Saints have allowed nearly 450 yards and 30 points against per game. This is by far the best matchup for any quarterback this week.
LEAVE DRY: Matt Ryan Falcons VS Panthers.
Salary DraftKings $7,000 FanDuel $7,900.
So let’s be honest here, Matt Ryan has looked the best he ever has through three weeks. He is completing over 70% of his passes, has nearly 1000 yards and has thrown for seven touchdowns to only one interception. So why is he a “Leave Dry” this week? It’s because he has faced the leagues 19th, 31st and 32nd ranked defenses through three weeks. Week four has Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons at home against an angry Carolina Panthers third ranked defense. The defending NFC champs are 1-2 and coming off a 22-10 loss at home to the Minnesota
Vikings. Expect the Panthers to make things very difficult for Ryan and the Falcons resulting in his first bad outing of the season. Better Options other than the aforementioned Philip Rivers include Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford and Ben Roethlisberger.
RUNNING BACK
BUY: Matt Jones Redskins VS Browns
Salary DraftKings $4,300 FanDuel $6,600
The Washington Redskins got a much needed win last week against the New York Giants. Despite reports of dissension in the Redskins locker room, Washington stepped up on offense and defense and made the plays necessary to win. Now in come the Cleveland Browns. In week three Kirk Cousins righted the ship offensively, this week it will be Matt Jones. Jones has shown hints of breaking out as his yards and touches have increased each game since week one. The Browns are giving up nearly 110 yards per game on the ground and this is the perfect matchup for the once hyped running back to break out. His production will be a steal for DraftKings owners this week.
LEAVE DRY: Matt Forte Jets VS Seahawks
Salary DraftKings $6,600 FanDuel $6,900
Matt Forte has been the top offensive weapon for the New York Jets early in the season. He looks younger, healthier and revitalized in New York. Week four presents a huge test for Forte and the Jets as they host the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are banged up offensively, however their defense has been rock solid through three games. Seattle has given up a league low 250 yards per game to opposing offenses. As well as a very low 87.7 yards per game on the ground. Ryan Fitzpatrick is coming off a career worst six interception performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. Pete Carroll and the Seahawks will not allow Forte to beat them this week. Find yourself a better option such as C.J. Anderson, Melvin
Gordon or Jordan Howard.
WIDE RECEIVER
BUY: Travis Benjamin Charges VS Saints
Salary DraftKings $5,900 FanDuel $6,600
When playing DFS finding the perfect QB/WR stack is a huge key to success. So here it is. This week you need to stack Philip Rivers and Travis Benjamin. In two full games since the San Diego Chargers lost Keenan Allen, Benjamin has caught 10 balls on 13 targets for 197 yards and two touchdowns. He has done a great job stepping into the number one receiver role. Along with Melvin Gordon and Tyrell Williams, Benjamin is salivating at the chance to play against the New Orleans Saints defense. This game will be very high scoring and Benjamin will be a huge reason as to why.
LEAVE DRY: Emmanuel Sanders Broncos @ Buccaneers
Salary DraftKings $6,400 FanDuel $6,900
Emmanuel Sanders is coming his best performance of the season. Last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Trevor Siemian connected with Sanders nine times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Now he faces a Tampa Bay defense ranked 25th in DFS against wide receivers. So why am I telling you to sit him? It’s very easy, Value! Off that performance last week Sanders is sure to be one of the highest owned wide receivers in DFS week four. It will be very tough for him to repeat his performance from last week. So his salary jumps from week three to week four, but his production drops? No thanks! Also this is the second near cross country trip in two weeks for the Denver Broncos. This game has “trap” written all over it. Other options include Kelvin Benjamin, Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller.
Scott Burke- DFS enthusiast, All-around sports Junkie.
