Thomason: Sleepers & Daily Fantasy Value Plays For Week 2
By Jack Thomason--
(CBS) As a reminder, this piece can be utilized for daily fantasy football and/or season-long leagues. The idea is to create one-stop show for sleepers at each position, no matter what league you're playing. Best of luck to everyone this week.
Quarterback
Jared Goff, Rams (vs. Redskins) — Rams coach Sean McVay is an offensive guru and has already made an imprint on this young team. Now, the Colts are a laughingstock without Andrew Luck, but it still take skill to execute as well as the Rams did on their way to a 46-9 route on Sunday. Goff looked great, throwing accurately and spreading the ball around to numerous weapons. We saw the Redskins get torched by Carson Wentz for 307 yards and two scores, and I believe McVay will continue to put Goff in strong situations to succeed. Goff is cheap enough and has a high enough ceiling to justify using him this week. (FanDuel: $6500; DraftKings: $5100)
Philip Rivers, Chargers (vs. Dolphins) — Rivers is underpriced, especially on DraftKings this week. His yardage totals weren't unbelievably high, but he did toss three touchdowns against the Broncos' vaunted pass defense. Rivers should touch up an average Dolphins secondary that's about to make a cross country trip after dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Irma. I'm not one for narrative street, but we saw Houston get pummeled by Jacksonville in its home stadium after dealing with something similar. It's hard to focus on a game, even if it is your job, when so many friends and family members are dealing with piecing their lives back together. (FD: $7000; DK: $5800)
Running back
Ty Montgomery, Packers (at Falcons) — Montgomery isn't exactly a sleeper, but he's a value at his current price point. He led all NFL running backs in snaps, playing over 90 percent of them, and he rated out as Pro Football Focus' top running back in pass protection, which was the biggest concern for him coming into this year. Having that type of secure role on a high-powered offense in a potential shootout with the Falcons makes for a great play this week. The best part about Montgomery is he's game script proof, given his pass receiving ability. (FD: $6500; DK: $5800)
Javorius Allen, Ravens (vs. Browns) — Terrance West is going to be involved, but after Danny Woodhead went down, Allen out-snapped and out-touched West. Allen notched 21 carries for 71 yards and is a good receiver out of the backfield, which West isn't. The Ravens are 7.5-point home favorites against the Browns, and Allen should have plenty of opportunities to produce fantasy points at an especially low price. (FD: $4900; DK: $4100)
Receiver
Cooper Kupp, Rams (vs. Redskins) — Kupp is the real deal and despite poor athleticism, he continues to get open on an NFL field. Sunday was no different, as he tied for a team lead in targets (six) and racked up 76 yards and a score on four receptions. He'll face off against a Redskins secondary that was torched on the inside by Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz. I like Kupp's projects of getting into the end zone again and being heavily targeted. Ride the wave, as his price will likely increase weekly. (FD: $5400; DK: $4100)
Jermaine Kearse, Jets (at Raiders) — This is an easy one, as he price is cheap and you can punt WR3 and still knock down some fantasy points with Kearse. He led the Jets in targets, yards and catches while just having recently joined the team, but he gives quarterback Josh McCown a veteran presence and a reliable target. He may not have touchdown upside, but he will catch a fair number of balls and be heavily targeted with the Jets trailing often, as they're 14-point underdogs. (FD: $5400; DK: $3900)
Tight end
Cameron Brate, Buccaneers (vs. Bears) — Brate is still the pass receiving tight end in this offense. He has a good rapport with Jameis Winston and led all tight ends in touchdowns last year with eight. The Bears are already dealing with some significant injuries defensively and have to travel to Tampa after having some late breakdowns for big plays against Falcons tight end Austin Hooper. The Bucs are a fresh team coming off a Week 1 bye and have a 25-point team total this week. I like Brate's chances of punching one in. (FD: $5300; DK: $3000)
Charles Clay, Bills (at Panthers) — This isn't an easy matchup for Clay, but he's the most familiar target for Tyrod Taylor outside LeSean McCoy. That was on display Sunday when he led the Bills in targets with nine, converting them into 53 yards and a score. Clay had another end zone target that he allowed to go through his hands and into he defenders for an interception, otherwise he would've had an even bigger day. Taylor said recently that he wants to continue to get the ball into Clay's hands because he's a playmaker. (FD: $5200; DK: $3000)
Just missed: Trevor Siemian, Eli Manning, Chris Carson, Shane Vereen, J.J. Nelson, Paul Richardson, Eric Ebron and Coby Fleener.
Jack Thomason is 670 The Score's fantasy football expert and weekly guest of "Chicago's Fantasy Football Today," which can be heard every Sunday during football season from 8-9 a.m. CT on WSCR-670 and 670thescore.com/listen. Follow him on Twitter@jthomason77and feel free to ask fantasy questions.
