The Big Lead's Weekly Fantasy Lineup Week 6: Sanu and Oliver Allow You to Buy Some Stars

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We’ll be putting our selections in on a weekly basis, and also be writing a weekly analysis/picks article using the salary cap figures and identifying the strategy behind the selections. For salary cap games, the salary cap is $50,000 for the selection of 9 positions: QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 Flex, 1 TE, 1 K and 1 D/ST.

So let’s talk general strategy before getting to this week’s picks. Ideally, you want to get as many top players as possible, but this is of course constrained by the salary cap figures. If you just took the top QB, RB, and WR, that would cost $24,900. Add some money for the kicker and defense, and that leaves you just over $20,000 for the other 4 spots–roughly $5,000 each. That would get you players like Markus Wheaton or James Jones.

So, the first step is to identify players who are significantly undervalued relative to role/projection this week. It does little good to find the player who is priced like the 70th best player but you expect to be 50th best. You want both value and a good chance that the player is fantasy starter worthy. Bang for the buck, so to speak.

After that’s done, then you can assess which stars you want based on matchups.

WEEK 6 VALUE PLAYS

The week 6 value plays begin with Mohamed Sanu at WR. His price of $4200 is the 52nd most expensive at the position. That is cheap anyway, but then throw in the matchup against Carolina–who has given up big plays–and A.J. Green’s injury and he is a must buy as a top 24 WR this week for half the price.

The other value I am playing is Branden Oliver. The San Diego backfield is decimated, he exploded last week, and I see know reason that he should have his touches limited. Oh, and the Chargers are a heavy favorite against the Raiders. Oliver’s price of $5,900 is RB22, but I have a top 12 projection this week with the expected workload and matchup.

Others that I had circled include Andre Williams ($5,200), Justin Forsett ($5,600), and Darren McFadden ($4,200). At quarterback, the value play is Eli Manning, who is outside the top 15 in price but in my top 10 going against a bad Eagles pass defense. The trio of Chad Henne, Kirk Cousins, and Austin Davis have averaged over 300 passing yards and thrown 8 combined touchdowns against the Eagles, so I feel comfortable with Eli here.

WEEK 6 STUDS

If you are going for studs, you want to ideally find those that have fantastic matchups and thus make cashing on their high salary more likely. This week, that means that I think you look to two places at running back, Matt Forte ($7,900) or LeVeon Bell ($7,700). Forte is going against the team that has allowed the most running back fantasy points in Atlanta, so he’s my choice, though I think Bell against Cleveland is also a good play.

At receiver, with so many guys injured like Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green, Antonio Brown ($8,000) is the play as Cleveland has allowed big plays to receivers, and Brown has a lengthy streak of 5 catches or more, and should get plenty of opportunities.

Peyton Manning ($8,800) is the play among the top quarterbacks going against the Jets, but he is going to cost you as well.

Also, Percy Harvin is in the back of my mind. Yeah, he’s currently priced in the WR20 range. He has also been a heavy focus of the Seattle offense, and but for some ill-timed penalties would have put up huge numbers. It’s coming soon.

We can probably take two of those three sets of players, so let’s put it together.

FINAL PICKS

The Fantasy Lineup Generator allows you to put together an optimal lineup, using their projections, and comparing that, I want a little diversity. So I am going away from Peyton. I’ll go with another Manning instead, allowing me to add both Brown and Forte.

QB- Eli Manning ($6700)
RB- Matt Forte ($7900)
RB- Branden Oliver ($5900)
WR- Antonio Brown ($8000)
WR- Mohamed Sanu ($4200)
TE- Greg Olsen ($5800)
FLEX- Percy Harvin ($6500)
K- Steven Hauschka ($2600)
DEF- Baltimore Ravens ($2400)

TOTAL – $50,000