Greetings, Gamers! We have an excellent opportunity on Yahoo for Week 4, as they are running a $300,000 contest with a $15 entry fee and 22,715 entries. This flagship tournament generally does not fill more than 85-90% in the fourth week, which provides extra value for gamers. Let’s get into some NFL Yahoo Fantasy Football DFS Picks for Week 4 including Alvin Kamara, Miles Sanders and George Kittle.
Don’t forget to check out this week’s NFL DFS On the Contrary show with Alex “Awesemo” Baker, Dave “Loughy” Loughran and special guest Ian Hartitz from Pro Football Focus on the Awesemo YouTube Channel
Yahoo Fantasy Football General Strategy
As with most sites, there are many viable strategies that can be successful in large-field tournaments and of course, we do need the same amount of favor from Lady Luck as we do elsewhere.
The key thing to remember is that this is a half-PPR site, meaning receptions are worth 0.5 points and the minimum salary is $10 with an average salary per player of $22. This week, Russell Wilson is at the top of the pricing list at $42. The full scoring parameters can be found here.
Please note: Yahoo now offers CSV upload as well as editing capabilities. The latter was something that was not available until recently. Be sure to become familiar with the steps involved in this process so you are savvy with how it all works when faced with a time crunch.
Awesemo NFL Rankings
One of the most useful features of the Awesemo.com premium content is the personal player rankings from Alex Baker, aka Awesemo, for all of the main sports. The players grade out separately for each DFS site with ratings for both “projected points” and “value” receiving an A through E report card-style grade.
As a sneak preview, for this article I will be sharing the grades Full Rankings (Premium Content)
Quarterback
If you have played football on Yahoo, or if you played Yahoo fantasy baseball, you know that the strategy is to look for the cheapest quarterback or pitcher that is tolerable so you can look for more secure points and upside elsewhere. In the recommendations below, I will be highlighting several discount options at the other positions so you can build a framework that will allow lineup construction for a top-shelf quarterback along with his favorite target and still have enough salary cap to run it back with the top option on the opposing team.
Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans vs. Minnesota Vikings – $30 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
The Minnesota Vikings defense is b-a-d BAD! Though Watson has not topped 275 passing yards yet this season he has a great matchup on paper. Plus we are getting him at a bid of a discount in the absence of eye-popping fantasy numbers. Of course road matchups in Pittsburgh last week and Kansas City Week 1 along with hosting Baltimore in Week 2 is one heck of a defensive gauntlet. Minnesota is allowing 34.0 points per game which is the second most in the league. Their 292.3 passing yards allowed is third. Awesemo contributor Matt Savoca has a nice full game breakdown here for free. The key thing he points out is that the Vikings secondary has only one member (Cameron Dantzler, No. 60) that ranks inside the top 90 PFF graded cornerbacks.
Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas Raiders – $40 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C
For the third straight week, Allen topped 300+ passing yards and scored his second rushing touchdown of the season. This week he will be in Las Vegas against the Raiders who have the third worst defense according to PFF. The lofty price tag is keeping his popularity suppressed with a projected 4% of the field rolling with him according to Awesemo. Stefon Diggs – $24 and John Brown – $19 both have amazing upside and can be paired with their quarterback in tournaments as part of a synergistic strategy. Brown suffered an in-game calf injury but he has practiced in full and is no longer on the injury report. Tight end Tyler Kroft – $12 saw his first action of the season and caught two touchdowns last week, however, it is Dawson Knox – $10 who should be clearing the concussion protocol after missing last week that has me intrigued.
Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers – $37 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C
After a one week respite, Murray is back in this article. Even with wide receivers Christian Kirk (groin) and Deandre Hopkins (ankle) game time decisions, that should not keep us away from the second year signal-caller. Carolina has squared off against several non-mobile quarterbacks (Tom Brady, Derek Carr) and a rookie in Justin Herbert, they are not going to be ready for the multi-dimensional youngster. Murray is averaging 62.3 yards rushing per game which on pace for just of 1,000 for the season. If either is out we can give Andy Isabella – $10 a look in tournaments as someone to pair with Murray on the cheap. Just know his two touchdowns last week were on a very thin four targets.
Editor’s Note
Awesemo’s Player Prop Stat Projections are predicting 248.4 passing yards for Kyler Murray which is well under what his Vegas totals suggest. There is some variation in the lines across sportsbooks, so use OddShopper to take advantage of this possible money-making player prop.
*Betting odds as of Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:05 EST
Running Back
We want to keep in mind that while running backs are very important, Yahoo fantasy uses half-PPR, which will not penalize running backs that are not as active in the passing game.
