This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
Before jumping in headfirst into the whirlwind of fun that is Yahoo Daily Fantasy Football, be sure to differentiate from the variety of games offered. Since Head-to-Heads, 50/50s and Double Ups pay nearly half of entrants, your best bet to cashing is to target players with higher floors. Think heavily targeted No. 1 WRs, RBs who get the bulk of a team's carries and upper-echelon QBs in matchups with a tight Vegas point spread and a high total.
Tournaments/Guaranteed Prize Pools (GPPs) require a bit more of your inner contrarian -- target offensive players with higher ceilings in advantageous matchups. Huge point totals can come from the most unpredictable of places -- the most obvious plays are not always the right ones. Although previous week's performances should be noted, each new week of action should be considered its own season. Don't chase last week's stats.
TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)
Jameis Winston (TB, $30) - If you've been playing for several weeks, you probably realize just how difficult it is to build a well-balanced lineup with the highest priced quarterbacks. If you're pairing Tom Brady with Rob Gronkowski, it leaves you exposed, with dicey options at the other positions. Looking for value at the QB position is vital to lineup construction in Yahoo Daily Fantasy Football. Winston is a dynamic option this week as the 18th-highest priced quarterback. After a rough start to his career -- seven INT in his first four games -- Winston has been pick-free over his last three outings. Winston is a dual threat as he has the capability of adding additional fantasy points with his legs, despite gaining just 91 yards on 24 carries thus far. The matchup with the Giants lines up for a potentially high scoring, competitive affair with one of the highest projected point totals (47.5) of the week and the Buccaneers slated as 2.5-point underdogs. The Giants defense certainly won't allow another seven touchdown passes. But they are still short-handed despite the impending return of Jason Pierre-Paul this week, and could certainly allow the surging Winston to put up a 25 FP game.
LeGarrette Blount (NE, $23) - The fantasy world will be heavily invested in the Patriots in what may well be the biggest slaughtering on an open field since Braveheart. The key cogs of this machine are expensive and tough to afford together without comprising other lineup slots, so we have to pick our spots. But we certainly want a piece of the biggest projected point total of the week (53.5) where the Pats are two-touchdown faves. We know that Brady and company don't ease up on their opponents even when they have a big lead. This game lines up as a "Blount Game." The big man has five touchdowns in six games and put up fantasy point totals of 22.9 and 27.7 in blowouts against the Jaguars and the Colts. His two stinkers (0.4, -0.3) came in competitive games against tough rush defenses (Jets, Bills) where Dion Lewis received the bulk of the work. The Redskins are allowing the second most yards-per-carry to backs (4.9) and should get a heavy dose of the BlountMan throughout all four quarters.
Brandon LaFell (NE, $18) - Since his return from IR two weeks ago, LaFell has seen 15 targets thrown his way. He had a big case of the yips in his return, dropping several passes. But LaFell looked markedly better Sunday against the Dolphins, catching four of his seven targets for 47 yards and contributing with a key block on a 47-yard Gronk TD. Now back up to speed, LaFell will continue to get looks in this dominant offense. He broke out last year, nearly reaching 1,000 receiving yards while catching seven touchdowns, adding 119 yards and two touchdowns in three playoff games. LaFell has a size advantage over Chris Culliver, the cornerback he likely will face the majority of his snaps Sunday. At a mere 18 bucks, LaFell is heavily underpriced. With so few cheap wideout options to trust this week, why not grab a piece of the highest projected point total and quite possibly the greatest football offense of our generation.
Other Against-the-Grainers:
QB: Tyrod Taylor (BUF, $34)
RB: DeMarco Murray (PHI, $28), Jeremy Langford (CHI, $14)
WR: Emmanuel Sanders (DEN, $31), Martavis Bryant (PIT, $27), Justin Hunter (TEN, $11)
TE: Jordan Cameron (MIA, $15)
DEF: New York Jets ($12)
CASH GAMES (H2H, 50/50s and DOUBLE UPS)
Quarterback
Peyton Manning (DEN, $31) - I won't waste your time with the high-end options. We all know Tom Brady ($48) and Philip Rivers ($45) have been the two best quarterbacks in fantasy and real life, and for that they are aptly and expensively priced. Your flexibility is greatly restricted if you attempt to build around them with pricing extremely tight once again this week. Eli Manning is a solid option against a porous Bucs secondary. But for $10 less, you can get his big brother in a fine matchup against his former team, the Colts. Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass last week against the Packers, but looked better as he threw for a season-high 340 yards, completing 21 of 29 passes. The Broncos added Vernon Davis via trade this week -- though you'll read everywhere that it may take Davis a couple of weeks to learn the offense, don't discount the effect the speedy veteran can have immediately, especially as another red-zone target for Manning. The only concern here is that the Broncos get off to a healthy lead and rely on their two-headed tailbacks (Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson) in the second half, instead of on Peyton's arm. The Colts may actually be able to stay competitive this week as they have a bit of momentum following an impressive near-comeback effort against the Panthers on MNF. Not to mention, the firing of offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. Manning's 7:11 TD:INT ratio has kept his price low -- 31 bucks is a steal, and it's a good week to take advantage.
Running Backs
Mark Ingram (NO, $29) - With Khiry Robinson out for the season, the Saints will have to rely on workhorse Mark Ingram even more for the remainder of the season. No stranger to the trainer's table himself over the course of his career, Ingram has managed to stay healthy the last two years and has been one of the league's most effective and consistent running backs. Ingram has five touchdowns, averaging a solid 4.5 yards per carry. He has contributed in the passing game as well, catching 33 of 37 targets for 274 receiving yards. Ingram has contributed double-digit fantasy points in seven of eight games and is averaging 15.6 FP. Ingram is reasonably priced in a matchup against a middle-of-the-road run defense where the game flow is expected to roll in the Saints' favor. Ingram will be under-owned this week with so many options well below and above his price point.
