Week 1 of the Fantasy Football season is in the books and before you know it we will be asking ourselves, “Where did the 2023 season go? It is almost Fantasy Football playoff time.” This is a great time of year for sports fans and a great time to win some cash in DFS. Week 1 got off to a good start with the Thursday Night Football Showdown picks and ended with terrible luck on Monday Night Football (I was all in with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets). Hopefully the picks can be more consistent in Week 2.
The Main Slate in Week 2 is pretty good. There are four prime-time games this week, so that eliminates eight teams for us to choose from. The Chiefs vs. Jaguars, Ravens vs. Bengals, Chargers vs. Titans and Jets vs. Cowboys should all be pretty good games. At least we do not have teams on their bye for another four weeks. Here are the picks for Week 2 on the Main Slate…
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST PICKS
ANTHONY RICHARDSON ($6,300): So, how did the Richardson era in Indianapolis start last week? The rookie posted the fourth-most points in DraftKings last week. I like playing running QBs in my Cash Contest lineup. Richardson had 10 carries for 40 yards and 1 TD (10 Points just from rushing). The Texans gave up the second-most rushing yards to the QB last year and they allowed Baltimore to complete 89% of their passes on play-action last week. Richardson should easily return enough value to help the Cash Contest reach the pay-line.
JAMES COOK ($6,100): Cook only had 46 yards rushing in Week 1, but that was against the Jets defense. He should find more room to run vs. the Raiders Sunday. His floor was raised because of the work Cook had in the passing game. Cook had six targets and caught four of them. I expect Josh Allen to play it safe Sunday after he recklessly through the ball deep down the field in Week 1. That should mean more check-down passes to Cook and easily 12+ DK Points for your Cash Contest lineup.
JOSHUA KELLY ($5,000): Austin Eckler is expected to sit out Sunday’s game and that makes Kelly the “free square” on the Main Slate. He ran the ball 16 times for 91 yards and a TD last week and that was while he splitted carries with Eckler for most of the game. The matchup vs. the Titans run defense is tough, but he will get enough work to return value Sunday.
STEPHON DIGGS ($8,000): I typically do not like to use two players from the same team in my Cash Contest lineup, but the Bills have the highest implied total this week (28.5 Points). James Cooks and Diggs should both go off against the Raiders Defense Sunday.
AMON-RA ST. BROWN ($7,800): Brown could easily be the top WR on the slate Sunday. The Seahawks play zone defense more than any team in the league. Brown should get open a lot over the middle. His match-up vs. Artie Burns is the biggest miss-match on the slate according to Pro Football Focus. $7,800 is a great price for St. Brown.
ZAY FLOWERS ($5,000): Flowers is the real deal. He was clearly the No. 1 WR for the Ravens in Week 1. It will be interesting to see how many targets the rookie gets if Mark Andrews returns Sunday, but he clearly passed the “eye test.” There is a good chance that the Ravens will be playing from behind and they will be without their star RB (J.K. Dobbins). The Ravens should be throwing it a lot and that menas a lot of targets for Flowers.
LUKE MUSGRAVE ($3,200): I plaid Musgrave as my Cash Contest TE last week and he scored 8 DK Points. He should have scored a TD but he tripped over his own feet on the way to the end-zone. I will go back to Musgrave Sunday. The Packers will likely be without Aaron Jones and Christian Watson. The will mean more targets for the rookie TE.
BRANDON AIYUK ($5,800): Do you want to know a secret? Aiyuk is really good and he is going to have a breakout season in 2023. Do not tell DraftKings or FanDuel because they still have Aiyuk priced as a mid-tier WR. He scored the most points on the slate in Week 1. I am not sure Aiyuk will score nearly 36 DK Points Sunday, but we do not need him to score that well in our Cash Contest. Aiyuk should score over 15 DK Points against the Rams.
NEW YORK JETS ($2,700): I am getting the one of the best (if not the best) defense in the NFL vs. a QB who has interception problems for only $2,700? Sign me up! I know the Cowboys have a good offense, but the Jets will get enough sacks and turnovers to make this pick work. They had 3 INTS vs. Josh Allen last week. They could do the same vs. Dak Prescott.
