I claimed it here last week and it rang true — Week 12 would be one of my favorite weeks for tournaments. I’m an unabashed Julio Jones fan and seeing him go off for a 50-burger exceeded even my lofty expectations (40-plus points). If you found yourself without him in your lineups, the odds were probably against you from seeing a very profitable day. But that’s okay. Fading the chalk will lead to some losses, but it can also provide you some major wins anytime the chalk flops. Let’s look at which players can help are in line for big performances that could see us finish at the top of tournaments.
(For the DraftKings cash game guide, click here)
Quarterback
This week’s Sunday night hammer features two of the league’s top fantasy quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz, and it’s a shame we won’t have access to them on the main slate. We’ll have to find other ways to deviate from the crowd in order to bring home the bacon. There are many low-priced quarterback options that will allow you to jam in some studs elsewhere. I mentioned the low-priced guys I’ll be targeting in my cash game article, but I’ll mostly be paying up in tournaments for quarterbacks.
I’m going back to the well once again with Tom Brady ($7,800). I have zero qualms with paying up for production and Brady provides that on a weekly basis. Outings with 300 yards and three touchdowns seem like the general floor for Brady, and we’ve seen situations where the Patriots leave their foot on the gas against their divisional rivals. The Bills defense has been playing quite well in pass defense this season, and with the loss of Marcell Dareus, we’re seeing teams find great success running the ball against them. Brady and the Patriots should be able to orchestrate long drives mixing and matching play calling and leading to a strong fantasy outing. I’m planning on starting several GPP rosters with Brady and Rob Gronkowski and then just building from there.
The other GPP name I want to mention is a bit more of a stretch given his volatile performance and injuries that he and some of his teammates are going through. Cam Newton ($6,800) has made a killing playing in New Orleans. Over the last three years playing there, he’s put up 40.14, 35.34, and 31.0 fantasy points, scoring 12 total touchdowns in that three-game span. Cam’s dealing with an injured right thumb, but I’m anticipating that just drawing away ownership and still leaving him in a great spot against New Orleans and their banged-up cornerbacks. Marson Lattimore and Ken Crawley both missed last week’s game and we saw Jared Goff come away with a strong outing. Newton’s accuracy has never been one of his strong points, but he’s got massive targets in Devin Funchess and Greg Olsen to fight for the ball for him. He’s also been incredibly successful rushing the ball this season. Over the last six weeks, he’s averaged 62 rushing yards and scored a rushing touchdown in 3-of-6. I’m expecting a shootout here in the bayou and will have a good amount of exposure to Cam if one of, if not both of, the Saints cornerbacks miss this game.
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