When setting your weekly NFL DFS lineups, it can be just as helpful to have an idea of whom you DON’T want to include as whom you do. Every Friday we’ll highlight a few players that you might want to fade. When a player appears here, it mainly refers to fading him in cash games. If you play in a lot of large field, multi-entry tournaments, you might consider just being underweight on these players relative to the field rather than not using them at all.
Players I’m fading for Week 2 include:
Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs at LA Chargers
I confess to having more than a couple shares of the Chargers D/ST this week, which naturally means I’m not rostering Chiefs skill players in those lineups. The Chargers boast three of ProFootballFocus’ 15 highest graded cornerbacks from 2019. This secondary is at the very least going to make it very hard on Patrick Mahomes, and when it gets hard, I think Travis Kelce becomes the priority. I also expect to see heavy reliance on Clyde Edwards-Helaire again this week. You can argue that Watkins, with his 91 yards and a touchdown on nine targets in Week 1, is cheap enough to take a risk on, but Hill is one of the most expensive WR options. I’d rather spend elsewhere this weekend…at least in my main lineups.
Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans vs. Baltimore
A similar argument informs my decision to not have great exposure to Watson this weekend. There are a lot of QB options I like, so why should I pay up for one facing one of the league’s best defenses? Watson is home, a benefit for sure, but Baltimore traveled fine last season, where they allowed overall the second-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing QBs (10.9). If you’re keen to sample the Texans’ offense try a still reasonably priced David Johnson, Will Fuller V or Brandin Cooks in a GPP lineup.
Sam Darnold – NY Jets vs. San Francisco
Dwayne Haskins – Washington Football Team at Arizona
These next two are my advertisement for not going cheap at QB this weekend. Darnold has no one to play with except Chris Herndon, who was a total non-factor in Week 1. I don’t expect Breshad Perriman or Chris Hogan to perform miracles against one of the best defenses in the league, even in New Jersey. Likewise, Haskins might have a better surrounding cast this week in terms of his receiving corps, but they moved the ball in small chunks (he averaged 5.7 yards per attempt) and relied on the Football Team defense to control the game. I don’t think Kyler Murray and the Cardinals will roll over so easily, which could force Haskins into making a couple mistakes. Save elsewhere for your main lineups (I like Rivers for just a tiny bit more).
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Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay
Given that I intend to spend decently on QB this week, the most expensive player on the slate isn’t finding his way into my lineups. Saving even a couple grand on Ezekiel Elliott or Derrick Henry just makes too much sense. The Bucs were one of the best run-stopping defenses last season, and have made strides on that side of the ball in general. Meanwhile, I’d like to wait and see a week or so to find out if four is the number of targets we can expect for McCaffrey from Teddy Bridgewater going forward. Part of his appeal is all those PPR points.
Noah Fant – Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh
Maybe it was just the Giants being the Giants, but I thought Pittsburgh’s defense looked really good Monday night. It would be unfair not to acknowledge that Fant also looked really good at times, and I’m excited for what he and Drew Lock might accomplish. I don’t think they’re quite there yet, and I think Vegas has the right of this game with the Steelers being pretty big favorites at home. Tight end is kind of wide open this week after Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews, but I’m looking at Jordan Akins, O.J. Howard, and Logan Thomas in the interest of salary saving this weekend.
Players I like, but who are expected to have high ownership in Week 2 include: Dak Prescott, Matt Ryan, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, Ezekiel Elliott, Adam Thielen, Davante Adams, Parris Campbell, Mark Andrews, Logan Thomas, San Francisco D/ST, and Buffalo D/ST. You might consider deviating away from this player pool and pivoting in large GPPs.
