Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): Week 5 DraftKings Fantasy Football Values

Someone (and by someone, I selfishly hope that “someone” is me) is going to win $1 Million in DraftKings’ Millionaire Maker contest this week.

The good news is second place is still a very respectable $100,000. And if I don’t win the top prize, I hope it’s you!

With that said, here are some value plays for Week 5:

QB – Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (at JAX), $7,400

The 11th-most expensive signal-caller in DraftKings contests for Sunday and Monday games, Roethlisberger is my fifth-ranked quarterback yet to play this week. Coming off his best fantasy performance of the season (26.36 fantasy points in DraftKings scoring) yet a disappointing team loss, Big Ben has the best fantasy matchup of the weekend. Giving up the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, the Jaguars have surrendered a massive 344.25 yards and 2.75 touchdowns per game through the air.

[Note: DraftKings awards an extra three points for QBs hitting the 300-yard milestone as well as three points to players reaching 100 rushing or receiving yards.]

QB – Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (vs. NYJ), $7,000

Trailing only Aaron Rodgers in passer rating, Rivers is completing more than 70 percent of his pass attempts and has an impressive yet efficent nine-to-one TD-to-INT ratio this season. Whether it’s favorable matchups (like Week 4 vs. Jacksonville) or unfavorable matchups (like Week 2 vs. Seattle), Rivers has posted three consecutive top-10 fantasy performances. That said, Rivers has a favorable matchup this week vs. the Jets, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this year.

Perhaps you can go a cheaper route this week to load up on more studs elsewhere, but there are bargains galore at the other positions as well.

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RB – Rashad Jennings, New York Giants (vs. ATL), $5,500

I love Matt Forte ($7,800), DeMarco Murray ($7,500) and Le’Veon Bell ($7,300) this week and have at least one, in some cases two, of those three backs in all of my lineups this week. Jenning is a nice mid-priced play with 16 running backs priced higher than Jennings. With a Thursday Night game following his massive 34-carry, 176-yard performance in Week 3, Jennings rested much of the second half of last week’s blowout. With a few extra days of rest, we should see a heavy dose of Jennings, who ranks second in the NFL in rushing behind Murray, against a generous Falcons run defense.

RB – Chris Ivory, New York Jets (at SD), $3,100

Before last week’s game, coach Ryan indicated that Ivory would see his workload expand and it did. Ivory had a season-high 17 carries (compared to season-low six for CJ1K) against the stout Lions run defense but he was very effective (84 yards, 4.94 YPC). Ivory was the first running back to gain more than 46 yards on the ground vs. Detroit. Through four games, Ivory ranks seventh in the league in rushing and is averaging 5.46 YPC on the season. Becoming more helpful in PPR formats, which is the scoring used in DraftKings contests, Ivory has been more involved in the passing game over the past two weeks with six receptions on 10 targets.

RB – Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals (at NE), $3,000

With a minimal workload in Week 1, Hill has scored in back-to-back games with 135 yards from scrimmage in those two games. On the season, Hill has averaged more than five yards per carry (5.08) compared to just 3.36 for Giovani Bernard. Hill (and Bernard) have a favorable matchup against the Patriots, who have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Priced at the position minimum, Hill has plenty of upside at that bargain cost.

RB – Khiry Robinson, New Orleans Saints (vs. TB), $3,000

Based on Vegas odds, no team is projected to score more points the rest of this week than the Saints (29.25 points). Assuming the Saints, who are double-digit favorites, play with the lead most of the game, Robinson should see closer to the 18 carries he had in Week 3 than the eight he had in Week 4. In addition, Robinson should be viewed as the favorite to get goal-line carries even though he hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1.

WR – Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers (vs. NYJ), $5,800

There are so many wide receivers that I like this week and Allen is coming off his best game of the season with 10/135 on 11 targets. Yet to find the end zone, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Allen’s drought ends this week against the Jets, who are tied for allowing a position-high six touchdown receptions this season. Only the Bucs and Jags allow more fantasy points to opposing receivers than the Jets.

