NFL

4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 9

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 9.

Derek Carr, QB, Las Vegas Raiders ($7,500)

With a loaded slate and plenty of options, we shouldn't see Derek Carr be a popular quarterback this week.

The Las Vegas Raiders are 3.5-point road favorites set to take on the New York Giants, and despite the soft matchup, Carr isn't going to be popular with Justin Herbert ($7,600) and Jalen Hurts ($7,800) being nearly the same salary.

Carr comes in with exactly two passing touchdowns in six of his seven games this season, posting 20 or more FanDuel points in five of those seven games. That level of production is very obtainable against the Giants, who are allowing the 13th-most (19.5) FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks.

While removing Henry Ruggs from the offense could have a negative impact, Carr should still be able to have plenty of success against the Giants since his two most targeted receivers -- Darren Waller (24.1% target share) and Hunter Renfrow (20.1% target share) -- will be out there. Both have an average depth of target (aDOT) of less than 10 yards, which fits well in this matchup.

According to SharpFootballStats, the Giants are allowing an average passer rating of 103.0 to quarterbacks on attempts less than 15 yards, compared to the league average of a 96 passer rating in the split. All of this should put Carr in a good spot while going overlooked.

Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs ($6,700)

Will Darrel Williams be a popular option in the mid-tier this week?

That's the question I'm asking since we have Cordarrelle Patterson only $300 more and Boston Scott a bit lower at $6,300. This puts Williams in no man's land, and you combine that with Derrick Gore posting 11 rushing attempts, 48 yards, and a rushing touchdown last week in an island game, and I can see people shying away from Williams.

Despite that modestly strong line from Gore, it has to be noted that he played on only 19.5% of the snaps last week while running a route on only 8.0% of passing plays and seeing no targets.

Compare that to Williams, who played on 64.9% of the snaps, ran a route on 70.0% of passing plays, and saw 6 targets. Williams finished with 19 total touches and 110 combined yards. It's still his backfield, and he has a good matchup versus the Green Bay Packers, who are allowing 21.3 FanDuel points per game to running backs.

Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans ($6,800)

Even with Tyrod Taylor returning this week, Brandin Cooks isn't expected to be chalky.

That's right -- Taylor is expected to be back after being out since Week 2. Despite an upgrade at quarterback, Cooks is likely going overlooked, and that's flat-out bananas to me. I get that the Houston Texans have an implied total of only 20.25 points, and I get that Emmanuel Sanders ($6,500) is right near Cooks in salary, but we should still be looking to the Texans' top receiver this week.

Why is that? Well, funny you should ask. He's playing the Miami Dolphins -- the very same Dolphins who are allowing the second-most (36.1) FanDuel points per game to wide receivers this season. Miami has not shown anything on defense that would make me shy away from attacking them.

Tyler Conklin, TE, Minnesota Vikings ($5,200)

Tight end is a mess this week. What else is new?

The top-tier of tight end is solid -- as always -- but after that, there's a lot to be desired.

At $5,100, Dan Arnold is expected to be a go-to option with his 18.4% target share for the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is the second-highest on the team since he was traded there four weeks ago. There's no doubt that's great, but Tyler Conklin has an elite matchup in a better game environment.

The Minnesota Vikings are taking on the Baltimore Ravens with a slate-high 50.5-point over/under and a 6.0-point spread. The Vikings are the underdogs, and a positive passing game script is something we can expect for them.

This puts Conklin in an advantageous spot since the Ravens are allowing a league-high 16.2 FanDuel points per game to tight ends. Conklin is playing on a solid 68.5% of the snaps, running a route on 47.4% of the passing plays, and has piled up at least 5 targets in four of the last five games.