FANDUEL QUICK PICKS WEEK 4
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FANDUEL QUICK PICKS WEEK 4

FanDuel Promotions, Fantasy Football, NFL DFS

FANDUEL QUICK PICKS WEEK 4

By Brian Quick

Happy Wednesday fellow FanDuelers. You should already be in the preliminary mode of picking your teams for this week. Remember, it’s a week-long process and you should put more time into it than you do your actual job. Unless of course you’re my kid’s teacher, then you should be prepping cool stuff for class. Here are this week’s Quick Picks for FANDUEL TOURNAMENT LINEUP CONSTRUCTION.

Quick Tip #1 (behavioral) – Separate yourself mentally from your regular fantasy league I’ve got this one friend who picks all of his players from his main fantasy league. These selections for FanDuel are tainted because you are biased and are essentially doubling down on your players. I sometimes find myself not picking a guy in FanDuel because I’m playing him in my main fantasy league. My advice is to make the right choices for FanDuel and let your other fantasy leagues play second fiddle. The lure of FanDuel is that every week is the most important week.

PLAYER PICKS FOR WEEK 4

Go with lots of very common old fashioned last names this week.

Quick Tip #2 (Player Pick) – Marvin Jones – WR – Bengals ($5300)
The Chiefs have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing WRs this year. It’s a semi-short week for the Chiefs having played Monday night and it’s a back to back road game for them. Jones is coming off of a 5 catch 94 yard performance last week in which he was targeted 8 times. He has scored in back to back games and if the Chiefs try to take away A.J. Green then Jones can keep his scoring streak going.

Quick Tip #3 (Player Pick) – James Jones – WR – ($6000)
Not good enough to make the Giants but more than good enough to make your FanDuel lineup this week. The value is great here at $6000 for Aaron Rogers longtime touchdown buddy. Randall Cobb does a great job grabbing defenders attention which frees up Jones as he quietly puts up great numbers. The 49ers will be better at home than they were last week, but being better than atrocious is only an upgrade to terrible. In week 3, Jones was targeted 8 times, had 7 receptions, 139 receiving yards, and a touchdown. If Davante Adams is out Jones looks even better.

Quick Tip #4 (Player Pick) – Julio Jones – WR – ($9400)
Yup. An all Jones WR corps this week. Jones-Jones-Jones
What I’ve learned thus far is that I’m a lot happier with Julio in my lineup than when he’s not in my lineup. With Ben Roethlisberger out, I’m going to pass on Antonio Brown this week and go with Julio. I like to always have that one dominant and consistent WR in my lineup. Julio was targeted an absurd 20 times last week at Dallas, with 12 catches, 164 yards, and two touchdowns. Everyone knows Matt Ryan is trying to get him the ball and nobody can stop it. That’s the kind of beast you want in your FanDuel lineup.

Quick Tip #5 (Player Pick) – Karlos Williams – RB -($6300)
It looks as though LeSean McCoy might not play this week. Keep tabs on this as I would only use him if McCoy is out. Karlos is big, fast, and furious. He has scored a TD in every game this season. He is Rex Ryan’s type of running back and I can see Rex trying to go with his favorite ground and pound strategy vs. the Giants. Last week Karlos only had 12 carries but still managed to break the century mark with 110 yards. He has the ability to break a long one as evidenced by his 41 yard TD run last week against the Dolphins. The Giants run D has been better than I thought, but I’m not a believer in them on a consistent basis. Karlos could have a huge day but I would not use him in Thursday tournament because you may not know for sure about McCoy’s status.

THE LONGSHOTS

Below are 5 longshots that have a chance to hit this week along with a small blurb about each one and their Fanduel price. Adding any one of these guys is like adding a longshot into horse racing exacta or trifecta. If they hit, you look like a genius.

CJ Spiller – RB – $5500 – Hey, remember this guy? Most of us keep trying to forget him. However, he is cheap, and Sean Payton has said he is committed to getting him more touches. The Saints should be trailing all game long so I can see him catching a lot of passes.

Luke McCown – QB – $5800 – If you’re one of those “go cheap on a QB” type of guys then here ya go. He did surprisingly OK last week with a 31-38 for 310 yards slash line. That’s not too shabby. This week, the Saints should be trailing the whole game and he should be throwing and getting lots of garbage time stats.

