There are six teams with bye weeks this week (Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Tennessee) making things interesting on DraftKings. It leaves us with some limited options, but there are still plenty of players to choose from.
Here are my best values, worst values, players who are worth their high price, and Hail Mary plays for DraftKings this week at the QB position. Create your own team and compete for cash prizes this weekend!
Colin Kaepernick (Getty Images)
Best values
Colin Kaepernick ($7,000) – The San Francisco 49ers are coming off of a bye week and get to face a favorable Rams defense. St. Louis has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, including Kaepernick himself.
In the team’s first matchup this season Kaepernick threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for an extra 37 yards. Kaepernick is relatively cheap considering the prices of other quarterbacks and should be a solid option.
Alex Smith ($5,700) – I put Smith on this list last week and he burned me. It’s not that he played poorly, he completed 25-of-29 passes, he just didn’t throw any touchdowns. I’m expecting that to change this week.
Smith faces the New York Jets this week in a very favorable matchup. The Jets are allowing the most fantasy points to opposing QBs because they’ve allowed 22 passing touchdowns. In fact, in every game this season the Jets have given up multiple scores. I’m not expecting a huge game from Smith, but he’ll be serviceable and comes at a cheap price.
Worst values
Ben Roethlisberger ($7,500) - Big Ben had a game for the ages last week against Indianapolis. He threw for 522 yards and six touchdowns. His salary increased a large margin because of this game and he’s the 10th highest priced QB this week.
He won’t come anywhere near those numbers again against Baltimore and I’ll tell you why. The Ravens have only allowed multiple passing touchdowns in one game this year. Also, the last time Roethlisberger faced Baltimore he finished with 217 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
Peyton Manning ($9,800) – I’ve mentioned it before, but sometimes on DraftKings it’s good to avoid the very high priced players. Manning is the third highest priced overall player this week and he gets a brutal matchup against New England.
The Patriots are allowing the second fewest yards per game in the NFL. They haven’t allowed a 300-yard passer all season. Manning is talented enough to have a good performance, but I’m not betting most of my budget on it.
Pricey, but worth it
Drew Brees ($8,300) – Brees has been on something of a hot streak lately. He’s averaging 341 yards in his last four games (over 300 in each) and has multiple touchdown passes in every game since Week 1.
He’ll face a favorable Panthers defense in his comfortable home stadium. Expect another big game from Brees this week.
Andrew Luck ($10,000) – He carries a heavy price tag, but I’ve repeated many times why Luck is worth it. He should be a good bet again this week.
Tom Brady ($8,400) – In his last three games Brady has thrown 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions. He’s also averaging 325 yards during that span. His high production should continue.
Hail Mary plays
Teddy Bridgewater ($5,200) – I gave Bridgewater too much credit last week. I still have some faith left in him in a great matchup against Washington. He’s an extremely cheap option at QB.
Brian Hoyer ($5,300) – Hoyer’s only has eight touchdown passes through seven games, which is why he’s a Hail Mary option. But he’ll draw a favorable matchup this week against Tampa Bay. The Bucs are allowing the third-most passing yards per game out of any defense and have allowed the fourth-most passing touchdowns.
