The bargain basement DFS plays are back for Week 10. Everyone knows to start Aaron Rodgers and Julio Jones most weeks. What can bring home the money in DFS is finding players who will produce at a lower salary but might not be on many lineup cards.
Here’s a look at some players in Week 10 who have low salaries but are worth considering for your rosters:
Quarterbacks
Jay Cutler, Bears
DraftKings: $5,300
FanDuel: $7,000
Cutler played well in his first game back against the Vikings. He threw for 252 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He has a much easier matchup this week.
How bad is Tampa Bay’s defense? The Falcons didn’t punt once last Thursday night. The Buccaneers are allowing the fifth most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Tampa Bay’s defense gives up an average of 294.4 yards and 2.3 touchdowns per game to opposing quarterbacks.
Cutler is hard to trust from week-to-week but the Buccaneers defense is an absolute dumpster fire right now under Mike Smith. At just $5,300 on DraftKings, Cutler should carve up the dreadful Bucs pass defense this week.
Running Backs
Chris Ivory, Jaguars
DraftKings: $3,400
FanDuel: $5,200
Nathaniel Hackett replaced the fired Greg Olson as the Jaguars offensive coordinator last week. If you follow Hackett’s coaching career, you know he loves to feature running backs.
It took Hackett all of one game to get the running backs move involved in Jacksonville’s offense. Ivory ran for 107 yards on 18 carries (5.9 YPC) against the Chiefs. T.J. Yeldon gained 65 yards on 11 touches and scored a touchdown.
Ivory should continue to be more involved in the offense going forward and he has a good matchup this week. The Texans are allowing the 10th most fantasy points to running backs. Opposing running backs are averaging 106 yards and 1.0 touchdowns per game against Houston’s defense.
Ivory is never going to catch a ton of passes but he should start seeing more red zone touches now that Hackett is calling the plays. He’s worth a look this week coming off his best game of the year and facing a favorable matchup.
Kapri Bibbs, Broncos
DraftKings: $4,000
FanDuel: $4,600
Devontae Booker was supposed to take over as the Broncos lead back for the rest of the season after C.J. Anderson was injured. He’s struggled though, gaining just 76 yards on 29 carries (2.6 YPC) over the last two games.
Against the Raiders last week, Booker out-touched Bibbs 11-3 but Bibbs out-gained him 80-30 yards. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Bibbs has earned more touches. Reports out of Denver even say Bibbs could supplant Booker as the starter soon.
Let’s not hand Bibbs the starting job yet but he does have a great matchup to exploit if he ends up getting more touches. The Saints are allowing the third most fantasy points to running backs. New Orleans defense gives up an average 95.3 yards, 1.4 touchdowns, 5.5 receptions and 60 receiving yards per game to opposing running backs.
Booker and Bibbs are likely to split touches this week but the Saints give up so many fantasy points to running backs, both could have big games. Bibbs will pay off for DFS players if he sees 12+ touches this week.
Wide Receivers
J.J. Nelson, Cardinals
DraftKings: $4,200
FanDuel: $5,600
In his last two games Nelson has 11 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 19 targets. Michael Floyd has struggled this year and now he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Nelson is now a starting receiver; meaning he has replaced Floyd in three-receiver sets.
Nelson has a shot to make it three good games in a row when he faces the 49ers on Sunday, assuming the Cardinals do something other than hand the ball off to David Johnson against the NFL’s worst rush defense. The good thing about San Francisco is they stink against the pass too.
The 49ers allow the sixth most fantasy points to receivers. San Francisco’s defense gives up an average of 11.5 receptions, 150 yards and 1.9 touchdowns per game to opposing receivers on 19.5 targets. Now that he’s playing more snaps, Nelson will have opportunities to rack up fantasy points versus a 49ers secondary prone to giving up big plays.
Nelson has scored 11.8 and 27.9 DraftKings points in his last two games. He’s a solid play at his $4,200 salary this week.
Eli Rogers, Steelers
DraftKings: $3,800
FanDuel: $4,900
Ben Roethlisberger was coming off meniscus surgery against Baltimore and he clearly wasn’t 100 percent. Roethlisberger was forced to settle for a lot of shorter passes, so Rogers benefited by seeing 10 targets. He caught six passes for 103 yards.
Don’t expect Rogers to put up those types of numbers every week but he could have another strong performance against Dallas. The Cowboys defense struggles against slot receivers. Victor Cruz, Jamison Crowder, Jeremy Kerley, Randall Cobb and Jordan Matthews have all scored touchdowns against the Cowboys this season.
Dallas has only given up the eighth fewest fantasy points overall to receivers this season but they’ve been hurt by slot receivers and tight ends. Rogers will be inconsistent on a week-to-week basis but he has a favorable matchup versus the Cowboys. He’s worth a look at his low salary.
Tight End
Zach Ertz, Eagles
DraftKings: $3,700
FanDuel: $4,600
Ertz has been a major disappointment this season. He finally broke out against the Giants and caught eight balls for 97 yards. It was by far Ertz’s best game of the year.
With a lack of quality receivers, Ertz should be a bigger part of the Eagles passing game going forward. Ertz has an opportunity to make it two good games in a row when he takes on a Falcons Swiss defense that bleeds fantasy points to tight ends.
Atlanta allows the fifth most fantasy points to tight ends. The Falcons defense gives up an average of 5.3 receptions, 59.4 yards and 0.7 touchdowns per game on 8.1 targets. Austin Seferian Jenkins, Brandon Meyers, Clive Walford, Coby Fleener, Greg Olsen and Cameron Brate have all scored touchdowns on the Falcons defense.
Ertz returned from a rib injury and was MIA from the Eagles offense until last week. Carson Wentz needs him to be a factor. The Eagles don’t have NFL-quality receivers right now. Ertz has the matchup to put up back-to-back strong games. If he doesn’t, stick a fork in him.
Defense
Los Angeles Rams
DraftKings: $2,900
FanDuel: $4,600
St. Louis’ defense is coming off a five-sack performance against the Panthers. Now the Rams get a Jets offense that allows the most fantasy points to team defenses.
The Rams have scored at least nine DK points in 4-of-8 games. Meanwhile, the Jets have allowed five teams defense to score in double-digits against them this season. Whether it’s Ryan Fitzpatrick or Bryce Petty under center, the Rams defense is a strong play this week.
