6 Daily Fantasy Football Tournament Dart Throws for Week 5
Every week in DFS, there is a player who comes out of nowhere to be the slate-breaker. These seemingly incognito players can be game-changers if you manage to roster them during the right week.
Tournament-only fliers have plenty of appeal, offering low ownership, below value pricing, cheap stacking options, roster flexibility and underrated ceilings. The purpose of this article is to identify dart throws to take your shots on during the main slate on FanDuel.
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
FanDuel Salary: $7,400
The Cincinnati Bengals-Arizona Cardinals game has all the makings of a shootout. Per our Heat Map, Vegas projects this match-up for the second-highest over/under (47.5) of the main slate. A back-and-forth, aerial onslaught may be the most likely outcome as Arizona ranks first in pass plays per game, while Cincinnati ranks third. Both defenses reside near the bottom of the basement in passing DVOA.
Kyler Murray finds himself in a prime position to breakout as he's expected to be playing from behind in negative game script (+3.5), which will lead to plenty of passing opportunities against a Swiss cheese secondary. The rookie is the third-best point--per-dollar value at the position, per our models, and is projected for the third-most points despite being only the 12th-most expensive signal caller on the slate.
The Cardinals will be without Christian Kirk and Damiere Byrd, which means stacking the Arizona offense will be easier, as targets will be more tightly distributed. With Deshaun Watson likely to be the chalk at quarterback, Murray could be a huge swing play in GPPs.
Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets
FanDuel Salary: $5,500
Sam Darnold returned to New York Jets practice on Wednesday for the first time since recovering from mono. Fortunate for Jets fans, the New York beat reporters seem cautiously optimistic that Darnold may suit up against the Philadelphia Eagles, though that's far from a given.
Robby Anderson is coming off a brutal stretch versus the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. In a dream matchup this week, the perpetually torched Eagles secondary ranks 30th versus the position. With a two-touchdown spread in favor of the Eagles, it's likely that New York will be in constant passing situations. The Jets' wideout is priced at just $5,500, but his his projection of 9.4 points could see a boost if Darnold gets the nod. That uptick would make Anderson one of the best values on the slate.
Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans
FanDuel Salary: $5,700
Houston Texans receiver Kenny Stills sustained a hamstring injury against the Carolina Panthers and is a question mark this week. If Stills does indeed miss Sunday’s bout with the Atlanta Falcons, teammate Will Fuller needs to be a core member of your GPP lineups.
An exodus of Stills would free up 11.3% of the Houston target share, including 1.25 deep-ball targets per game. Fuller, with turbo 4.32 speed, is due for a breakout game against the Falcons 27th-ranked defense. While he is only averaging 8 FanDuel points per game, Fuller ranks 12th in air yards, making him primed for a spike week. Deshaun Watson will likely be highly owned in tournaments, and Fuller is a cheap way to grab some exposure to the Texans, who have the third-highest implied team total.
Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
FanDuel Salary: $6,800
Everyone and their mother will be on David Johnson, as the Cardinals' back is the single best value at any position on the slate. One way to leverage DJ ownership while still getting exposure to this game is by pivoting to Joe Mixon. The Bengals' most recent pitiful performance this past Monday night will be fresh in the public's mind. Rostering Mixon is the perfect way to take advantage of recency bias and the chalk. The Bengals back is $300 more expensive but offers all the same matchup advantages as David Johnson does in this clash.
Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
FanDuel Salary: $6,000
Philadelphia has second-highest spread (-15.0) and largest implied team (29.0) total of the slate. At only $6,000, surely this is Miles Sanders week -- right?. With constant positive game script, the rookie back should see easy sledding against a Jets defense that ranks 29th overall, per our schedule-adjusted numbers. Thanks to Jordan Howard's performance against the Green Bay Packers, recency bias will be in the rookie’s favor. Sanders is cheap, likely to be low owned, and can easily fit into game stack. I expect the first-year pro to get his largest workload of the season in this one.
O.J. Howard, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
FanDuel Salary: $5,400
This is the week of underperformers finally breaking out, and I can't think of another player who has fallen so far out of the graces of fantasy gamers than O.J. Howard. Prior to the start of the season, Howard was a lock and load top-five tight end with upside to spare. Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started off slowly out of the gate, their recent point eruptions have somehow omitted Howard.
Volume has been the main culprit as Howard has failed to garner more than five targets in a game. When he has gotten targets, his 88th percentile athleticism has shown as he ranks fourth in yards per target. Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich would do well to utilize Howard’s 98th percentile speed score by targeting Howard down the field, where he is at his best. If Howard can catch Jameis Winston's eye more often, the efficiency and athleticism will take over, leading to what could be Howard's best game of the season.
Nathan Coleman is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nathan Coleman also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username nac89. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
