DFS Strategy Week 6: Best Bargains at Each Position on Draft Kings

The best way to cash on weekly fantasy football sites is to load up on as many stars with good matchups as possible. Due to budget restraints, however, fantasy players must sacrifice other positions to nab the stars they want.

Here, you'll find the top bargains at each position on Draft Kings that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here is Draft Kings’ scoring system.

The bargains are listed in the order I like them.

Quarterbacks

Alex Smith, Redskins ($5,400): Smith was terrible in primetime as his Redskins were drubbed by the Saints, but there’s nothing more fun in daily fantasy then hitting big on a player when he’s down. No one will really be trying to use Smith, especially with an apparently tough matchup against Carolina, but he has two things going for him. First, Carolina is surprisingly poor against the pass. The Panthers’ defense is ranked just 26th in the NFL per FootballOutsiders.com, and 27th against the pass. Not bad for Smith! Second, he runs. Running QBs have a lot of value in four-point passing TD formats, and Smith rushed at least four times in the three games prior to last week. Even though he only ran twice vs. the Saints, he scored his first rushing TD.

Josh Allen, Bills ($4,700): Allen is definitely tough to trust, but he runs well, like Smith, and he has a favorable matchup against the Texans at home. Houston has a strong pass rush, but the secondary can be had; they rank just 25th against the pass according to FootballOutsiders, so if you want to grab a starting QB super cheap, a matchup like this is what you’re looking for. Allen is not going to throw up a monster game like Mitch Trubisky did a few weeks ago, but he can be serviceable.

Joe Flacco, Ravens ($5,200): Flacco has been very good this year, and while many might jump off the bandwagon because of a bad showing against the Browns, Cleveland is underrated right now. The Browns are a very tough defense, and the main thing that’s made Flacco excellent this year – passing volume – was definitely there even in his weakest performance. Expect Flacco to keep airing it out since both Ravens RBs have struggled with ball security. The matchup isn’t the greatest, but he’s got a lot of upside at such a low price.

Running Backs

Alfred Morris, 49ers ($4,700): Morris is well past his prime, but volume is king at the RB position, and Morris is about to be a workhorse. Matt Breida, the superior talent, is out for this week at least and the only option behind Alf is Raheem Mostert. Despite his tendency to come out on passing downs, Morris is basically the only guy the 49ers have at the position in Week 6. He is going to get a ton of work, especially since C.J. Beathard isn’t someone the coaching staff is going to feel comfortable allowing to throw a lot if it can be avoided. Lastly, the Green Bay defense can be taken advantage of on the ground with DL Muhammad Wilkerson out of action.

Corey Clement, Eagles ($4,400): Clement is about to be the man in Philadelphia. Jay Ajayi is out for the season with a torn ACL, leaving Clement and Wendell Smallwood to fight for work in the meantime until Darren Sproles is back to reclaim passing downs. Both can catch the ball, but Clement was seeing red zone work even with Ajayi healthy. Clement should be on the better end of a two-man committee, and even if he loses some passing down opportunities to Smallwood, he’ll have more scoring opportunities against a Giants defense that ranks 25th against the run and is on short rest.

Ronald Jones III, Buccaneers ($3,900): Jones is a very risky play, since he’s a rookie and has been active for one whole game in 2018. He only picked up 29 yards on 10 carries in his debut, but it was an ugly day for Tampa Bay vs. the Bears’ vicious defense. This week he has a friendlier front to go against in the Falcons, who are the second-worst defense vs. the run through five weeks. Jones is unproven, but Peyton Barber is proven to suck, and Jacquizz Rodgers is simply here for depth. Jones has big play ability, and a matchup that should allow him to capitalize.

Wide Receivers

Michael Crabtree, Ravens ($4,700): Crabtree has had some underwhelming performances, but he remains the Ravens’ WR1, and the Titans have been a bottom-four defense against WR1s. The targets are there for Crabtree; his lowest-targeted game was Week 1, and even then Flacco looked his way six times. Expect more volume for Crabtree, and a possible 100+-yard effort.

Tyler Lockett, Seahawks ($5,100): Seattle’s lack of passing attempts is scary when trying to use Seahawks pass catchers, but Lockett has been immune to the air attack’s anemic nature. Lockett has scored in four of Seattle’s five games, and the Raiders don’t figure to offer much resistance. Look for a huge play or two if the Seahawks are able to get him some work in the slot; even if they don’t, it’s possible Lockett has finally realized his potential and is supplanting Doug Baldwin as the WR1.

Nelson Agholor, Eagles ($5,200): The Giants have been weak against the pass this year, and in particular they’ve struggled to stop slot receivers. Agholor has been a disappointment, but he’s been targeted 10+ times in three different games, and has the kind of explosiveness that can help him put up WR1 numbers in any given week. With the Giants focused on stopping Alshon Jeffery, look for Agholor to pile up lots of dinky looks that give him a chance to break one for a huge play.

Tight Ends

Eric Ebron, Colts ($5,400): Ebron went bananas last week for 105 yards and two touchdowns, and I’m going to try and stay hot with him. The price here indicates there’s still some disbelief in his hot start, but I’ve been here with him all year. Ebron is realizing his potential with an All-Pro caliber quarterback (Andrew Luck) who can turn bum TEs into good ones, and talented TEs into stars. He has scored five touchdowns already, and if T.Y. Hilton misses more time he’s essentially the top pass-catcher in the offense. This week he’ll face the Jets, who have the sixth-ranked defense, but rank just 20th against tight ends. Fire him up.

Austin Hooper, Falcons ($3,500): Hooper is super hit-and-miss, but this is purely a matchup thing. The Buccaneers have the worst defense in football, and are a putrid 30th vs. tight ends. If Matt Ryan targets Hooper – which he did 12 times last week – then expect a big game, and a likely TD. But be advised that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Hooper turns in a huge dud.

Ricky Seals-Jones, Cardinals ($2,700): Seals-Jones is as risky as it gets. He has big play potential oozing out of his pores, but despite decent targets for a tight end, he hasn’t been able to have a huge game yet. He did score a 35-yard touchdown in Week 3, but aside from that he’s only topped 50 yards once. So why the hell is he here? The Vikings are second-worst in football vs. TEs so if he’s going to have one of those huge plays, this week is likely it. Tread carefully, but with a tight end this cheap you are going to be able to have some high-end guys elsewhere.