**Before we get started I just want to show you exactly what we have upcoming for the NFL season. Football is upon us and whether it’s season-long fantasy football or DFS, the staff here at DFS Army has you covered. If this link doesn’t make you so excited that you want to run through a brick wall then I don’t know what will. Here is what is in-store for the 2017 NFL season.
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Small DFS slates for NFL are so much fun. There are huge advantages to playing these in GPPs and you can really make a killing if a contrarian lineup hits. Beyond that, it just adds fun to the second half of your afternoon, so why not have a little skin in the game? This article isn’t so much about research or best plays, but more about playing against the field. Our goal is to put together a strategy that will run circles around those that are too chalky with the limited player pool. Let’s get to work.
I am absolutely in love with this afternoon slate. We have three games to select from and each one is exciting for its own reasons. The Seahawks are at the Packers, the Colts are at the Rams, and the Panthers are at the 49ers.
I normally do not like to spread my ownership around to multiple teams for these small slates as I normally go with a boom or bust game stack type build. But this slate is different and I think there are some ways we can take advantage of a few low profile players that will carry considerably less ownership than some of the bigger names.
QB
At quarterback, there are two clear cut options and both diverge into two separate strategies. I will lay both out for you. The first route is to roll with Aaron Rodgers and eat the chalk. He will be the highest owned quarterback on the slate and it won’t even be close. That said, he was a virtual lock for 20 + Fanduel points last season and is favored at home against the Seahawks with an implied team total (ITT) of 27.00 points.
The second option is to roll with Brian Hoyer. Kyle Shanahan is a miracle worker and I really think Hoyer could surprise people this season if he can stay healthy. Hoyer will likely be one of the bottom three owned quarterbacks of the week, possibly ahead of Goff and Tolzien. He’s the only other option I would want.
RB
Todd Gurley has a fantastic matchup at home and the Rams are favored to win. These things all add up to him having a solid day. He should receive all third down work and goal line opportunities. He’s a lock no matter which QB you choose.
Carlos Hyde will be in a poor same script, according to Vegas, which will keep his ownership low. I think if you roll with Rodgers you need to have Hyde instead of Ty Montgomery and/or Christian McCaffrey. We need to have some lower owned players if we are eating the chalk with Rodgers.
If you run Hoyer out there I think the smart play is to use Ty Montgomery and hope he rushes for two or three touchdowns, which will dramatically lower the score that Aaron Rodgers and his WRs have. This is a great way to play the field.
WR
With Rodgers locked in we want to take advantage of the highest upside stack on Fanduel, the QB/WR1/oWR1 stack. If Sherman is active I think Jordy is a nice fade option and we can go all the way down to Randall Cobb as he has the best matchup of the three Packers starting WRs. This will leave a nice lump sum of salary on the table when we finish our construction, which is also okay for these small slates (don’t fear to leave money on the table in GPPs). We will want to run out either Doug Baldwin and/or Paul Richardson to raise our scoring ceiling. I see zero issues with rolling out three wide receivers from the SEA@GB game if you have Rodgers.
If you are using Hoyer, because he’s going to carry a lower ownership than Rodgers, we can afford to be a bit chalkier at the WR position. I would look to grab the players that will likely see the highest volume. Doug Baldwin, Jordy Nelson, Pierre Garcon, Kelvin Benjamin, and even Sammy Watkins are the plays to roll with. My dark horse at WR with Hoyer is Marquise Goodwin. I like the idea of using Benjamin across from Goodwin and Baldwin with Hoyer. That is fantastic upside and I can almost guarantee you that you won’t have a duplicate lineup with this construction.
TE
If using Hoyer, roll with Greg Olsen. I actually think Olsen might be the best player regardless, as I think the masses will lean towards using Jimmy Graham. Martellus Bennett and Jack Doyle are great lower owned plays that I would contemplate using with either quarterback.
K
I love Mason Crosby or Greg Zuerline. If we roll out the Rams defense there is a correlation in using Greg the Leg as they’ll hopefully set themselves up for a few short field drives. Crosby is the chalky play with the highest ITT to kick for.
DEF
The Rams are going to be the chalk defense and for good reason. The Colts are in shambles and I think they’ll get overmatched, by the Rams – I know, so they are pretty safe.
The large field GPP play is the 49ers defense. Playing at home with a new head coach that everyone is excited about could have them fired up. Cam Newton hasn’t had a ton of time with the first unit and they could look shaky in this game. This is purely a large field GPP play because I don’t have a lot of faith that their defense improved over last season.
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