This article is part of our Fantasy Elite Football series.
Week 2 in daily/weekly leagues will see the biggest price adjustments across the board, particularly at quarterback where position battles were presumably won and lost during team's opening games. And while the schedule offers some big-time matchups, there are also plenty of lopsided affairs to look at exploiting, and saving some of your budget.
If you haven't visited Fantasy Elite yet, the basic setup is a nine-player roster and a $105,000 budget. Your lineup consists of two quarterbacks, two running backs two wide receivers and three flex (RB/WR/TE). The add/drop feature after a salary capped auction is nice, and your competition cannot own the same players as you, unlike some other daily leagues. Bargain hunting early in drafts seems to make sense. And if you're competing against two other teams, the quarterback pool dissipates quickly. I'm dabbling in a few of the below competitions and will discuss some successes, failures and strategies next week.
This week's slate of games is a little odd, likely due to NFL schedules. As such, Friday's game includes some Saturday afternoon action.
FRIDAY
Washington State at Nevada, Florida Atlantic at Alabama, Arkansas State at Tennessee, Oklahoma at Tulsa
QB - Jake Coker, Alabama - $8,361
The Friday slate forces a tough decision at quarterback. Seven clear starters, four of which are from teams outside the Power 5 conferences facing a team in a Power 5 conference. Fredi Knighten seems to have the best chance of those three, but Tennessee's defense just shut down a similar player last weekend in Utah State's Chuckie Keeton. This seems like a position to really spend and spend heavily. If, however, you want to role the dice, Coker seems like a worthwhile gamble. Blake Sims played exclusively in the opener, but coach Nick Saban insists the quarterback competition will continue. Coker will play, and while it could come later with the game already in hand, he will be allowed to show his skill set and not simply hand off. He could outproduce FAU starter Jaquez Johnson while splitting snaps.
RB - Kenyan Drake, Alabama - $5,000
As I'm advocating healthy spending under center, you're going to have to save your money somewhere. Drake saw just three carries last weekend as Derrick Henry and T.J Yeldon shared 40 touches. This game has the chance to get out of hand quickly, and the Tide likely will distribute carries across their stable of backs. At the end of the year, you look at Alabama's stats and see six or seven running backs with roughly 20-25 carries, 100-150 yards and 1-3 touchdowns. Those numbers come in games like this.
RB - Samaje Perine, Oklahoma - $5,000
Presumed Sooner starter Keith Ford looks like a solid buy as well at $11,784, particularly because of his passing game involvement in Week 1, but if you're still bargain hunting, Perine has appeal. He actually led the Sooners in carries and yards last week with 13 and 77 resepctively, while scoring once. Perine was used on one series in each of the four quarters, so not all of his production came while the game was out of hand.
WR - Isiah Myers, Washington State - $8,083
The good news is Cougars quarterback Connor Halliday threw 56 times in the season opener, while Wazzu ran eight times. The bad news is 10 Cougars caught passes, four of whom caught at least four balls. It's a role of the dice, but Myers seems like the best bet among Washington State receivers, blending production and cost, but Rickey Galvin, Kristoff or Dom Williams all make for solid boom-or-bust picks.
WR - Alton Howard, Tennessee - $9,879
Howard can make plays in space, and the Volunteers got him the ball six times through the air, another time on the ground, which he scored on, and allowed him to throw a pass in the season opener against Utah State. That's a lot of touches for a wide receiver, and a trend I'm banking will continue against Arkansas State.
TE - O.J. Howard, Alabama - $5,000
In keeping with a theme from last week, I refuse to pay more than the minimum salary for a tight end when there's a decent chance you'll be getting next to no points from him anyway. Howard put up a goose egg in Week 1, but is still expected to be a bigger piece of the Crimson Tide offense than a season ago, where he caught 14 passes for 269 yards and two scores. The hope here is he benefits similarly to my Kenyan Drake prediction.
SATURDAY EVENING
Colorado State at Boise State, Texas Tech at UTEP, Oregon State at Hawaii, Air Force at Wyoming
QB - Davis Webb, Texas Tech - $21,323
When I see names in other competitions like Marcus Mariota and Taysom Hill priced more than $30,000, Webb comes off looking like a bargain. And after throwing 52 passes last week, four of which went for scores, he again looks nicely valued. Pairing him with Oregon State's Sean Mannion ($20,844) would sure up the position without breaking the budget too badly.
RB - DeAndre Washington, Texas Tech - $10,925
Washington seems to be lacking respect in fantasy circles in all formats. The team moved Kenny Williams to linebacker during the offseason, and Washington saw 20 of the Red Raiders 36 rushing attempts last week. Yes, it's a pass happy attack, but Washington is the sole option to provide any semblance of balance. A 20-104-1 line from last week is something he is capable of producing weekly.