Brian Quick – WR – $5000 – Finally, the kid’s parties are over and my wife is letting me play this week. He is cheap, but the Cardinals D is real tough. Use only if you want to be the only guy using him in all of FanDuel, in the ultra rare event that he has a great game, which causes them to make a new commercial about you, the guy who played Brian Quick in week 4 and won big money.

Coby Fleener – TE – $5000 – Sneaky play here as it looks like Dwayne Allen will be out again. Fleener showed a little bit of life last week catching 4 of 6 targets for 51 yards. I can see Andrew Luck remembering how he like to throw him touchdown passes this week. Not a bad longshot to use to conserve cash for other spots.

Ty Montgomery – WR – $4700 – He was on the field for 66 of 76 offensive plays in week 3. If Davante Adams is out (likely) then he might be worth a shot at that price. There should be plenty to go around vs. a bad 49ers defense.

Thank you once again for taking the time to read this. Remember, this is early week advice, so make sure you read up as the week goes on and make necessary changes to your lineups before game times. Please follow me on twitter @QuickRotoTips and feel free to offer feedback or to blame me if you take some of my advice and it all goes terribly. Good Luck.

FantasyPros and FanDuel Week 2 DFAC Results
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FantasyPros and FanDuel Week 2 DFAC Results

FanDuel Promotions, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football DFS

FantasyPros and FanDuel Week 2 DFAC Results

After a rough week 1 in the FantasyPros and FanDuel DFAC, I came back with a top 15 finish in week 2. I was very surprised I was able to cash with both of my running backs having sub-par days. My running back selections weren’t my biggest issue on the week. Two New Orleans Saints cost me big time as I had the under-performing Brandin Cooks and the minimum priced Zach Hocker in my lineup. Playing Brandin Cooks cost me double because it meant I had to not stack Larry Fitzgerald with Carson Palmer in my lineup. That mistake cost me 1st this week. I could have had a zero point kicker and two bad running backs and still walked away with a win. Bad, bad mistake by me. Below you’ll see a side by side of my team and the winner’s team.

Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings
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Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings

Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings

My week two rankings went terribly because of some injuries and some of my fades actually having huge days. For week three I’m hopeful for a return to the top of the standings in the weekly Fantasy Pros Rankings contest and I’m going to need Andrew Luck to finally get going. This week he has an ideal match up against the Tennessee Titans and he should finally wake up from his early season malaise. Dion Lewis finally has my attention when it comes to ranking him, even in standard leagues and I’m starting to finally lower the rankings of last year’s stars like DeMarco Murray. Keep an eye out for movement as Alshon Jeffrey and DeAndre Hopkins may not be able to go this week.

NFL DFS Week 3 DraftKings Podcast with Pat Mayo
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NFL DFS Week 3 DraftKings Podcast with Pat Mayo

DraftKings Promotions, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football DFS, NFL DFS, Podcast

NFL DFS Week 3 DraftKings Podcast with Pat Mayo

Pat Mayo (@thePME) of The FNTSY Sports Network, RotoeXperts, and DailyRoto stops by The Fantasy Coach Podcast to talk about NFL DFS Week 3 for DraftKings. I promise we talk some strategy after catching up and exchanging the finer points on blogging and tagging posts. (I kid you not!) After talking about this week’s hot-button issues like the NCAA going after college athletes for playing DFS we delve into the week 3 slate.

First we discuss Thursday Night’s game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants and discuss if we want any exposure to the game or if we should play the Thursday start slate but fade the match up. Kirk Cousins, Jordan Reed, Pierre Garcon, Matt Jones and Odell Beckham Jr. are discussed.

We then talk about paying up for Defense this week and how to go about setting your lineup if you are going to take Seattle at home against the Bears.

We discuss paying up for RBs this week versus taking low priced options. Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, and Jamaal Charles are discussed versus the lower priced James Starks, Danny Woodhead, TJ Yeldon and Latavious Murray.

We touch on the big DFS game of the week as the Pittsburgh Steelers are visiting the St. Louis Rams. Players discussed include, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Nick Foles and Todd Gurley.

