NFL

4 NFL FanDuel Value Plays to Target in Week 12

One of the crucial aspects of daily fantasy football is unearthing cheap production.

Our projections can help you do just that by allowing you to sort players by their point-per-dollar value. A lot of times, the top value plays come as a result of injury situations, meaning it's imperative to check inactives on Sunday morning before setting your lineups.

When looking for a salary-saving option, check out one of these players this week.

Jaylen Samuels, RB, Steelers ($6,900)

Among players priced at $7,000 or cheaper, Jaylen Samuels is the top point-per-dollar value (as of Thursday), per our projections.

James Conner missed practice Thursday. On top of that, JuJu Smith-Schuster is looking iffy at best, as well, so the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense might be hurting for playmakers in their road meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincy is a sweet matchup for running backs as they give up the fifth-most FanDuel points per game to the position (25.4). On the negative, Samuels played just 33% of the snaps last week even with Conner's quick exit, compared to a 47% snap rate for Trey Edmunds. But Edmunds had just three carries and three targets while Samuels logged five carries and six targets.

In Weeks 9 and 10 -- both games that Conner missed -- Samuels saw a combined 20 targets and 22 carries. Our models project him to operate as a lead back this week, forecasting him to see 15 carries and six targets on his way to 14.9 FanDuel points, and he figures to be a busy man if Conner and JuJu are on the sideline.

Vance McDonald, TE, Steelers ($5,300)

Sticking with Pittsburgh, Vance McDonald is appealing for the same reason Samuels is -- the Steelers are looking like they'll be very short-handed.

In Week 11, McDonald led the team in targets with Diontae Johnson and Smith-Schuster forced to exit early, and he's got exactly seven targets in three straight games. That volume is hard to find at tight end, especially for cheap, and the matchup is tasty as Cincy sits 31st in Target Success Rate allowed to tight ends.

Our models are on the Vance train this week, ranking him fourth among main slate tight ends, though it's a horrible week for the position. We project him for 7.1 FanDuel points.

Miles Sanders, RB, Eagles ($5,600)

This is completely contingent on Jordan Howard -- who hasn't yet been cleared for contact as of Wednesday -- sitting again this week. If Howard plays, Miles Sanders becomes a lot less fun.

The Philadelphia Eagles are at home versus the Seattle Seahawks. While the matchup isn't amazing, this is all about volume. Sanders played 85.3% of the snaps last week and amassed 11 carries and four targets. He turned that into a mere 47 total yards, but that came against a New England Patriots defense that is surrendering the fewest FanDuel points per game to running backs. The Seahawks are giving up nearly twice as many points per game to the position (20.1, compared to 11.9).

Sanders has better touchdown odds this week, too. After scoring just 10 points against the Pats, Philly is implied for 24.50 points this week.

Again, this hinges on Howard sitting, but if Sanders gets to be the lead guy once more, the volume makes him enticing at $5,600.

Jamison Crowder, WR, Jets ($6,500)

Jamison Crowder is rolling, and he's got a good shot to keep it going this week in a home clash with the Oakland Raiders.

Over his last three, Crowder has put up 18.3, 16.6 and 16.1 FanDuel points, going for 70-plus yards and a score in each game. Not only does Crowder pace the New York Jets in target share (23%) in that span, he also leads them in air yards share (25%), per AirYards.com. He hasn't seen fewer than five looks in a game since Week 5.

Oakland is allowing the ninth-most FanDuel points per game to wideouts (31.5), and Gang Green owns a respectable 21.75-point implied total.

Crowder is in play in all formats this week, though he's likely better suited for cash games.