Everyday we will post a Market Check, which is a summary of our research on a different position for the week.
This is not the end of our advice for the week. At the end of the week, we’ll make our picks at each position. Some of the picks will not be discussed in the Market Check.
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BULL MARKET
Players we believe will out-perform their salary for the week. These guys will give you the most bang for your buck when you are building lineups.
There’s way too much panic with the Colts right now. Fantasy players need to understand that they faced 2 stellar defense the first two weeks. And while their offensive line has been below average, playing from behind in both weeks makes life tough on protections that see higher percentage of blitz. This is precisely why the Colts will over emphasize getting Frank Gore going on Sunday. Gore looked like his old self on Monday, breaking multiple chunk runs that got negated by penalties, and he also should have had an easy touchdown which he fumbled. The Titans run defense is not bad, but it will not present the same problems that the Jets D-line did. In week 3 OC Pep Hamilton will make a concerted effort to get the ground game going through Gore, which will take some heat off of Luck and set up play action, which has roasted the Titans secondary the past two weeks. If there was ever a time for the real Frank Gore to show up, its week 3. At a very cheap salary of $4,500 in DraftKings Gore will be a staple in all of my cash game lineups.
This is a redemption spot for Charles, after fumbling away a week 2 loss for his team. A hungry Charles will strap the Chiefs on his back and lead them to a week 3 upset victory in Lambo. It’s always nice to have a Monday night stud to look forward to after the Sunday games, and this week Charles will be my play. The Green Bay defense is tough, but they haven’t face the all purpose back like Charles yet. Watching film, Green Bay struggled to stop the read zone against Seattle which resulted in some big runs for both Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. If you recall, against the Broncos, Shane Ray pursued upfield a little too much on read zone and Charles took it to the house for a 34 yard touchdown (I will post film showing you exactly what I’m talking about). The Chiefs will be running some wrinkles off read zone Monday to confuse GB DE’s and hit them for big gains. In a game where the Chiefs are likely to trail, I think Charles sees a game high in touches and puts up 20+ points in this one. Charles is safe for cash games and tournament lineups.
McCoy is fading from public favor just in time for us to sweep in and start him for his breakout game. The Karlos Williams RBBC is definitely cause for concern, but McCoy does his damage through the air in this one. Miami pass defense will tighten down after getting embarrassed by the Jags in week 2, and afterthrowing 3 INT last week TyGod will be extra conservative in this matchup to preserve his role. I smell check down city, with McCoy causing havoc in the open field. Shady is currently the only back with 2 receptions for over 20 yards on the year and he has looked explosive and has been close to breaking a few. I think he finally breaks one this game….as long as he stays healthy up until game time, you know Rex and the boys will pull out all the stops to make sure they don’t go 0-2 in the division. They will ride Shady, love him as a contrarian play in tournament lineups.
To win big on DraftKings you have to risk big. I will use Blount in some tournament lineups with the feeling that Belichick will hammer the power run scheme this week. The Bills solid interior line made Lewis the call to get the ball out in space last week. While I think Dion will continue to be utilized more than Vereen, I think Blount will dominate carries in this one. The Jags have a weak DL which will allow the Patriots to go run-heavy. Thinking like a coach here, featuring the power run scheme this week is as much about exploiting an opponent’s weakness as it is about making future opponents have to prepare for another facet of this offense. The Patriots have dominated games through the air in a spread system, now Bill will make them have to prepare for the smash mouth power Patriots. I see Blount rumbling his way for a couple scores this week.
BEAR MARKET
Players we don’t believe will perform up to their salaries. We think you can find better value elsewhere.
Somebody warned you about him last week. Everyone wanted to hype up the Cowboys redemption narrative, while I told you that their week 1 struggles were real. I’m not going to beat a dead horse, DO NOT invest top tier money into a back that is 1)In a time share 2) behind an O-line that is getting demolished 3) is facing one of the top D-Lines in the league. Don’t try to outsmart anyone here, there are much better options at Murray’s price range.
This is the Broncos best shot to get the ground game going against a Lions D that gave up 134 yards on the ground to Adrian Peterson in week 2. However, The Broncos have to travel back across country to play an 0-2 team in their home opener. They will get an inspired Lions effort which will slow down the Broncos backs. Secondly, Ronnie Hillman is nipping at CJ’s heels and has certainly stolen some of the time share in the backfield. Lastly, the red zone touches are currently Hillman -3 Anderson – 0. I’m not ready to completely call Anderson a bust yet, but he’s definitely not worth the cake in week 3.
What happened to the quick elusive pass catching back we saw in preseason?? Lamar hasn’t looked even remotely like himself in the first 2 weeks, only managing 14 yards on 10 carries in week 2. The Dolphins arent doing Lamar any favors by being a top 5 pass heavy team, throwing on nearly 71% of their plays. Outside of the pass happy scheme, Lamar is also dealing with an ankle injury and playing one of the best run stopping front 4’s in the league. If there was ever a time to fade Miller, the time is now.