Alvin Kamara – New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions – $36 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B
With Michael Thomas out, Kamara should once again dominate the New Orleans targets along with a dozen or so rushing attempts. He has scored two touchdowns in each of the first three games split between rushing and receiving. The Awesemo Big Board has him listed at the top play this week in both full and half-PPR formats.
Miles Sanders – Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers – $25 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value A
Sanders “disappointed” last week with 18/95/0 on the ground and turning eight targets into 4/12/0. He was close to scoring but was missed by his quarterback. That touchdown would have completely turned his week around. The volume should be there again for him and with this being the Sunday Night Football matchup, gamers are just as likely to be looking elsewhere. Awesemo is projecting Sanders to be on just one out of every ten tournament lineups. Though they survived last week against the Giants, the San Fran defense is going to be without Dre Greenlaw, Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Moseley on Sunday which will hurt their pass coverage and keep them from cheating to stop the run. Keep in mind that Richard Sherman, Mark Nzeocha, Solomon Thomas and Dee Ford are all currently on the injured reserve.
For a full breakdown of the Sunday Night Football matchup which is on the Yahoo “main” slate – click here.
Dalvin Cook – Minnesota Vikings at Houston Texans – $32 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C
Oh what a matchup for Cook who is facing a Texans team allowing a league worst 188.3 rushing yards per game. In Week 1 it was Clyde Edwards-Helaire for 25/138/1. Week 2 was a combined effort from Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram II, Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins with 37/230/1 and an astounding 6.2 yards per carry. Last week James Connor and Anthony McFarland Jr combined for 24/151/1 on 6.3 yards per rush. Giggity!
Bonus plays Ronald Jones – $12 (Leonard Fournette is out this week), Mike Davis – $17 (getting more targets than McCaffrey) and Myles Gaskin – $15 (clear lead back in Miami in a tasty hoe matchup against Seattle) can really open things up with their suppressed price points.
Wide Receiver
More often than not, we should be able to find several nice options in the middle tier. The top-shelf Yahoo fantasy options are typically priced in the mid-$30 range. Often, they are best paired with their quarterbacks for tournament upside rather than risking downside as solo plays.
In addition to the players highlighted above with their quarterbacks, we can look to:
Greg Ward – Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers – $14 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value A
As mentioned above in the Miles Sanders recommendation, the ‘Niners defense has been decimated by injuries. So too has the Philly receiving corps with Jalen Reagor and Dallas Goedert both on the IR. Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Marquise Goodwin are all out and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is doubtful. That leaves Ward as the only healthy veteran and rookie fifth round selection John Hightower manning the position. Zach Ertz – $17 should be getting a ton of opportunity as well.
DJ Moore – Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals – $21 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
Teddy Bridgewater should find the going a little easier against a Cardinals team that suffered a fourth quarter collapse last week to the visiting Detroit Lions. Though he disappeared last week with just four targets for 2/65/0, he was getting downfield looks and we are not that far removed from his Week 2 13 target 8/120/0 performance. Take a chance on Moore who is clearly his teams WR1 and far from a household name.
Bonus plays Hunter Renfrow – $14 (one of the few healthy Raiders receivers) and Isaiah Ford – $10Â (minimum price in what should be a high scoring game against Seattle) can really open things up with their low price tags and likely increased opportunities.
Tight Ends
As mentioned above Zach Ertz – $17 and Dawson Knox – $10 are solid plays. So let’s look at some premium options.
George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles – $10 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value E
Kittle is a full go after being knock out in Week 1 with a knee injury. Nick Mullens is a competent quarterback and connected with Kittle for games of 210 and 149 yards during the second half of 2018 when he was starting for the injured Jimmy G.
Darren Waller – Las Vegas Raiders vs. Buffalo Bills – $23 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C
With Henry Ruggs standing by to miss another game and fellow rookie Bryan Edwards out, Waller should see a majority of Derek Carr’s targets. It came as no surprise that the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick found a way to slow him down last week. We know that opportunities are king in fantasy sports and Waller should have plenty of them on Sunday.
Defense/Special Teams
There are several good matchups this week for Yahoo fantasy and we have enough savings options that we can splurge on a top-shelf defense..
Baltimore Ravens at Washington Football Team – $20 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value E
Last week we used a deeply discounted Cleveland squad against the Washington Football Team and they did not let us down with three sacks and five takeaways. Dwayne Haskins is literally playing for his job in this Beltway Battle. Washington has allowed at least three sacks every game and multiple turnovers in their last two. The Ravens have a return touchdown each of the last two weeks and they should be flirting with double digit points in this matchup.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Chargers – $16 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value D
After notching 11 sacks and six turnovers with a safety and a blocked kick, the Pewter Pirates should be on everyone’s radar. They will be going against rookie Justin Herbert who has already been sacked four times.
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions.
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