By Will Helms
It’s an interesting NFL matchup Monday from a Daily Fantasy perspective as the Rams take on a beat-up 49ers team in San Francisco. Our value comes from very different places on FanDuel and DraftKings so let’s dive in with a few captain options and value plays.
FanDuel
Captain Options
I went back and forth on captain options in this one. One of my teams goes heavily against the grain while the other main play I have goes with a more traditional approach.
Cooper Kupp ($17,500) is by far the most expensive player of the slate, and accordingly, I left him off of one of my teams. It’s shocking, I know, but I wanted to see what kind of team I could put together with Kupp on the bench. In that lineup I captained Matthew Stafford ($15,500) to save some money and filled it in with No. 1s across the board. However, the risk that Kupp has a great game and ruins that approach is high.
If you’re starting Kupp, go ahead and captain him. It’s FanDuel, so you don’t pay any extra to make him the MVP. You’ll have to pay down elsewhere, but he’s been the only reliable option for Stafford this season. This is the approach most people will take, and that’s fine. It simply means you have to hit on your value plays.
Value Plays
Neither team has much depth at the skill positions. That means our value plays are limited, though there are a few names that stick out.
While George Kittle ($8500) has battled injuries, his salary is too low to ignore. He hasn’t had a breakout game this season but was targeted five times a week ago. He hasn’t put up the biggest numbers in recent weeks but faces a Rams defense that has missed 26 tackles this season. He’s going to get targets so if he can get some yardage after the catch he’s in for a big night.
If you’re playing Kupp, you’re going to need to go even lower with some of your other salaries. These are riskier plays but could save a lot of money.
Jauan Jennings ($7500) was targeted six times in week one but has only had three targets since. He’s a boom or bust guy who tends to get open if his quarterback can get him the ball.
Lastly, if you’re really, really stretched thin on salary, you can consider rostering Jordan Mason ($7000) or you can be super weird and roster Kyle Juszczyk, hoping that he catches a few passes and scores a touchdown. I wouldn’t, but you do you.