* If Austin Eckler plays Sunday, switch Joshua Kelly to Kenneth Walker and switch Stephon Diggs to Calvin Ridley.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST PICKS
TOURNAMENT STACK: The popular stacks this week will be the Chiefs vs. Jaguars, the Chargers vs. Titans and the Bengals vs. Ravens. I will pivot and stack the Lions vs. the Seahawks. JARED GOFF + AMON RA ST. BROWN projects to be one of the highest scoring stacks of the week. The Seahawks made Matthew Stafford, Puka Nakua and Tutu Atwell look like Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce last week. I doubt the Seahawks will slow down the Lions offense…. I will run the stack back with TYLER LOCKETT. Lockett disappointed fantasy players who took a chance with him last week. He only had four targets and two catches. He had less than four catches in the first week over the last two seasons too. He bounced back both times with 11 targets and 9 catches the in Week 2. I am hoping that trend continues Sunday.
JAMES COOK ($6,100): The Raiders vs. Bills game is projected to be the highest scoring game on the slate and I want to make sure I have a piece of it in my lineup. I will do that with Cook. He was clearly the No. 1 RB for the Bills in Week 1. He should have a big game vs. the Raiders Sunday.
BRIAN ROBINSON JR. ($5,200): I am going to take a chance with Robinson vs. the Broncos. This pick is all about volume. Robinson is the workhorse RB for the Commanders. Most people expected Antonio Gibson to be the third down back, but Robinson played all downs, was the receiving and goal-line back for the Commanders. That type of workload should return a nice point’s day vs. the Broncos.
CALVIN RIDLEY ($7,200): The Chiefs vs. Jaguars game has shoot-out written all over it. I want a piece of it in my lineup. Ridley went off for 27.1 DK Points in Week 1. He should be busy Sunday as the Jags try to keep up with the Chiefs offense. I would not be surprised if Ridley scored over 25 DK Points again in Week 2.
MIKE WILLIAMS ($5,700): Williams didn’t do much in Week 1 (4 catches for 45 yards), but he left the lineup with an injury for part of the game. Williams is healthy now and he has a great match-up vs. the Titans Defense. According to Pro Football Focus, his match-up vs. Tre Avery is the second-best on the slate. Williams has a habit of having huge games. I would not be surprised to see him go off Sunday.
ADAM TROUTMAN ($3,000): Sam Laporta and Luke Musgrave are going to be the popular picks Sunday. I will pivot to Troutman. Greg Dulcich is out and that means Troutman is the starting TE for the Broncos. He 5 catches for 34 yards in the second half last week (after Dulcich left the game). He played for Sean Payton in New Orleans, so at least we know the coaching staff trusts him. Troutman is one of the best values at the TE Position on this slate.
NEW YORK JETS DEFENSE/ST ($2,700): I thought about using another defense, but I do not think the Jets will be too highly owned. They scored 20 DK Points vs. Josh Allen and the Bills. I think they can do the same vs. the QB who led the NFL in INT’s last year (Dak Prescott).
FANDUEL CONTESTS
Scoring for FanDuel is similar to DraftKings but there are some differences you need to know. FanDuel DOES NOT award 3 bonus points for 300-yard passers or 100-yards rushing / receiving. The game also awards ½ point per reception compared to 1 point on DraftKings. We need to focus more on players who can score touchdowns on FanDuel and less on players who catch a lot of passes. The scoring is not as tight as it is on Daftkings so it is easier to pay up at the QB and TE position. My lineups for the two sites will be similar but I will have to make some changes based on the scoring and prices for the players.
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST PICKS
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTESTS PICKS
NFL BEST BETS FOR WEEK 2
Wagering on the NFL is legal in many states now. I will include my top-three picks for the NFL each week. I have a lot more experience playing Fantasy Football, but I started to have some success in beating the books last year. I also know a lot of people in Las Vegas from my seven years living in the city. They will give me some advice and I will share it with you.
TAKE THE BENGALS -3 OVER THE RAVENS
TAKE THE GIANTS -4 OVER THE CARDINALS
TAKE THE COLTS +1 OVER THE TEXANS
(Season Record: 2-1)
Bonus Pick: ANTHONY RICHARDSON ANYTIME TD +200
Good Luck This Week!
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