RB - Jacobi Owens, Air Force - $8,720
Owens garnered 23 carries last week, and while the Falcons had 73 attempts, no other rusher had more than nine carries. Owens didn't score one of the Falcons six rushing touchdowns, but gained 233 yards.
RB - Shaun Wick, Wyoming - $5,000
An extra pick here as Wick is tremendously undervalued. He ran 22 times for 134 yards and a touchdown last week, and while D.J. May (also $5,000) posted a 13-96-1 line, Wick is truly the Cowboys offensive centerpiece. He ran for 979 yards and nine scores a year ago, and the Cowboys' quarterback, Colby Kirkegaard, threw for only 92 yards in his first start.
WR - Bradley Marquez, Texas Tech - $11,399
Marquez snagged 11 balls for 184 yards and two touchdowns last week, and while the looks should be a bit more evenly spread, Marquez provides a veteran target for Davis Webb. An interesting strategy to noodle on in this challenge loaded with questionable quarterbacks; you could take Webb, Washington, Marquez and the Red Raiders other two top receivers, Jakeem Grant ($11,880) and Reginald Davis ($7,152) and still have an average of more than $10,000 to spend on the remaining four players.
WR - Richard Mullaney, Oregon State - $8,989
Mullaney is steady, and figures to not explode but not implode either against Hawaii. He caught five balls for 55 yards in the season opener and had 788 yards last season. He should provide that same steady presence for your lineup when mixed in with other boom-or-bust options.
TE - Jake Roh, Boise State - $5,978
Awfully slim pickings at tight end among these teams. Much so this column may expand to add additional receivers or running backs, while spotlighting the occasional rare buy at tight end. Roh caught four passes for 34 yards last week, and should post a similar total in Week 2.
SATURDAY PRIME TIME
BYU at Texas, Michigan State at Oregon, Michigan at Notre Dame, Southern Cal at Stanford
QB - Tyrone Swoopes, Texas - $5,000
There appear to be a few options under center in prime time Saturday. If I have no budget restrictions, I'm absolutely suggesting Notre Dame signal caller Everett Golson, who is modestly priced at $22,680 after a five-touchdown performance against Rice. Stanford's Kevin Hogan also looks like a bargain. But Swoopes will start in place of David Ash for the Longhorns, as Ash is again sidelined by a concussion. He can run a bit, and while he wasn't overly impressive in spot duty last season with his arm, he has no choice but to be productive in a game where the Longhorns will need to score.
RB - Derrick Green, Michigan - $9,199
Running back is tougher call in this section. There is really only one unquestioned starter in USC's Javorius Allen. BYU's Jamaal Williams looks like a nice buy at $13,649. Williams is coming off of a one-game suspension and gashed the Texas defense a season ago for 182 yards on 30 carries. The next pricing tier offers lots of options in committee backfields. Green pairs with De'Veon Smith for the Wolverines, and the duo combined for 285 yards on 23 carries last week. It's a roll of the dice in picking between the two, but Green did out-carry Smith 15 to eight.
RB - Johnathan Gray, Texas - $8,861
Gray gets the nod here over his committee partner Malcolm Brown simply because he is cheaper by nearly $3,500. The carries were split 16-13 last week in Gray's favor, but Brown received the short-yardage work, which led to two touchdowns. With an inexperienced quarterback under center, look for the Longhorns to work the ground game frequently to take some pressure off Swoopes.
WR - Devin Funchess, Michigan - $14,173
You've got to spend your money somewhere, so why not go with the top receiver available? Funchess caught seven passes for 95 yards and three touchdowns last weekend, and in a game that figures to see points put on the board, Funchess should again be a threat to score at least once.
WR - Terenn Houk, BYU - $5,412
One of my biggest pet peeves in fantasy leagues is inconsistent wide receivers. That's why I'd probably roll with Funchess and either Stanford's Ty Montgomery or USC's Nelson Agholor, the three top receivers, this week. You could invest in two of those and Everett Golson at quarterback and still have half of your budget remaining, and still have more than $9,000 to spend on each of your remaining six players. But if you're shopping for a bargain, Houk could provide a punch. He was one of nine Cougars to catch passes, six of which caught at least three balls, last week against Connecticut. But Houk used his 6-foot-5 frame to go up and catch a touchdown, and it's worth gambling he can do that again.
TE - Josiah Price, Michigan State - $6,197
Wait, did I just suggest spending on a tight end again? Take a screen shot, because it may not happen again for a while. The truth is the top four tight ends in this challenge all produced last week. Stanford's Austin Hooper seems like the best bet to replicate that production, but by saving $1,200, you can snag Price who tallied 54 yards in the season opener and can provide quarterback Connor Cook with a safety valve in the hostilities of Autzen Stadium.
