Quarterback

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore, $7,000

Patrick Mahomes will once again be the most popular play on the slate. However, his fantasy performance is highly correlated with his opponent’s passer. If Mahomes is having a day, Lamar Jackson is going to be throwing and scrambling a lot to keep up.

This will be the highest total game Jackson has played in as an NFL starter. This will be the game where we see him fully unleashed.

On DraftKings, that is especially enticing. He has hit the DK exclusive 100-yard rushing bonus two times in nine NFL starts. He also hit the DK 300-yard passing bonus for the first time in Week 1.

Jackson will be in the winning Milly Maker lineup the week he achieves both bonuses and he has a chance to do just that this week.

Running Back

Austin Ekeler, LA Chargers, $7,200

Austin Ekeler has a bone to pick with whoever generates player prices at DK. He currently leads all backs in fantasy points but only carries a price tag of $7,200. He is fourth in the NFL in touches at 41 and that number is heavily skewed towards receptions compared to the splits of other backs. 

Ekeler is also going to be below three other backs in ownership this week per our projections. That is more than enough reason to get him in tournament lineups. 

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints, $8,000

Paying up at running back is going to be popular but paying up for Alvin Kamara will be anything but commonplace. With Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, and Dalvin Cook garnering a large portion of the ownership among high-priced running backs, no back offers more leverage than Kamara. 

Kamara may be hurt by Drew Brees going down on the whole but the game-script is setting up for that loss to be negated this week. The Saints are five-point dogs to the Seahawks this week.

The public will be lower on Kamara this week than they have been in almost a year. The uncertainty surrounding his chemistry with Bridgewater is not worth that amount of disrespect on his price ($8,000) and projected ownership (3.9%).

Wide Receiver

Will Fuller, Houston, $4,900

Despite the crowded receiving core that surrounds Will Fuller (Kenny Stills, Deandre Hopkins, and Keke Coutee), Fuller has been on the field for 94% of the Texans’ plays. They view him as their second receiver and DFS players need to as well. 

After Hopkins, Fuller is second on the team with 243 air yards. The next closest player is Kenny Still at 70, less than a third of Fuller’s total.

The Texans/Chargers matchup has a 48-point total and the Chargers side of the equation is very clear. Play Ekeler and/or Keenan Allen. Fuller is the perfect player to run it back with based on volume and his lack of a boom week thus far. 

Damiere Byrd, Arizona, $3,000

The Cardinals and the Panthers face off this week in Arizona and the two teams are tied four the fourth-most plays run, each sitting at 136. Arizona has lined up with four wideouts on the field for 64% of their plays, by far the most in the league.

Through two weeks Byrd has 14 targets, good for second on the Cardinals. Given the play-volume of this game and Byrd’s likelihood of playing every snap, he’s a lock at the minimum price and Nelson Agholor should help stave off some of the pay-down at wideout ownership.

Tight End

George Kittle, San Francisco, $5,600

George Kittle has fallen flat so far but he’s also been very obviously bitten by the variance bug. In the first week, Kittle had two touchdowns called back by penalties. Week 2: The 49ers threw three touchdowns and Kittle wasn’t on the receiving end of one.

He’s now priced down to the No. 3 tight end on the slate and is expected to be the lowest owned of the elite tight ends.

This is the time to buy low on Kittle before he goes out and crushes his price like he did all of last season. 

Defense

New England, $3,800

This isn’t a week to get crazy at defense. The Patriots are 23-point home favorites against a third-string rookie passer. Even more enticing, Dallas projects to be more popular and cost more to roster. With savings available at wide receiver, paying up for New England is the play.