We talk about highly volatile tournament plays such as Torrey Smith and Ted Ginn Jr.

We discuss bankroll management. Differentiating between building a tournament lineup versus a cash game lineup and discuss how hard it can be to stay on course.

FanDuel Quick Picks for NFL Week 3
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FanDuel Quick Picks for NFL Week 3

FanDuel Promotions, Fantasy Football, NFL DFS, Uncategorized

FanDuel Quick Picks for NFL Week 3

By the time it takes you to read this article countless numbers of Americans will have already been exposed to millions upon millions of FanDuel and DraftKings commercials today. I told my mother, aged 67, that I won some money playing Fanduel, and she knew what I was talking about! It is a full-fledged revolution, and in this writer’s opinion, second only to the one in 1776. The purpose of my articles are two-fold. One is to provide some philosophical insight into behavioral tendencies of FanDuel players. I will study my own behavior as well as the behaviors of the FanDuel community. Why was I so high on Austin Seferian-Jenkins last week? What is my obsession with David Johnson on the Cardinals? These behaviors are often destructive in FanDuel and I’m sure you exhibit some of them too. My second purpose is to provide you with FanDuel tips early in the week so that you can begin to make your plan. For me, it’s a week long process. It starts Tuesday morning, usually in the one place I can lock the door sit down and have some quiet time (you Dads out there know exactly where I’m talking about). There is always a follow up session later in the day, sometimes three or four depending on what I eat for dinner that day! I will present to you every Wednesday players that have caught my eye based on matchups, price value, and observations made from the prior week. I hope you will react to my “Quick Picks” and challenge me. Doing so, will only make both of our lineups better. Thank-you for taking the time to read.

Quick Tip #1 (behavioral) – When playing in a Thursday FanDuel tournament pick only one Thursday player or none at all. I’ve noticed the impulsivity of FanDuel players. That same impulsivity lies within you as well. Scenario: There is a Thursday night game and you want to watch it but in your other fantasy leagues you don’t have any players. What do you do? You load up a FanDuel lineup with Thursday night players so that you have something to watch and get excited about. Suddenly, Rueben Randle looks like a great bargain. In your head he is finally having his breakout game and you remember seeing an article in the newspaper (online of course, not an actual newspaper) that Eli wants to get him more involved. They just released Preston Parker, more targets for Rueben! Fast forward to later that night, Rueben has 2 catches for 17 yards and you are stuck with him. Let other people load up on Thursday players. You can basically eliminate from contention all those that do.

Quick Tip #2 (Player Pick) – Let TE Jordan Reed ($5300) be your only player chosen from the Thursday night game. This will take extreme discipline as you will want to take Odell Beckham Jr. after he torched the Redskins last year and is coming off of a great week. If he’s your guy, by all means take him. However, you should be aware that the Redskins pass defense has been really good thus far, and they are a much more physical team than the Giants are. Back to Jordan Reed, Kirk Cousins has targeted him a team leading 17 times, weeks one and two combined, and he’s played 85% of snaps. Last week he did well against a formidable Rams Defense to the tune of 6 targets, 6 catches, and 82 yards. He is clearly Kirk Cousins favorite target in the air with Desean Jackson out of action. The Giants defense is terrible at stopping opposing teams’ tight ends as they were torched by both Dallas TE’s and Jacob Tamme last week. At $5300, I think you can get Travis Kelce production at a cheaper price.

Quick Tip #3 (Behavioral) – Stop picking random stud performers from last week thinking they will repeat their performance. Try to think of each week as an entirely new entity all by itself. Isn’t that why we like FanDuel in the first place? Last weeks’ failures are gone but so are the successes. You missed out on Larry Fitzgerald. Pick him this week and you will lose. What you’re really missing though is the key information. The Bears are really bad and will continue to get worse each week. They are on 2-3 year plan and most of that plan does not involve their current terrible players. Try to find a starter or two that play the Bears each week.

