How about that Pryor kid?

That is the kind of lottery ticket you target in daily play. He was one of the least expensive options with a great matchup and he came through. He certainly helped me out quite a bit.

Though, not all of my calls worked out quite as well. Thompkins? Sudfeld? For those, I apologize. Who could have seen that kind of face plant after they both looked so promising in the preseason?

Learning our lesson and moving on to the next week with a clean slate is what’s great about daily leagues. With that being said, I give you my Week 2 picks.

Spend it like you got it

Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos – He is now the most expensive QB in FanDuel… and for good reason. After throwing 7 TD’s against the Ravens, The Forehead looks primed to pick apart a not-so-great Giants secondary. What are the Broncos going to do? Run the ball? No. Peyton will want to prove why he is the better QB in the family, despite having 1 less ring than his little sibling.

LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles – There are 5 running backs that come at a higher price than Shady, but he’s still my favorite play this week. The Eagles made it clear they are going to give him the ball. A lot. He is going to be my #1 priority to get into each and every daily lineup. I’ll take a 5.9 YPC all day.

Brandon Marshall, WR, Chicago Bears – After he created some concern over his hip, it looks like Marshall will be fine. He resumed his usual position of being Cutler’s man-crush and had 8 grabs for 104 yards and a score against what was supposed to be a stinkin’ good Bengals defense. I like him even more against a Viking defense that allowed the Lions to pass all over them in Week 1. At the end of the day, Detroit posted 28 receptions, 357 yards and 2 scores through the air. Start Marshall in confidence.

Vincent Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – As much as I hate to admit it, it seems likely that the Bucs will be in shootout/catch-up mode a lot against the Saints. This means a lot of targets for V-Jax. Freeman loves to take shots down the field to this veteran. While it does seem like Freeman is on a very short choke-collar leash, Glennon the Giant has a strong arm and can get it downfield if, for some reason, Tampa Bay decides to make a change at QB.

Nifty Thrifty

Terrelle Pryor, QB, Oakland Raiders – Yes, I’ve mentioned him again. I will likely mention him here as long as he remains the cheapest starting QB to roster. As he showed us last week, he has great upside. He is currently the #2 rusher in all of football right now, including running backs. He is only behind LeSean McCoy. He has another great matchup this week and I believe he should be deployed in almost every single daily lineup at this price. (Unless, of course, you are playing against me. In that case, by all means, spend a lot on another QB.)

Joique Bell, RB, Detroit Lions – The “other guy” in the Detroit backfield is also a great pass-catcher. The Lions proved they can support two fantasy-relevant running backs (as much as Stafford throws). They’ll likely need that production this week against a tough Arizona defense. Patrick Peterson will be all over Calvin Johnson, so I’m sure there will be plenty of  opportunity over the middle of the field.

Bryce Brown, RB, Philadelphia Eagles – Much like the aforementioned Bell, Brown is also playing second fiddle in the Eagles’ backfield, but is still very relevant. In stark contrast to pass-happy Detroit, the Philly offense runs and runs and runs some more. Brown is a great compliment to McCoy and will get plenty of chances and he comes at a great price. To put his cost into perspective, it would cost you more to roster Curtis Brinkley and he’s the same price as Felix Jones. Can you say bargain?

Rueben Randle, WR, New York Giants – Randle pulled in 5 receptions for 101 yards in Week 1 against the Cowboys. At his price, I’ll gladly roll the dice again in Week 2.

Brent Celek, TE, Philadelphia Eagles – Celek can be hit-or-miss. The tight end position is volatile as a whole and there aren’t as many intriguing matchups as there were last week. I could gamble on Celek at his blue-light special price and enjoy any sort of return on my minimal investment. It would be pure profit.

Lemons

Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington Redskins – RGIII posted some respectable numbers while looking rather shaky for most of the game against the Eagles. The Packers have a very aggressive defense that will look to get after Griffin and test his repaired knee. Considering the matchup and his cost, I would rather spend my budget elsewhere.

Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans – Foster’s being eased back into action and Ben Tate looked quite capable as a replacement. I was not a fan of Foster going into the 2013 season and after putting up a pedestrian 57 yards on 18 carries (3.2 YPC), all I can see are red flags.

Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions – I just supported “buying low” on Calvin in my last article, but I’m now dissuading you from using him? That’s the nature of the beast that is daily fantasy football. He could very well have the monster game that he’s fully capable of, but I would rather spend my budget elsewhere. Megatron has a tough matchup against Arizona (and Patrick Peterson) this week.

Jimmy Graham, TE, New Orleans Saints – Graham, like Calvin, is the most expensive player at his position. Graham is about to go up against the Bucaneers, who are more vulnerable to the big play than they are to tight ends. Now that Tampa Bay has Dashon Goldson, I believe Mark Barron has more freedom to play in the box and will be watching Graham very closely. The Bucs also have talented, young linebackers (including Lavonte David). All of these players will make sure that Graham is contained (as much as is possible.) In his one game against Tampa Bay (he missed the other due to injury), Graham was held to 5 grabs for 69 yards. I believe a very similar line can be expected this week.

A Lovely Lineup

Last week, I gave you a lineup based on the middle-of-the-road 60k budget in FanDuel.

In retrospect, that is a little too easy. With that budget, a lot of top players can be rostered. Going forward, I will be giving you a 55k “Expert” budget that challenges players to dig deeper.

This week I give you:

QB – Terrelle Pryor ($6500)
RB – LeSean McCoy ($8600)
RB – Joique Bell ($5700)
WR – AJ Green ($8600)
WR – Mike WIlliams ($6200)
WR – Rueben Randle ($4800)
TE – Brent Celek ($4500)
K – Greg Zuelrein ($5000)
DEF – Arizona ($5100)

Best of luck this week, degenerates!

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