Daily Fantasy Football Week 5 DraftKings, FanDuel advice: Cash lineups and projected ownership
Heath Cummings breaks down his favorite plays for Week 5 on both FanDuel and DraftKings.
Week 4 Seasonal Rankings: Standard | PPR
Each Sunday in this spot I'll list my top five plays at each position. I'll also offer cash lineups.
We also have an added bonus of projected ownership, thanks to UFCollective. I'm just highlighting a few I found interesting, but if you're interested in all of their ownership projections, you can sign up here.
Now, the lineups I'll give below are cash lineups and ownership doesn't matter as much in cash games. Where it does matter is in building tournament lineups. Low-owned players who score well are gold in that format.
So after my top five, I'll give you my favorite player that UFCollective is projecting below 5 percent ownership. Let's get to it.
QB
1. Ben Roethlisberger (FD $8,600, DK $7,200)
2. Tom Brady (FD $8,700, DK $7,500)
3. Brian Hoyer (FD $6,000, DK $5,500)
4. Derek Carr (FD $8,100, DK $6,800)
5. Aaron Rodgers (FD $9,100, DK $7,700)
After last week's performance I would expect Roethlisberger to be the clear chalk in cash games and I'm okay with that against this Jets defense. Tom Brady is another chalky option, but that's more about the Browns defense and the fact this is Brady's first game back. There are a few too many question marks for me with him in cash, most notably any rust he'll have to shake off and the health of Rob Gronkowski.
If you're looking for a contrarian stack, we start our contrarian plays below with their leader. The Giants should be chasing the scoreboard against a Packers defense that will be missing at least one cornerback. As you'll see later I have a Giants receiver in both my top five and my contrarian options.
FanDuel Contrarian: Eli Manning (4.26 percent)
DraftKings Contrarian: Andrew Luck (3.92 percent)
RB
1. Melvin Gordon (FD $7,700, $7,000)
2. Frank Gore (FD $6,500, $5,700)
3. Le'Veon Bell (FD $8,600, $7,500)
4. DeAndre Washington (FD $4,700, $3,400)
5. Terrance West (FD $6,400, $4,800)
It was difficult not putting Jordan Howard in the top five, as I'll have a lot of him. The problem is we have three backs in similar spots, with Howard, Washington and West. While most people acknowledge the timeshare that Washington will have to deal with I wouldn't sleep on Kenneth Dixon and Ka'Deem Carey stealing Fantasy points from the other two backs. Plus, Howard saw a much bigger bump in his price.
There will be a lot of people on the Packers passing game, but Eddie Lacy is probably not going to be very popular against a decent Giants run defense. Still, with Lacy at home and likely a good game script I could see 18 carries, 100 yards and a score.
FanDuel Contrarian: Frank Gore (4.14 percent)
DraftKings Contrarian: Eddie Lacy (3.24 percent)
WR
1. Jordy Nelson (FD $8,400, DK $7,900)
2. Michael Crabtree (FD $6,900. DK $6,900)
3. Emmanuel Sanders (FD $7,100, DK $6,800)
4. Steve Smith (FD $6,300, DK $5,300)
5. Odell Beckham, Jr. (FD $8,500, DK $8,500)
It keeps coming back to this Packers/Giants game which is the clear top game stack of the main slate. What I think is more interesting at receiver are the teammate pairings, specifically for the Broncos and the Raiders.
I still like Demaryius Thomas and Amari Cooper more this week (and rest of season) than their teammates. With their prices getting closer and projected ownership to be much higher for the No. 2s, Thomas and Cooper make much sharper tournament selections than do Sanders and Crabtree.
FanDuel contrarian play: Demaryius Thomas (4.71 percent)
DraftKings contrarian play: Sterling Shepard (3.50 percent)
TE
1. Zach Ertz (FD $5,600, DK $3,500)
2. Kyle Rudolph (FD $5,500, DK $3,600)
3. Zach Miller (FD $5,400, DK $3,600)
4. Delanie Walker (FD $6,400, DK $4,700)
5. Clive Walford (FD$4,800, DK $2,700)
Everyone is going to play Zach Ertz and once again, I get it. Ertz is a special talent in his first game back facing a Lions defense that has been shredded by tight ends. It's a pretty easy call.
Both of the Patriots tight ends could be tournaments options but neither is cheap. That's one reason I lean towards Clive Walford. Walford is a touchdown-dependent option like most cheap tight ends, but with his matchup against the Chargers he should get plenty of opportunities in the red zone.
FanDuel contrarian play: Clive Walford (0.84 percent)
DraftKings contrarian play: Rob Gronkowski (3.89 percent)
DST
1. Minnesota Vikings (FD $4,800, DK $3,400)
2. New England Patriots (FD $4,800, DK $3,700)
3. Buffalo Bills (FD $4,600, DK $3,100)
4. Green Bay Packers (FD $4,600, DK $3,200)
5. Denver Broncos (FD $5,100, DK $3,800)
This seems pretty simple, just play the Vikings in cash. They are a high-ceiling, high-floor option that is still underpriced on both sites. In tournaments, I've talked about the Giants/Packers stack so much that the Packers D probably looks like a crazy contrarian play. It kind of is, and I wouldn't use it in conjunction with the game stack, but a couple of Eli Manning turnovers in prime time on the road wouldn't be the least bit surprising.
FanDuel contrarian play: Green Bay Packers (2.84 percent)
DraftKings contrarian play: Baltimore Ravens (1.79 percent)
Kicker
Thankfully you don't have to use kickers on DraftKings -- I wish FanDuel would follow suit and #BanKickers. Until they do, I'll list one option from each price range. Don't overthink it.
Stephen Gostkowski $5,100
Adam Vinatieri $4,7000
Josh Lambo $4,600
Mason Crosby $4,500
FanDuel Cash Lineup
QB Ben Roethlisberger $8,600
RB DeAndre Washington $4,700
RB Melvin Gordon $7,700
WR Antonio Brown $9,600
WR Amari Cooper $7,200
WR Emmanuel Sanders $7,100
TE Zach Ertz $5,600
K Adam Vinatieri $4,700
DST Minnesota Vikings $4,800
DraftKings Lineup
QB Ben Roethlisberger $7,200
RB Jordan Howard $5,200
RB DeAndre Washington $3,400
WR Jordy Nelson $7,900
WR Demaryius Thomas $6,900
WR Sterling Shepard $5,500
TE Zach Ertz $3,500
FLEX Melvin Gordon $7,000
DST Minnesota Vikings $3,400
















