Welcome to Week 17 of the FanDuel Salary Cap Guide. In this guide, Jeff Haseley and I will put together the best FanDuel lineups we can craft by using FBG's projections and a metric of Dollars Spent per Fantasy Point. For a more descriptive introduction to what we're doing here, check out the Week 1 Version.
BUILDING THE OPTIMAL LINEUPS
$55k Salary Cap:
- QB: Kyle Orton ($5,000)
- RB: LeVeon Bell ($7,900)
- RB: Knile Davis ($4,500)
- WR: Pierre Garcon ($8,100)
- WR: Antonio Brown ($7,600)
- WR: Andre Johnson ($7,300)
- TE: Ryan Griffin ($4,500)
- K: Graham Gano ($5,000)
- DEF: Dolphins ($5,000)
Dodds has this team projected for a whopping 128.1 points and spending $429 per fantasy point. Bloom projects this roster 112.0 points and spending $490 per fantasy point.
$60k Salary Cap:
- QB: Terrelle Pryor ($5,300)
- RB: Eddie Lacy ($8,400)
- RB: Andre Brown ($5,500)
- WR: Josh Gordon ($9,200)
- WR: Antonio Brown ($7,600)
- WR: Jordy Nelson ($6,000)
- TE: Jimmy Graham ($7,600)
- K: Graham Gano ($5,000)
- DEF: Dolphins ($5,000)
Dodds has this team projected for 126.6 points and spending $471 per fantasy point. Bloom likes this team slightly more, projecting it for 128.5 points and spending $464 per point.
"SCRUB"-BING FOR VALUE
If you've ever done an auction draft, you've likely heard the phrase "stars and scrubs." For those unfamiliar, it's a strategy in which a team spends the majority of their money on high-dollar players and hopes to fill the rest of the roster with low-dollar "lottery ticket" types. This can be a viable strategy in FanDuel too. Let's see some of this week's low-dollar players who might compliment the "stars" on the roster.
Last week at quarterback, we suggested Matt McGloin at San Diego. The rookie was a disappointment, only netting 206 yards and zero touchdowns.
Being the last week you'll see this column, we're feeling like we should go out with a bang. You may have to be very brave to follow this choice, but we're going with Kyle Orton ($5,000). While he's a backup quarterback, Orton still has a home game against a defense that isn't very good against the pass to begin with and will likely be loading up against the run. If the game starts out poorly for Orton and Dallas, he could see some garbage time/comeback mode against a soft defense on Sunday night.
Last week, we suggested DeAngelo Williams. In a low-scoring game, he was still a decent play, netting 67 rushing yards and one touchdown.
This week, we like Knile Davis ($4,500). This is why Week 17 shouldn't count in season-long leagues (redraft or dynasty). Jamaal Charles has been far and away the best non-quarterback in fantasy football (he's 70 points ahead of the second-ranked player on the RB/WR/TE list - LeSean McCoy), but we're suggesting you use his backup in daily leagues. This is obviously due to Kansas City having nothing to play for with their playoff seed locked in as the AFC's fifth-seeded team.
Last week, we went with Michael Crabtree and James Jones. Crabtree caught five passes for 102 yards on Monday Night Football against Atlanta, while Jones caught a whopping nine passes for 84 yards.
This week, we really like Brandon LaFell ($4,500). With Steve Smith out for Carolina, LaFell is likely to be the go-to guy in a game the team needs to win against a dreadful Atlanta defense playing on a short week and coming off a cross-country trip.
We've mentioned him in this space a few times already this season, but let's go back to the well on Kendall Wright ($5,500). Tennessee will face a Houston team simply looking to pack up their lockers and head towards the offseason. Wright should put another nice game on the ledger in what has been a very successful 2013 for the young receiver.
Last week, we went with Dennis Pitta. As usual, relying on one of Joe Flacco's targets was a risky move, and we should have shied away from doing so with Flacco less than 100%. Pitta ended up with four catches for 34 yards.
This week, we really like Ryan Griffin ($4,500). Griffin has 11 receptions for 128 yards in his last two games and provides a steady floor due to him being the last tight end standing in Houston. He has caught all 11 of his targets in those two games, making him an efficient and effective player. At his very modest salary, he allows FanDuel players to spend their big bucks on high-ceiling players elsewhere.
Last week, we chose the Miami defense at Buffalo. They were the wrong defensive selection in that matchup, as Buffalo was the team that pitched the shutout and had seven sacks. Miami allowed 19 points but had just one sack and one takeaway.
This week, we're going with the "if at first, you don't succeed" method and trying Miami ($5,000) once more. This week, they're at home and facing the lowly Jets in a must-win game as Miami looks to squeeze into the postseason as the AFC's sixth-seeded team.
THE "D.I.Y." SECTION
Below, you'll find the spreadsheet with which you can customize your own team. Before downloading, here are a few notes and instructions to help make it work effectively:
- Upon opening, enable macros and data connections when prompted.
- If you're unable to sort by name, salary, projections, etc. on any of the positional pages, your macros are not enabled.
- Begin at the "Front Page" tab and follow the instructions listed in each section.
- Use the drop-downs on each respective position tab to select your players. Please DO NOT be able to type anything in the dark-shaded cells. This entire workbook utilizes formulas, macros, and links. Typing in those cells can ruin its functionality.
- If you don't see a player listed, it's because FanDuel didn't have a salary assigned to him as of Wednesday evening. Adding these players manually wouldn't be helpful since they're not available on FanDuel anyway.
- The "Lineup Page" tab will only add up the salary figures when a full team of nine players is selected.
- We've added a button on the front page that will update the player projections when it is pressed! Again, make sure your macros and data connections are enabled in order to ensure proper functionality. To do this, I had to un-protect the positional worksheets. Again, typing in any of the colored cells can impact/ruin the tool's functionality.
- If refreshing the data isn't working, it may be the version of Excel you're using. Download the sheet again and do not refresh the projections. This will allow you to use the sheet, but you won't get updated information throughout the week. Projections obviously change from Wednesday to later in the week, but this will still give you a good basis for building a team.
- We have a new feature on the DIY sheet. We've color-coded the games based on time played due to the many FanDuel Thursday only contests.
- You'll notice some "N/A" fields in the projections That is because one or both of our projectors did not project points for that player, likely due to questionable playing status. By using the new refresh function above as the week goes on, you may see projections for those players if their injury outlook improves and the projectors include them.
- Enjoy!
Create Your Own FanDuel Lineup
For any questions on your weekly fantasy decisions, FanDuel teams, or anything else in the world of fantasy, follow and reach out to us on Twitter @JeffHaseley and @footballbrackts. For questions on the spreadsheet, please e-mail Ryan Hester at hester@footballguys.com. We appreciate and encourage any feedback that can help us get this thing perfect.