Quick Tip #4 (Player Pick) – I’m not afraid to pay for my defense in FanDuel because that separates winning teams from losing teams. I like the Seahawks Defense at $5300. Any time I’ve ever won money in FanDuel I’ve always had a great performing defense. If you’ve been overlooking defenses and just fitting in whatever money you can afford at the end you must stop immediately. The Seahawks are 0-2, Jimmy Graham is running his mouth, and they are going to take out all of their frustration on the Bears at home. Jay Cutler is out, although I almost prefer Mr. Turnover to be playing, Jimmy Clausen is in, and none of that matters anyhow because the Hawks D will score you lots of points this week. The Arizona Cardinals Defense scored 18 FanDuel points against them last week in Chicago. Just imagine what the Seahawks will do to them this week.

Quick Tip #5 (Player Pick) – What can Brown do for you? Ah, the inevitable Antonio Brown pun. It works too well not to use. The first thing I do with my FanDuel lineups is go click on Antonio Brown and insert him into my lineup. I’m going to stick with that until Martavius Bryant comes back because I may want to see if there is any hinderance to Brown’s stats. There probably won’t be. Antonio Brown is the model of consistency. I love having him in all my lineups for that guaranteed 20+ point total. Last week he was used in 26% of FanDuel lineups. I generally like to find guys that are used in less lineups, for example, DeAngelo Williams was used in only 4.3% of lineups last Sunday. Pure Gold. With Antonio Brown I look at it this way. If he’s owned by 26% of the people, 74% are NOT using him. Since FanDuel roughly pays out on the top 25%, I’m using Antonio Brown every week because I feel like I have an advantage over 74% of the people. This is the math they should be teaching in our public schools! Last week Antonio Brown rewarded me with a wonderous 9-195-1 line. Have him in all of your lineups every week.

THE LONGSHOTS
I’d like to end my article each week with a few long shots suggestions. Metaphorically speaking, these are the 50-1 shots in horse racing. Below are 5 longshots that have a chance to hit this week along with a small blurb about each one and their Fanduel price.

Fred Jackson – RB – $6000 – I wish he was cheaper but he’ll fit in nicely if you load up on stud WRs. Everyone is going to get a piece of that Chicago Bears pie and I could see Jackson racking up garbage time points.

David Johnson – RB – $6000 – He’s a man-child. This may be your last week to get him cheap. I know Ellington is coming back but he’s a little guy destined to get hurt over and over again. I wouldn’t hesitate to use him as my RB #2

Nelson Agholor – WR – $5300 – Very cheap and he should be that cheap. The guy has done very little. I’m expecting a little Jets letdown this week combined with some Chip Kelly desperation to get things right. Revis should be on Jordan Matthews so maybe Nelson breaks through. He did have a semi-respectable 6 targets last week.

Tyler Lockett – WR – $5000 – Maybe this longshot breaks a long TD. Who on the Bears can catch him?

Ryan Mallet – QB – $6300 – He had a respectable week last week. He’s cheap and a few touchdowns to DeAndre Hopkins and he can be a nice value play.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this. Please follow me on twitter @QuickRotoTips and feel free to offer feedback or to blame me if you take some of my advice and it all goes terribly.

Breaking Down Winning and Losing Lineups On DraftKings in Week 2
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Breaking Down Winning and Losing Lineups On DraftKings in Week 2

DraftKings Promotions, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football DFS, NFL DFS

Breaking Down Winning and Losing Lineups On DraftKings in Week 2

Week 2 turned into a big Monday night sweat for me in most of my cash games on DraftKings. It all came down to Eric Decker against a beat up Colts secondary for me to have a positive weekend in DFS. Luckily the scenario that we had all hoped would play out did as Vontae Davis covered Brandon Marshall early in the game and Decker was running free against linebackers and practice squad level corners. If Decker had not hurt his knee and if Davis hadn’t been injured he actually could have saved some of my weaker tournament lineups that missed the money by a few points.

The big story for me was injuries and the top wide receivers actually paying dividends. I did not have any of Julio Jones or Antonio Brown and it hurt quite a bit. The only positive was more people faded Rob Gronkowski because of their desire to get Julio and Antonio into their lineups, which gave me a big edge at TE. My biggest mistake was having too much exposure to Brandin Cooks at home against Tampa Bay. I was prepared for Cooks to break out this week, but I wasn’t about to pony up for Drew Brees after watching him dump it off again and again the week before. Cooks and the Saints struggles as a team almost cost me big time. Luckily Jordan Matthews caught a garbage time touchdown otherwise I would be writing this a little poorer than usual. (Give a guy a break when he has triplets.)

