With the Hall of Fame game kicking off Sunday night, it means the 2015-16 NFL regular season is only a month away. It’s time to sharpen up your daily fantasy football mind, and that’s exactly what I’m here to do with the first of many daily fantasy sports pieces for the upcoming season.
What we’ll be taking a look at in this piece are the players that could potentially enter the season a bit overvalued when it comes to their DFS salaries. Getting the most bang for your buck is what being a successful DFS player is all about, and the list below is a handful of players that popped up on my radar for all the wrong reasons.
Frank Gore RB – I get that “Frank the Tank” has been a fantasy stud for numerous seasons with him nothing short of a lock rushing for 1,000 yards, but this move to Indianapolis has me concerned.
For starters, there’s a number of mouths to feed on this potent offense led by stud gunslinger Andrew Luck. T.Y Hilton headlines a strong WR corps and pro bowler Andre Johnson was also brought in. On top of that, the offense is pass first having ranked No. 17 in rushing attempts last season.
An uptick in tempo means more plays to be run, but Gore is entering the twilight of his career. Looking to a 32-year old running back to lead your charge consistently will not pay off. When the match-up is right, by all means roster Gore in your cash games but be weary otherwise.
Odell Beckham Jr. WR – The LSU product took the NFL by storm last season ultimately leading a number of fantasy teams to titles after reeling in 91 pigskins for 1,305 yards and 12 TDs in just 12 games.
That right there is a major cause for concern for me. He’s young and talented no doubt, but there is more game film on him now and the rest of the league will be better prepared to handle him.
On top of that, the Giants also have Rueben Randle and what they’re hoping is a healthy Victor Cruz. That’s three viable receiving threats for the New York Football Giants with only one pigskin to go around.
OBJ will likely have a solid campaign, but he’s not a better overall receiver than either Dez Bryant or Calvin Johnson who have established themselves as premiere pass catchers. Yet, he costs more than each at FanDuel and DraftKings.
Drafting Beckham Jr. over them in season long leagues is a gamble, and overpaying for him in DFS early on is what I’ll sit back and wait for my opposition to do.
Jeremy Maclin WR – The “Mac Attack” ranked out as the no. 8 WR in my fantasy league last season. He racked up 1,318 yards and 10 TDs on 85 receptions. It felt like he made the plays of the week on all sports shows that aired after Sunday’s action.
Unfortunately, he goes from one of the more potent offenses in the league under the watchful eye of Chip Kelly to a more plodding attack led by the ground game overlooked by Andy Reid. The Chiefs very rarely air it out with Alex Smith slinging the rock, and the team threw a grand total of zero TDs to WRs last season. Zip, zilch, nada!
Even so, Maclin checks in as the nineteenth most expensive WR to draft to your DFS roster in Week 1. Ahead of players like Steve Smith Sr. and Golden Tate who erupted as major DFS studs a short season ago.
Until KC shows a pulse in the passing game, let others latch onto Maclin early in hopes he resurrects the unit’s vertical game.
Ben Roethlisberger QB – Due to back-to-back weeks in which Big Ben threw for 6 TDs, the Steelers field general finished in the Top 5 of quarterbacks last season. Take those two games out of the equation, and Roethlisberger actually finished out of the top 10.
It’s tough to want to fade him with Antonio Bryant and Le’Veon Bell still at his disposal, but I’m very skeptical he comes anywhere near his numbers from a season ago. Bell will be “MIA” the first two weeks of the season, and he’s forced to play six games within the division against three tough defenses that know better than most on how to slow the Steelers down.
He’s also getting up there in age, and has taken numerous hits to the body with him simply just refusing to go down. I’d once again chalk him up to a boom or bust QB that makes more sense rostering in GPPs than cash games. He’ll have his big games no doubt, but his mediocrity for a majority of last season leads me to believe he just won’t live up to the billing as often as his DFS supporters would like.
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