Ostrowski: Best Daily Fantasy Plays For Week 2
By Joe Ostrowski--
(CBS) Before we get to the best daily fantasy Week 2 plays, it's always important to learn something from the new daily fantasy millionaires. Luck is involved in winning a tournament with hundreds of thousands of entries, but so is skill. Each week we'll take a look at a couple of winning lineups.
FanDuel: $5 million NFL Sunday Million ($1 million to first place)
Winner: "jeremybronson" -- 201.32 points
QB: Alex Smith
RB: Carlos Hyde, Jamaal Charles
WR: Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Percy Harvin
TE: Tyler Eifert
K: Steven Hauschka
DEF: 49ers
A tournament win by 12.22 points is domination. On FanDuel, the number of wins by each user is public. "jeremybronson" had only 60 total wins, which tells us he's a new player.
This was a contrarian lineup. It's a challenge finding talented players who won't be rostered by the majority. Jones was the only player with an ownership north of 5.6 percent. There were two stacks in play. Quarterbacks are usually paired with a wide receiver, but this was a Smith-Charles QB-RB stack and Hyde-49ers RB-DEF stack. Hopkins was in a great spot with the Texans playing catch-up all game. Harvin was able to take advantage when Sammy Watkins was locked up by Vontae Davis. Harvin was owned by just 0.5 percent of the field. Eifert was the key value play. Most tournament winners had him rostered. Hauschka wasn't the highest-scoring kicker, but it's worth noting that this player spent up at the position for the St. Louis dome setting.
Draft Kings: $10 million Millionaire Maker ($2 million to first place)
Winner: "BALLAH" -- 228.04 points
QB: Tony Romo
RB: Carlos Hyde, Chris Ivory
WR: Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry, John Brown
TE: Tyler Eifert
FLEX: Eddie Lacy
D/ST: Jets
It isn't always necessary to go the contrarian route. This is a chalky lineup with high ownership numbers throughout the roster. Five spots had a 17.2 percent ownership or higher.
The players in common with the FanDuel winning roster are Hyde, Jones and Eifert. There isn't a QB stack, just an Ivory-Jets RB-D/ST stack. Pay close attention to your site's scoring system. Landry received points for a punt return touchdown. Romo, Hyde, Jones and Eifert all received bonus points. Every dollar in the salary cap was used.
Week 2 top daily fantasy plays
QB in cash games: Cardinals' Carson Palmer at Bears
There isn't any reason to hesitate using Palmer in a plus matchup against the Bears. He threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns last week in his first game back from a torn ACL. Starting running back Andre Ellington's injury means Arizona will rely on the passing game even more. In Week 1, Palmer had the third-highest depth-per-aimed throw and fourth-most fantasy points per dropback. He's a bargain as the 14th-priced quarterback on FanDuel and Draft Kings.
Another option: Eagles' Sam Bradford vs. Cowboys
QB in tournaments: Saints' Drew Brees vs. Buccaneers
Brees may be a popular play because he's facing a Tampa Bay defense that allowed Marcus Mariota to throw four touchdown passes one half into his NFL career. He qualifies as a tournament play due to a sky-high ceiling and some risk. Even though New Orleans is the heaviest favorite of the week, Brees threw six interceptions last season against Lovie Smith's defense.
Another option: Giants' Eli Manning vs. Falcons
RB in cash games: Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch at Packers
It was a quiet 104 total yards for Lynch facing the Rams in a brutal matchup last week. This time, Lynch gets to face a Packers defense that allowed the Bears to rack up 189 rushing yards. The Seahawks need to keep Aaron Rodgers off the field. They also need to avoid an 0-2 start. They need Lynch.
Another option: 49ers' Carlos Hyde at Steelers
RB in tournaments: Vikings' Adrian Peterson vs. Lions
Peterson may have his lowest ownership percentage of the season this week. He burned a lot of people on Monday night, and most of them are going to stay far away. Thirteen touches for the Vikings star is a joke. Expect offensive coordinator Norv Turner to fix that.
Another option: Ravens' Justin Forsett at Raiders
WR in cash games: Falcons' Julio Jones at Giants
Jones started his 2015 season with a bang, with two touchdowns and 141 yards to post the most fantasy points of any receiver. New offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is going to make sure that Matt Ryan keeps Jones involved. Weekly matchups don't matter.
Another option: Eagles' Jordan Matthews vs. Cowboys
WR in tournaments: Jets' Eric Decker at Colts
Colts cornerback Vontae Davis is in the conversation with Richard Sherman, Darrelle Revis and Chris Harris Jr. as one of the best at his position in the league. If Davis sticks with Brandon Marshall, that would really open things up for Decker. Three Colts cornerbacks missed practice on Thursday with injuries. Decker has the ability to go wild. He had 221 yards at Miami in 2014 and a monster four-touchdown game in 2013 with Denver at Kansas City.
Another option: Packers' Davante Adams vs. Seahawks
TE in cash games: Cowboys' Jason Witten at Eagles
With Dez Bryant out of the picture, more Tony Romo passes are expected to head Witten's way. He had the most targets (nine) of any Cowboy last week. The concern is the tight end position hasn't scored a touchdown on Philadelphia in a full calendar year. Even if Witten doesn't score, the volume will be there from his buddy Romo.
Another option: Redskins' Jordan Reed vs. Rams
TE in tournaments: Panthers' Greg Olsen vs. Texans
Recency bias will force the masses off of Olsen. Houston allowed Travis Kelce to go for 106 yards and two touchdowns on only 6 targets. It's impossible to mention this position and not bring up Rob Gronkowski, who's always a great cash or tournament play.
Another option: Seahawks' Jimmy Graham at Packers
Joe Ostrowski is an executive producer at 670 The Score and co-hosts "Chicago's Fantasy Football Today" on Sundays from 8-9 a.m. CT. He also discusses fantasy football on The Laurence Holmes Show on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. CT on WSCR-670 and 670thescore.com/listen. Follow him on Twitter @JoeO670 and feel free to ask fantasy questions.