Tevin Coleman’s injury really hurt my cash lineups. I teamed him up with Marshawn Lynch and obviously Lynch under-performed, but I could have absorbed that a little easier if I didn’t lose Coleman to cracked ribs late int he first half against the Giants. I’m wondering if people will shy away from Lynch in cash during week 3 after his performance against the Packers even though he is facing the lowly Chicago Bears Defense. I was kicking myself a bit for not having any exposure to DeAngelo Williams in the last week before Le’Veon Bell came back from suspension, and also not at least taking Torrey Smith a bit with the 49ers having to keep up with that amazing Steelers O.

My best late swap was getting away from the Titans Defense completely and using the Cardinals and Patriots across the board. Something about Jay Cutler makes me want to start a defense against him almost every week. It’s too bad he won’t be healthy enough to face the Seahawks this week as he has a strained hamstring from chasing a defender this past Sunday. I felt like Decker and Terrance Williams were going to be owned a bunch in cash games and really wanted to stay away from canceling out on defense when there were other good options.

My Strengths this week: Zeroing in on Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger as my QBs and picking the right Defenses.

My Weakness this week: Cash Game Running Backs, and not stacking (for some odd reason) in tournament lineups. (Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Brown)

Some of the best post week breakdowns have been going up over at DraftKings Playbook. Adam Levitan (formerly of Rotoworld) has written breakdowns of his cash game lineups the past two weeks that I believe they will really help people understand the difference between thinking about tournament lineup construction and cash game lineup construction. This week he broke down some mistakes and you should definitely give it a look.
http://playbook.draftkings.com/nfl/nfl-cash-game-lineup-review-week-2/

Jonathan Bales (Author of Fantasy Sports for Smart People and Co-Founder of Fantasy Labs) broke down his winning DraftKings lineup in the higher stakes single entry DraftKings NFL World Championship Qualifier for week 2 in a video over at FantasyLabs.com. I think it’s extremely important to pay attention to his reasoning for playing Dion Lewis against the Bills, putting Eric Decker in the Flex spot, and also taking the Patriots D. This is god standard breakdown and it’s always fun to hear how a winning lineup was constructed.
http://www.fantasylabs.com/articles/draftkings-lineup-breakdown-week-2-championship-qualifier/

Fantasy Football Week Two Waiver Wire Watch
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Fantasy Football Week Two Waiver Wire Watch

Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Week Two Waiver Wire Watch

Well week two was unkind in the injury department. Owners lost Tony Romo to a broken clavicle, possibly Drew Brees to an injured shoulder and Eddie Lacy was hobbled with an ankle injury. Alshon Jeffrey had a set back with his injured calf and hamstring and missed week two while Michael Floyd and Mike Evans were shut out because they are playing through injuries. Promising rookie Tevin Coleman cracked some ribs and something must have happened to Roddy White for him to be shut out in New York. Not to mention Jeremy Hill had some fumbling issues and Alfred Morris saw more of his touches end up going to Matt Jones. The struggles of Brandin Cooks, CJ Anderson and Lamar Miller continued and Peyton Manning’s arm strength looked just as bad as week one.

Hopefully some the guys listed below can help plug the gaps grab some wins for you.

QB:

Joe Flacco Baltimore Ravens- (ESPN Ownership 41%)
With Baltimore’s defense looking like swiss cheese Baltimore’s signal caller will be asked to put it up early and often. The development of Crockett Gilmore really helps Flacco as he works the middle of the field and makes the linebackers and safeties pay attention to players besides Steve Smith and Justin Forsett.

Andy Dalton Cincinnati Bengals- (ESPN Ownership 21%)
Dalton looks to be a new man this year as he’s consistently throwing the ball where only his receivers can make a play. The size of AJ Green and Tyler Eifert give him excellent weapons in the red zone and Giovani Bernard gives him an outlet for added yardage in the passing game.

