NFL

4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 6

If you've played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field -- and to find players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership -- can help separate you from your opponents.

The purpose of this article will be to identify some players who will be the chalk at each position and how you can pivot off of them with high-upside options that could go overlooked.

Let's take a look at pivot options for Week 6.

Sam Darnold, QB, Carolina Panthers ($7,500)

After a disappointing recent outing and other strong quarterback options on the slate, Sam Darnold is likely going overlooked this week.

Darnold started the season with a hot streak and posted at least 19 FanDuel points in four straight games, including a 25-point game and a 33-point outing. That hot start was soured by Darnold scoring only 9.0 FanDuel points last week versus the Philadelphia Eagles, when he went for a season-low of 177 passing yards. In that game, Chuba Hubbard ran for a season-high 101 yards, which limited the amount of production Darnold needed to reach for.

He should be able to push past last week's numbers for a few reasons.

First off, the volume of passing attempts for Darnold was consistent last week (37) with his season average (36.5), but his yards per attempt dropped to 4.78 after being at or above 7.72 in each of the previous four games this season. Also, his completion percentage (56.8%) dropped below 66.7% for the first time all year. Add in three interceptions, and it was a nightmare game for him

Darnold is due for some positive regression after a week that is clearly an outlier, and the matchup isn't too bad versus the Minnesota Vikings. What should help him go overlooked is Joe Burrow ($7,400) and Taylor Heinicke ($7,300) being in the same salary range in nice matchups.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Denver Broncos ($6,000)

Although he is listed as questionable, Melvin Gordon should be good to go.

Gordon logged limited practices on Thursday and Friday. That's the same pattern Gordon has followed the past two weeks, giving us an indication it might be a veteran rest situation.

While you may be worried about Javonte Williams ($5,600), it should be noted that Gordon has played on more or equal snaps to Williams every week as well as running a route on more or the same amount of passing plays every week.

Given this consistency, we want to look to Gordon in this soft matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, who are allowing the 10th-most (24.1) FanDuel points per game to running backs. This game has a lackluster 43.5-point over/under. That should help keep Gordon off the radar for most, but he's capable of a nice game in this spot.

Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Cleveland Browns ($6,000)

To say Odell Beckham hasn't done much this season would be an understatement.

After missing the first few games of the campaign, Beckham has posted 11.2, 4.1, and 3.0 FanDuel points in his first three outings. That is rather uninspiring overall, but that could all change this week against the Arizona Cardinals. This game has a big 49.5-point over/under, a close 3.5-point spread, and a nice defensive matchup for OBJ. The Cardinals are allowing 32.8 FanDuel points per game to wide receivers, the 14th-most in the league.

Although Beckham hasn't posted big fantasy points, what's encouraging to see is that he is playing on 73.6% of the snaps while running a route on 83.8% of passing plays -- both of which are the highest marks on the Cleveland Browns since he made his season debut. His 16.6-yard average depth of target is strong, too, as is his 21.3% target share. The fantasy production should follow at some point.

All of OBJ's underlying metrics are there, and this could be the game he busts out.

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots ($5,600)

The tight end situation for the New England Patriots has become very clear over the past two weeks.

The Patriots signed both Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith in the offseason, and as fantasy players, we didn't know what to make of it. As the season has progressed, we are getting a clear indication of the roles they play. In Week 4, Henry played on 68.5% of the snaps while running a route on 56.5% of passing plays. Compare that to Smith, who played on 48.1% of the snaps and ran a route on 39.1% of passing plays.

We saw a similar situation in Week 5, with Henry playing on 62.3% of the snaps and running a route on 61.3% of the passing plays. Smith played on 63.9% of the snaps but ran a route on just 19.4% of the passing plays.

Henry should be able to put that on full display this week with a soft matchup versus the Dallas Cowboys, who are allowing 12.9 FanDuel points per game to tight ends. With the top tier loaded at tight end this week, pivot down to Henry for some production.