Greetings, Gamers! We have an excellent opportunity on Yahoo for Week 6, as they are running a $200,000 contest with a $15 entry fee and 15,000 entries. This flagship tournament generally does not fill more than 85-90% in the sixth week, which provides extra value for gamers. Let’s get into some NFL Yahoo Fantasy Football DFS Picks for Week 6 including Lamar Jackson, Alexander Mattison nd 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 Rich Hribar 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, Aaron Jones 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.
Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles – $35 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B
This is a gift at Jackson is coming in at his lowest salary figure since Week 2 of last season. While he has topped 18+ fantasy points only twice in five games, the Ravens have to be happy with their 4-1 record and Jackson not racking up the wear and tear. The only risk for us is that the reigning NFL MVP is not needed to pour on the points as Baltimore is nearly double digit road favorites. However, keep in mind that he has had a hand in 10 of the 14 offensive touchdowns this season. While we do not need to “stack” Jackson with one of his pass catchers, Marquise Brown – $19 and tight end Mark Andrews – $24 are viable tournament pairings.
Gardner Minshew – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Detroit Lions – $28 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
The Lions have a dreadful run defense and a mediocre passing defense. As four point home underdogs and a 54.5 projected game total, I do like Minshew to be throwing in this game. Detroit has just five sacks through their first four games and that should give Minshew plenty of time in the pocket to find D.J. Chark – $26. Be aware that Chark has been limited all week by an ankle injury, so that may open up opportunities for Keelan Cole – $16 and Laviska Shenault Jr – $17, neither of which are household names.
Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $35 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B
We know that the Pewter Pirates have one of the best running defenses this season, by they can be exploited via the pass. The Packers had their bye last week and we should see the return of Davante Adams – $36 who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Tight end Robert Tonyan – $18 is due for some regression off of his five touchdowns on just 14 targets, 13 receptions and 173 yards, but he is the clear #2 option with Allen Lazard (core) out for the next month. Rodgers has multi-touchdown games in every appearance and he has topped 280+ passing yards in three of the four.
Editor’s Note
Awesemo’s Player Prop Stat Projections are predicting 328.2 passing yards for Matt Ryan which is well under what his Vegas totals suggest. There is some variation in the lines across sportsbooks, so use OddsShopper to take advantage of this possible money-making player prop. Click on the image for more OddsShopper options.
*Betting odds as of Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11:55 a.m. 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.
Mike Davis – Carolina Panthers vs. Chicago Bears – $23 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value B
Davis has been outstanding picking up the slack for the injured Christian McCaffrey. He should once again approach 25 combined carries and targets. The Awesemo projections love him with 100 combined yards and a 70% chance of scoring a touchdown. The Bears have a mediocre rushing defense coming in the middle-of-the-pack with the 17th DVOA, 16th yards per carry at 4.4 and allowing 113.2 yards per game.
Alexander Mattison – Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons – $14 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
Awesemo is projecting Mattison to be on at least half of all tournament lineups this week. Do not think to long about this play because it is truly a steal with Dalvin Cook on the shelf and the Falcons on the other side of the ball. If I were making five lineups, I would definitely have Mattison on four and look for differentiation elsewhere.
Myles Gaskin – Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets – $18 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value B
It seems that Gaskin is the clear top choice in the Dolphins backfield. Jordan Howard was not even active last week and Matt Brieda had nine carries and a target as the clear backup. The Jets are an absolute dumpster fire right now and we will likely see coach Adam Gase canned before Thanksgiving, if not sooner. Last week Gaskin found the end zone for the first time this season and while he has yet to top 70 rushing yards, he has averaged 16 carries and 4.7 targets each of the last three weeks. The Dolphins are nearly double digit favorites in this matchup.
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:
DeVante Parker – Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets – $18 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
The Jets have one of the worst passing defenses in the league and the Dolphins have a lofty (for them) 28.25 implied point total. We know that veteran signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick is not afraid to throw downfield and this bodes well for Parker.
Robert Woods – Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers – $19 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C
This is a nice tournament spot as most gamers do not look to the Sunday Night Football game since Yahoo is the only site that includes it in their “main” slate. This season Woods has a touchdown or 100+ yards in four of his five games. He has not had fewer than five targets and he should be in the mix early and often against a banged up ‘Niners defense. Richard Sherman, Dontae Johnson, Solomon Thomas, Kwon Alexander, Mark Nzeocha, Dee Ford, Julian Taylor, Ezekiel Ansah and Ronald Blair are all out. Defensive backs Marcell Harris and Emmanuel Moseley are questionable.
Marvin Jones Jr – Detroit Lions at Jacksonville Jaguars – $13 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value A
Though his production has been all over the place, we can look to Jones in tournaments for his multi-touchdown upside. The Jaguars are going to be focused on Kenny Golladay – $30. We already know that D.J. Hayden is out for the season and rookie C.J. Henderson is unlikely to play. All we need is for Jones to get lost behind the Jacksonville secondary and we will be grinning from ear-to-ear.
Tight Ends
This week we have some high, medium and low priced options. As mentioned above with their respective quarterbacks Mark Andrews and Robert Tonyan are in play. Let’s look at two more options with one at either end of the salary spectrum.
George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams – $29 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value D
This lofty price tag has Kittle as the fifth most expensive pass catcher in the player pool. While the San Francisco quarterback situation is a mess, they all know that Kittle is their best option. A combination of price and this being the Sunday Night Football game should keep Kittle’s popularity in check.
Trey Burton – Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals – $10 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value B
Mo Allie-Cox has been ruled out with a knee injury. This should give Burton the opportunity he needs to make his supporters happy at the minimum price.
Defense/Special Teams
This week with all of the expensive offensive options, we should look to some of the bargain defenses.
New York Giants at Washington Football Team – $13 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value B
The Washington Football Team continues to be a disaster in the front office and at the quarterback position. Washington has allowed at least three sacks in all five games this year including eight last week to the Rams. Punting with the winless Giants D/ST will not feel great, but it is the best price per dollar play of the weekend.
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers – $17 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value E
In each of their last two games the 49ers have allowed five sacks. Last week Jimmy Garoppolo returned from injury but was benched for C.J. Beathard after throwing two interceptions and with the team down three scores. The Rams are tied for the league lead with 20 sacks and they also have four picks and two fumble recoveries.
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