WR – Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. STL), $5,600

The targets have been there consistently for Maclin, who has double-digit targets in all four games this season. The only player with more targets than Maclin (46) is Jordy Nelson (52), who has played a fifth game. It’s a little disappointing that he only has 20 catches on his 46 targets, but Maclin has 353 yards and three touchdowns this season. The Eagles are projected by Vegas to score the third-most points this weekend.

WR – Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos (vs. ARI), $5,100

Not only does Sanders lead the Broncos in receiving with 25 catches for 334 yards, but he has more yards than Demaryius Thomas (141) and Julius Thomas (160) combined. I still expect DT to lead the team in yards on the season, but Sanders has been more productive than I had expected and he had his best game 11/149 on 15 targets despite Wes Welker (6/60) returning in Week 3. There are 27 wide receivers with a higher salary than Sanders, but he’s my WR11 in PPR formats this week.

WR – Golden Tate, Detroit Lions (vs. BUF), $4,900

Tate (hamstring) is listed as probable this week, but it’s unclear how effective Calvin Johnson (ankle) will be. Megatron was essentially a decoy last week. Either way, Tate has been productive with a minimum of five catches and 51 yards in all four games this season and he’s currently tied with Delanie Walker for 10th in the NFL in receiving yards (317).

WR – Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers (at CAR), $4,800

Benjamin has finished as a top-12 fantasy wide receiver (PPR scoring) in three of four games this season. Although he had a dud performance (2/46 and a couple of drops) in Week 2, Benjamin has been targeted a minimum of eight times in all four games. The Bears have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season, which sets Benjamin up to vastly exceed his cost with 30 receivers priced higher.

WR – DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans (at DAL), $4,800

Hopkins has more than six targets in only one game, but he has scored a touchdown in three of four games while going over the 100-yard mark in the game he didn’t score. Hopkins has finished as a top-18 scorer in PPR formats in three of four games and a top-30 performer all four outings. Although the Cowboys defensive stats look better than last year, their defense remains one of the worst in the league based on talent.

WR – Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland Browns (at TEN), $3,500

The Browns are coming off their bye, but Hawkins had double-digit targets, six-plus receptions and 70-plus yards in all three games that he has played. In all three of those weeks, Hawkins has finished as a top-25 scorer among WRs in PPR formats. There are 53 wide receivers with a higher salary than Hawkins this week. While he has yet to score a touchdown, he’s a consistent source of cheap production.

WR – Markus Wheaton, Pittsburgh Steelers (at JAX), $3,300

Wheaton is off to a solid but not spectacular start to his sophomore season. Based on his production through four games, he’s on pace for 76 catches for 908 yards. And no touchdowns. If there’s a week for Wheaton to have a breakout game, it’s against a Jaguars team that allows the second-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

WR – Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. PIT), $3,000

The Jags will once again be without Marqise Lee and Cecil Shorts and that means it’s going to be a lot of the Allen’s (Hurns and Robinson). Both should be productive, but Robinson is much cheaper than Hurns ($4,500).

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TE – Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers (at JAX), $4,000

With a 10/85/1 line on Sunday, Miller had his best game of the season in Week 4. He may not duplicate those numbers, but the Jags have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. The Jags have allowed four touchdowns to tight ends this season and Vegas projects the Steelers to score the fifth-most points for the rest of this week’s games.

TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (at SF), $3,000

With touchdowns in back-to-back games, Kelce set season highs with eight catches for 93 yards on nine targets in Week 4. This week’s matchup isn’t favorable at all, but Kelce is becoming a bigger part of the team’s offensive game plan (as he should be) and he’s priced at the position minimum. There is still plenty of upside here.

TE – Garrett Graham, Houston Texans (at DAL), $3,000

Also priced at the position minimum, Graham has a tremendous matchup to exploit. No team has surrendered more points to opposing tight ends this season and they have allowed the following to opposing tight ends:

• Week 1: Vernon Davis — 4/44/2
• Week 2: Delanie Walker — 10/142/1
• Week 3: Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks combined — 13/104/1 (plus a dropped Cook TD)
• Week 4: Jimmy Graham — 8/86/1 (and a Josh Hill TD)

In addition, check out our site’s DraftKings Week 5 Cheat Sheet.

Also, check out my weekly fantasy football rankings:

• Week 5 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
• Week 5 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
• Week 5 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
• Week 5 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

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