This article is part of our FantasyAces Football series.
Week 3 is in the books, and it turned out to be another great week of fantasy football. Congratulations to McJester for winning the third qualifier for the FAFC.
Play again this week for your chance to be the next qualifier. Click here to see what you're playing for. (Hint: a chance to win a lot of money and a free vacation)
If you do not have a Fantasy Aces account, be sure to sign up and receive up to $250 of your deposit matched just for signing up. It's free money, so sign up now.
Not sure how to play at Fantasy Aces? We are here to help. Each week, RotoWire will offer advice on who to start in a given week, and give you that extra edge in your pursuit of a seat in Fantasy Aces' Fantasy Football Championship.
Format
At Fantasy Aces, the starting lineup requires two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, two FLEX (running back, wide receiver, or tight end), a kicker and defense/special teams. You have a salary cap of $55,000 to create your team. Fantasy Aces understands that you may want to start Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, or Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, and now you can. That's the beauty of playing daily fantasy football at Fantasy Aces, you can start the players you want.
The full scoring system can be found here, but essentially it is a standard scoring system for regular fantasy football with the only difference being half-point PPR (point per reception).
Strategy
Qualifying for a big tournament requires a different strategy than in other cash games. Of course, we are all still trying to get the most points possible, but in a GPP (guaranteed prize pool) you have to take some risks. If those risks hit, you are more likely to have a higher score than others, because these particular risks usually are players that are owned by a small amount of entrants.
How can we strategize to win a GPP? There are many approaches, and with Fantasy Aces' deep starting lineups, there is a lot of variance, which helps you in GPPs.
A few strategies to consider:
- Stacking: Starting more than two players from one team. This is usually used in daily fantasy football with the Broncos by selecting Peyton Manning along with his receivers/tight end. Bye weeks are underway, so be sure to keep an eye on that.
- Contrarian: Playing against the grain. For example, taking Isaiah Crowell last week despite him being the backup running back on the official depth chart.
- Studs and scrubs: We'll outline this strategy below. Going the studs-and-scrubs route entails finding a few players at low salary that could be good values, then using the rest of the money for big-time players like Manning or Jimmy Graham.
Without further ado, here are some suggested plays for Week 4. We will outline a stud and a scrub from each position that can help you get a seat at the FAFC.
Quarterback
Stud: Drew Brees $7,650
Brees is the most expensive player on Fantasy Aces this weekend, and will be the most-played quarterback player despite his price. Brees faces the Cowboys defense, who are coming off a game in which Austin Davis threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, Brees' numbers at home in his career are far different than his numbers on the road (he has 58 less career touchdowns on the road), but he is facing a defense that allowed the 49ers, Titans and Rams to throw for a combined 751 yards and six touchdowns in three games.
Scrub: Blake Bortles $5,550
Bortles will make his first career start this weekend. He is the third-cheapest option on Fantasy Aces, which presents potential for a great value. The Chargers defense has allowed five passing touchdowns this season, and last week was the first time that an opposing quarterback did not throw for two touchdowns against the Bolts. Bortles was able to throw for 223 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts despite not entering the game until after halftime.
Running Back
Stud: DeMarco Murray $6,100
Murray is the most expensive running back on Fantasy Aces, but there may not be another position player worth spending money on this week. Through three games, Murray leads the NFL in rushes (75) and touches (83), and he is tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with three. Murray will face a Saints defense that allowed Terrence West and Isaiah Crowell to combine for 122 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago and the Falcons to rush for 123 yards on just 25 carries in Week 1.
Scrub: Matt Asiata $4,600
Before holding the Buccaneers to just 64 yards rushing last week, Atlanta allowed 339 yards on the ground in two weeks. Asiata will face the Falcons this weekend, and will continue to start in place of Adrian Peterson for the Vikings. Last week, Asiata was able to accrue 71 yards of offense in a game where the Vikings only ran the ball 22 times. At just $4,600, Asiata is the cheapest of the featured running backs on Fantasy Aces.
Wide Receiver
Stud: Julio Jones $6,200
Jones has been on a tear so far this season, totaling 23 catches for 356 yards and three touchdowns. He is a WR1 both standard leagues and PPR leagues. Jones is also averaging the third-most fantasy points per game on Fantasy Aces this season. He has been a remarkably consistent fantasy wide receiver dating back to last season, posting over 98 yards or a touchdown in eight straight games. The last time he did not have over 98 yards or a touchdown was in 2012.
Scrub: Anquan Boldin $4,750
Boldin has had a reputation as a boom-or-bust pick in daily fantasy football, but at his price that's worth researching. In Week 1, Boldin caught eight passes for 99 yards. In the last two weeks, he has caught eight passes for 70 yards total. This week, he faces the Philadelphia Eagles, who are a dream matchup. The Eagles have allowed eight touchdowns through the air and 841 passing yards this season. The Eagles have been torched by No. 2 wideouts all year, with Pierre Garcon, T.Y. Hilton and Allen Hurns all posting big games against Philly. Boldin is San Francisco's second receiver and should have a solid outing this weekend.
Tight End
Stud: Jimmy Graham $5,900
Graham is the highest-priced tight end on Fantasy Aces and the sixth-most expensive skill player on the site. He will face the Cowboys this week, who have allowed opposing tight ends to dominate in the passing game this season. Last week, Rams tight ends combined for 104 yards and a touchdown on 13 catches. In Week 2, the Titans' tight ends caught 11 balls for 165 yards and a touchdown. In Week 1, Vernon Davis caught four balls for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Needless to say, Dallas struggles against tight ends, and Jimmy Graham is the best tight end in the league.
Scrub: Delanie Walker $4,700
Walker has been a surprising star at the tight end position this year, catching 17 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Now, most of it came in one game against the Cowboys, but the Colts have allowed opposing tight ends to flourish as well. Zach Ertz caught four balls for 86 yards against the Colts in Week 2, and Julius Thomas caught seven passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1.
Kicker
Josh Scobee $2,500
Defense/Special Teams
Stud: Detroit Lions $3,250
Scrub: Minnesota Vikings $2,600
My Lineup
QB – Drew Brees $7,650
QB – Andrew Luck $7,400
RB – Eddie Lacy $5,150
RB – Matt Asiata $4,600
WR – Cecil Shorts $4,750
WR – Keenan Allen $4,900
TE – Jimmy Graham $5,900
FLEX – Anquan Boldin $4,750
FLEX – Delanie Walker $4,700
K – Josh Scobee $2,500
DST – Minnesota Vikings $2,600