Jonathan Stewart (CAR, $23) - After a bit of a slow start, Stewart has been a workhorse lately. Over his last three games, Stewart is averaging 95 rushing yards per game, running the rock for 20, 24 and 24 carries. Two things we know for sure -- that Stewart will get the lion's share of ground work and that if he's on the field for a pass play, it's to block, not to get us extra fantasy points by catching passes. What we don't know is when he is going to get vultured at the goal line. That vulture has many faces -- sometimes it's their dashing QB Cam Newton, or veteran refrigerator, Mike Tolbert. It sure was nice to see Stewart have the opportunity to run one in on his own against the Colts on MNF. This weekend's matchup with the Packers is expected to be a low-scoring affair with two of the league's best defenses. It would be surprising if this game turned into a shootout, but this is the NFL -- a new level of crazy occurs on a weekly basis. Nevertheless, the Panthers passing game, outside of Greg Olsen, is mediocre at best. The Packers have been easy to run on (4.7 YPC against, one rush TD per game) and Stewart is a shoo-in for another 20 carries.
Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham (NYG, $35) - Beckham had a monster 35 FP game (eight rec, 130 yards, three TD) against the Saints last week after struggling to hit 100 total receiving yards over his two previous outings. Beckham appears to be fully past his hamstring issue and should be an easy plug-and-play this week. The Bucs' secondary has been easily exploitable this season -- 17 pass touchdowns allowed is second most in the NFL behind only the Saints. At full speed, there are almost no cornerbacks in the league capable of covering OBJ -- certainly not Mike Jenkins or Johnthan Banks, both of whom rank among the worst CBs in the league. This may be a good week to combo Beckham with Antonio Brown, if you can make it happen.
Antonio Brown (PIT, $34) - If only picking receivers was as easy as taking WR-X against CB-Y. We would all be winners every week, wouldn't we? Matchup is one of many factors that can help predict future performance, but it is not the only. In the case of Brown, we are talking about the league's most consistent wideout over the past two years. Brown has a great matchup against burnable Raiders CBs, operating at a depressed price due to having to work with the Steelers' second and third string quarterbacks. In Big Ben's return, Brown was a target monster once again, seeing 11 balls thrown his way. Brown caught only six of those, but one was for a touchdown. Nevertheless, a positive sign. With Le'Veon Bell out for the year, Ben will go back to relying on the league's most consistent receiver. Enjoy the slight discount while you can.
Steve Johnson (SD, $18) - With Keenan Allen out for the remainder of the season, expect much of the DFS love to head toward the veteran deep threat, Malcom Floyd. Floyd had a monster performance last week, catching two touchdowns passes (23.2 FP). The 34-year-old's week-to-week numbers are volatile, typical for a deep-ball guy. In fact, those two TDs last week were just his second and third this season. Despite losing Allen, the Chargers still have a plethora of viable weekly targets, namely Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead. Although Johnson will not be forgotten, he may certainly be the least sexy of the bunch. Unsexy works in cash games as Johnson stands the most to gain in terms of an expanded role with the offense. Johnson caught two touchdowns on 11 receptions in the first two games of the season, but has not been DFS-worthy since, though much of that can be attributed to a hamstring injury from which he appears to have fully recovered. In GPPs, I won't blame you for leaning toward Floyd, but if you're looking for that higher ceiling -- Stevie J is your man.
Tight End
Martellus Bennett (CHI, $17) - It's difficult to safely lock Bennett into cash game lineups with Alshon Jeffery back in the mix, which makes Marty having to play second fiddle. Bennett has surpassed 60 receiving yards just once this season after exceeding that mark five times in 2014 en route to 916 receiving yards and leading all tight ends in the NFL with 90 receptions. Bennett has just two fantasy-worthy games this year (14.0 FP in Week 1 vs. GB, and 19.8 in Week 4 vs. OAK), both coming while Jeffery was out. On the plus side, Bennett is still seeing a fair number of targets -- 13 in the two games he's shared the field with Alshon. If you are able to fit Gronk or Greg Olsen ($26) without compromising heavily elsewhere, kudos to you. On the cheap, Bennett is your guy if you're looking for an under-the-radar alternative who will see even more targets on Monday night with the high possibility that Matt Forte won't play. The world will be chasing Heath Miller's points from last week in a matchup against TE-friendly Oakland. Dare to be different.
Defense/Special Teams
New England Patriots ($14) - What more can you ask for in a defense? Priced fairly for a date with pick-prone Kirk Cousins, in a home game as 14-point favorites in the week's highest projected point total. The Pats defense is averaging 3.7 sacks per game and has eight total interceptions through seven games. But the production is difficult to project -- the defense has had four disappointing fantasy games, scoring five points or less, but managed 13, 14 and 15 FP in the three other games. Cousins had an incredible comeback performance against the Bucs in Week 7, but heads into Foxboro with a 9:8 TD:INT ratio. The one piece missing from the Pats' defensive success this season is an interception returned for a touchdown. Attempting to predict pick-sixes is a fool's errand, but don't be surprised to see at least one from this unit in Week 9.
Honorable Mentions:
QB: Eli Manning (NYG, $41)
RB: LeSean McCoy (BUF, $28), Danny Woodhead (SD, $25)
WR: Alshon Jeffery (CHI, $29), Mike Evans (TB, $27), Michael Crabtree (OAK, $24)
TE: Charles Clay (BUF, $17)
DEF: Denver Broncos ($17)
