Prime picks – Week 3

Each week I’ll bring you a mix of DFS plays that I like for cash and tournament games. I won’t be focusing too much on the elite plays such as Christian McCaffery, Lamar Jackson and Michael Thomas instead, I’ll look for value in matchups that have the potential to be high scoring and return good points to dollar ratio. If we can find that we can open up our lineups to be built better. Through the season I’ll also review my previous weeks plays so you can judge for yourself how good my takes are. 

Tom Strachan

@BestBallUKNFL

Week 2

A solid week with some great plays to build lineups around. Kyler Murray was one of the plays of the week. At running back all three of Zeke, Taylor and Gordon did nicely across their differing prices. At wide receiver, we had a couple of busts Michael Gallup and the super cheap flyer on Mike Williams. Thankfully identifying Diontae Johnson as a great play smashed. At tight end, Mark Andrews was a poor play with just one catch and Logan Thomas did just about enough to not destroy your lineup. 

Plays so far:

Great plays: 5

Good plays: 6

Bad plays: 6

Week 3

Carson Wentz – $5800

Yes, it’s been rough so far for Wentz, but he catches a Cincinnati pass rush that failed to put up a single QB hit against the Browns. At home against a terrible defence, this should be a get right spot for Wentz. I wouldn’t expect his ownership to be high in cash or tournaments due to recency bias, but for me, this looks like a solid play. 

Dak Prescott – $7200

Mike McCarthy has yet to wow us with his new analytical mind, but it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the cowboys are putting up a fast rate of play each week. Seattle has allowed two top seven QB ratings in their first two matchups. Their defence is nothing to be afraid of. This game is one I’ll look to for various stacks. 

Miles Sanders – $6400

The Bengals have been woeful against the run so far this season, falling victim to the Chargers and the Browns, to the tune of 358 rushing yards allowed through two games. On his return from injury, Sanders was fed the ball twenty times on the ground and a further three receptions on seven targets. Sanders will be highly owned and is a key cash gameplay.

Jerrick McKinnon – $4900

McKinnon’s injury issues seem to be a distant memory as he looks set to be the top dog in San Francisco, whilst Coleman and Mostert are out. Jeff Wilson will likely mix in, but with Nick Mullens at QB, don’t be surprised to see McKinnon handle a lot of touches against a Giants team who are yet to get going.

K.J Hamler – $3000

This is as cheap as it gets on Draftkings. After Courtland Sutton’s unfortunate injury Hamler is prime for more opportunities. He’ll be playing with Jeff Driskel at QB against a tough Tampa Bay defence so we’re probably not looking at this as a cash play, but he has all the hallmarks of a great tournament play that will allow you to spend your cash elsewhere. 

Diontae Johnson – $5400

When a player hits like Johnson did last week, you know the ownership will jump. Still, Johnson gets to take on a deeply average secondary in the Texans who are on the road in Pittsburgh. Through two games Johnson has a huge 23 targets, for 14-149-1td. Do I need to say anymore?

N’Keal Harry – $4200

Harry gets a home matchup against the feisty Las Vegas Raiders and will look to capitalise on a reasonable start to the season. Through two games he has 18 targets, managing 13 catches for 111 yards. This is another great low price, high upside play. The Patriots seem determined to feed Harry high volume short passes that present RAC opportunities. It’ll take conviction to play him in cash, but for tournaments, I’m interested. 

Hunter Henry – $4800

Despite the uncertainty at quarterback, it seems Henry will be involved regardless of who starts. Through two games he has seen eight targets in each. Turning them into 11-156. The Panthers defence has been as bad as expected and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Henry get his first touchdown of the season. 

Mo Alie-Cox – $3800

I missed the train on Alie-Cox last weekend and I definitely kicked myself for it. He turned six targets into 5-111, grabbing that nice little hundred-yard bonus. This week he plays the Jets who were just dismantled by the 49ers backups including Jordan Reed who went 7-50-2td. As long as Jack Doyle misses out, start with confidence in cash or tournaments.

Flyer of the week

Curtis Samuel – $4000

With CMC out it’s reasonable to expect Samuel to see more looks in the short passing game as well as potentially increasing his carries at running back. A position he played in college. I’m a long time Samuel truther, so I don’t blame anyone who calls me bias. I have 62% exposure to Samuel in best-ball leagues. On Thursday Joe Judge said the team wants to get Samuel more involved and that along with my long time belief, is good enough to throw him into this section.