RB:

Matt Jones RB Washington Redskins (ESPN Ownership 15.8%)
Matt Jones looked explosive in game one when given a chance behind Alfred Morris and ran with an opportunity during week 2 as he topped 100 yards and scored twice against a tough St. Louis Rams defense. The Redskins O looks to rely on the running game and Alf and Jones could each have RB2 value going forward. If Jones badly outplays Morris he could take over the role as Morris is not signed past this year.

David Johnson RB Arizona Cardinals (ESPN Ownership 46%)
Chris Johnson was announced as the lead dog last week by Bruce Arians, but once again you cannot listen to Coach Speak when looking for the best upside pick up. Johnson returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown to start the game against the Bears and then got in the endzone again in his few touches.

Arians:
[David Johnson] will have a bigger role each week. #AZvsCHI

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 21, 2015

Devonte Freeman Atlanta Falcons (ESPN Ownership 64%)
With Tevin Coleman sidelined Devonte Freeman will see the bulk of the touches for Atlanta against the Cowboys, Texans and Redskins in the next three weeks. While I don’t like Freeman’s talent all that much he did show nice strength gaining first downs this week against the Giants and even scored at the goal-line to ice the game.

Dion Lewis New England Patriots (ESPN Ownership 40%)
LeGarrette Blount returned from suspension this week and the Patriots faced the fearsome Bills defense and still Dion Lewis excelled. Lewis has been money in the passing game and has been one of the most elusive backs in the NFL so far. I say ride him while you can. If he keeps fumbling he will eventually lose his job so don’t go all in.

Ronnie Hillman Denver Broncos (ESPN Ownership 49%)
The toe injury has clearly slowed CJ Anderson and Hillman has been just a bit more effective with his chances. Grab him if he’s available in case Anderson gets shut down or Hillman outplays him.

James Starks Green Bay (ESPN Ownership 8%)
It looked like Eddie Lacy was going to miss major time when he couldn’t put weight on his foot and ankle during Sunday Night Football against the Seahawks, but now it’s been rumored that he may be a go on Monday night against the Chiefs. Starks looked great filling in, especially in the passing game so he needs to be owned, especially with Lacy’s concussion history.

WR:

Michael Crabtree Oakland Raiders (ESPN Ownership 31%)
Amari Cooper is scary good and that’s a good thing for Crabtree. With Cooper getting added attention Crabtree was left alone to make plays last week and I can see that happening a lot moving forward. The Raiders D is once again soft and the Raiders will be forced to throw the ball a lot.

Travis Benjamin Cleveland Browns (ESPN Ownership 6%)
I don’t love Benjamin long term, but he is a big play wide receiver who is hot. I would take a stab, especially in standard leagues as Benjamin is scary in the open field and running at safeties.

Doug Baldwin Seattle Seahawks (ESPN Ownership 35%)
Loved the way Baldwin looked this week as he easily got open once Wilson started threatening the edge. Against the Bears and Kyle Fuller next week Baldwin could be borderline WR2.

Allen Hurns Jacksonville Jaguars (ESPN Ownership 4.5%)
Hurns is the clear number two wide receiver for Jacksonville and Blake Bortles looks like he’s getting better. Hurns has the speed to make big plays and his catch rate is getting a bit better this year. I love having him as a WR5 on my teams.

Leonard Hankerson Atlanta Falcons (ESPN Ownership 3.8%)
Hankerson was the man to benefit last week as the Giants tried their best to pay attention to Julio Jones. Hankerson is a nice PPR option in deep PPR leagues as Matt Ryan and the Falcons may lean on the passing game a bit more with Tevin Coleman sidelined.

TE:

Vernon Davis San Francisco 49ers (ESPN Ownership 38%)
Vernon Davis seeing consistent targets the first two weeks and the 49ers D looks vulnerable which will force the 49ers to throw more than they have the last few years.

Jared Cook St. Louis Rams (ESPN Ownership 9%)
Cook led all Rams receivers this week in yardage has looked like he has a nice relationship going with Nick Foles. Cook could be a solid deep PPR league flex option this week against the Steelers.

Crocket Gilmore Baltimore Ravens (ESPN Ownership 1.5%)
Gilmore has made strides as a tight end from year one to year two. He is a huge target who has nice athleticism and a nose for the goal-line. In standard leagues I like him a lot more.