Week 7 Must Starts in DFS

Each week I spotlight a few players that are in a position to do extremely well in DraftKings or Fanduel. These players are my “Must Starts.” These are players that are absolutely going to be apart of my lineup and they should be apart of yours. Last week, some of my spotlighted players included: Lesean McCoy and Jarvis Landry. I try to find people that will be worth their money on DraftKings or Fanduel. So without further ado, here are the Week 7 “Must Starts.”

Demarco Murray: DraftKings- $7200, Fanduel- $8700

Demarco Murray is coming off arguably his worst performance of the season and even worse, it was against the Cleveland Browns. However, there is reason to believe that he will bounce back this week and in a big way. The Colts run defense was exposed by Lamar Miller on Sunday night. The Colts have allowed 4.8 yards per carry so far this year and Murray should feast on the weak Colts defense. The Titans have one of the most underrated defenses in the league and they have had back to back 6 sack games. Andrew Luck has been the most sacked quarterback in the league. I expect the Titans to take a lead early and feed Demarco the rest of the game while chewing clock.

Projection: 24 Carries 118 Yards 2 TD, 4 Rec 38 Yards 0 TD

Jacquizz Rodgers: DraftKings- $4,300, Fanduel- $5,600

If Doug Martin was healthy this week, he would have been a “Must Start.” Now that Martin is officially OUT for the game on Sunday, Jacquizz Rodgers is getting the starting nod and he could not be in a better position to thrive. Rodgers is up against the San Francisco 49ers who have the leagues worst run defense. The 49ers defense has allowed an astounding 5 yards per carry and has also given up nine rushing touchdowns. Furthermore, the 49ers run defense has given up a 100 yard rusher in every game since week 1. One of those rushers being Fozzy Whitaker. With Martin and Charles Sims out in week 5, Rodgers got the starting job against the Carolina Panthers. Rodgers had 35 touches including over 100 yards rushing and a few receptions against a Carolina Defense who is top 10 in run defense. Look for Rodgers to have a solid if not great performance.

Projection: 28 Carries 121 Yards 1 TD, 5 Rec 24 Yards 0 TD

Mike Gillislee (ONLY IF LESEAN MCCOY IS OUT): DraftKings- $3,000, Fanduel- $5,300

Mike Gillislee is a solid play if and only if Lesean McCoy is ruled out for Sunday’s game. For those unaware of the Bill’s running back situation, Lesean McCoy suffered a “mild to moderate” hamstring strain during the Bill’s Wednesday practice. As of right now (11:45 AM, Thursday Morning), McCoy is still questionable for the game. Gillislee has proven to be a capable backup to Lesean McCoy, even vulturing a few touchdowns this year. Gillislee also has a juicy matchup against the Miami Dolphins this week. Miami is second worst in rushing yards allowed per game and is giving up 4.5 yards per carry. So far this year, Gillislee is averaging almost 7 yards per carry and is also a threat in the receiving game. IF Lesean McCoy is out, Gillislee is a great value especially in DraftKings where he is the cheapest any player can be.

Projection: 14 Carries 73 Yards 1TD, 2 Rec 14 Yards 0 TD

Allen Robinson: DraftKings- $7,300, Fanduel- $8,400

It is no secret how disappointing Allen Robinson and the entire Jacksonville offense has been this year. Allen Robinson had a break out season last year and in season long leagues, he was drafted as a WR1. However, Robinson has struggled this year and some of the blame goes to his quarterback. Blake Bortles was expected to take a huge leap this year and instead has regressed. So far, he has thrown 8 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. He has only eclipsed 300 yards twice, and only managed 194 yards against the putrid Raven’s pass defense. With all that being said, Robinson is in a prime position to bounce back this week against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are dead last in pass defense. They have given up an average of 312.7 pass yards a game and are tied for 7th in terms up receiving touchdowns given up with 12. For those still skeptical due to their performance last week against Jeremy Maclin and the Kansas City Chiefs, last weeks game was played under terrible weather conditions. Furthermore, game flow was against Maclin’s favor as the Chiefs got ahead and ran the ball the rest of the game. This shouldn’t be an issue this week as the weather should be better. Allen Robinson is a “Must Start” this week.

Projection: 8 Rec 128 Yards 1 TD

Mike Wallace: DraftKings- $5,800, Fanduel- $6,900

I really struggled with this one. I wrestled back and forth on whether or not to put Mike Wallace on this list this week. Wallace has always had a tendency to “Boom or Bust” in his career meaning he will put up huge numbers one week and poor numbers in another with no form of consistency. However, Wallace has quietly been consistent this year. He has been targeted at least 6 times every game and with Steve Smith out that number has spiked to at least 9 targets per game. Wallace has not found the end zone since week 2, but I expect that to change this week. Flacco and Marty Mornhinweg, the Raven’s new offensive coordinator, have stated that they want to take more chances deep. If that holds to be true, this would be the week to take advantage of it. The Ravens play the New York Jets. The Jets currently have the 3rd worst defense in terms of pass defense allowing 304 yards per game. Furthermore, they are tied for 5th in receiving touchdowns allowed. If you look even further, you can notice a common theme with the Jet’s secondary. They seem to allow one big play every game. AJ Green, Marquise Goodwin, Jimmy Graham, and Sammie Coates all churned out huge receptions with Goodwin’s being an 84 yard touchdown. Wallace, a speed receiver, should be able to get behind the Jets defense and have a solid day against the Jets this week and is great value for his price.

Projection: 6 Rec 97 Yards 1 TD

Cameron Meredith: DraftKings- $4,700, Fanduel- $5,900

Cameron Meredith has 20 receptions and 243 yards along with a touchdown over his last two games. Meredith is going up against a depleted Packer’s secondary and with the absence of Eddie Royal, he should receive a lot of targets again this week. He seems to have developed a rapport with Brian Hoyer who also has quietly been a very solid quarterback this year.

Projection: 7 Rec 112 Yards 1 TD

Sneaky Plays

Each week I also include a few sneaky players who may have a good game. These players are not necessarily “Must Starts” however, they are players that should do well.

Brandon Marshall/ Quincy Enunwa

The Ravens number one cornerback, Jimmy Smith, may miss Sunday’s game due to a concussion. If this is the case, the Jets receivers should have a solid game. The Ravens cornerbacks would be Shareece Wright and Tavon Young. Odell Beckham struggled at first against Jimmy Smith, however, once Smith went down, Beckham had the best game of his season so far. Shareece Wright is one of the worst cornerbacks in the league and the Jets receivers should have a good day. The only thing holding them back is the Geno Smith of it all.

Brian Hoyer

If you need a cheap quarterback play this week, look no further than Brian Hoyer. Here is a blind test of two quarterbacks over the past 4 weeks.

Quarterback A: 1,139 Yards, 6 TDS, 3 Ints

Quarterback B: 1,318 Yards, 6 TDs

Quarterback A is Andrew Luck who is regarded as a top 5 fantasy quarterback.

Quarterback B is Brian Hoyer.

Hoyer has been very solid under center for the Chicago Bears this season. The Green Bay Packer’s secondary just took a hit after placing number 1 cornerback, Sam Shields, on the IR. Hoyer should have a very good day and is great value.