More FanDuel Sleepers & DFS Lineup Picks for Week 4

September 27, 2014

Brian H. analyzes fantasy football FanDuel sleepers and DFS lineup picks for Week 4 of NFL action including Teddy Bridgewater, Ahmad Bradshaw, Jeremy Kerley and Steve Smith.

If you’re like me, your vision of the future of football is a bit radical. You may see the game being played at quarter speed with the players covered in pillows and all contact is flagged. Considering the amount of the yellow that we have seen through three weeks, you may not be wrong. Me? I am more of a romantic. I see it going a complete Orwellian direction as domed football stadiums become our modern Colosseums and football players our modern gladiators.

The allure of multimillion dollar contracts come with the penalty of playing a brutally physical game and living to tell your story. Society turns a collective blind eye to the atrocities as their money, time and attention become engulfed in their fantasy games. People line up at the casinos as early as five in the morning to place their fantasy lineups and receive assurances that they would have an opportunity to potentially “rush,” “receive,” and “score” their way to a piece of the weekly pie. And a robotic Roger Goodell (whose machinery runs on energy produced from burning hundred dollar bills, mind you) overlooks the whole charade and laughs maniacally. Or, you know, maybe the pillow thing happens.

The Evolution Of Fantasy Football

What I am getting at is that football is an ever evolving sport, adjusting rules and regulations to better fit the social acceptance level at any given time. And it seems like fantasy football is following suit. With the addition of concepts like flex players and points per reception that have become so important and popular in recent years, the evidence is right before our eyes. And that’s what intrigues me so much about FanDuel. Single-day fantasy lineups that can be crafted in a fair way with payouts to the umpteenth place? It just seems like this could potentially be the next step in this game’s evolution.

Think of all the instances in your fantasy past where you had players in one league that your opponent had in another and you were left conflicted with how hard you were going to cheer. For me, it’s something that happens on a weekly basis. FanDuel eliminates all that by giving you complete reign over whom you are playing during any single week. Now, if Calvin Johnson is coming into town to play your favorite team and you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of the battle, you just go with A.J. Green instead. Seattle’s D is playing your other favorite team? Cool, take a risk with Houston’s D this week instead. It’s completely up to you. It’s fantasy football on demand.

Considering I’m probably late to the party and some of you are just sitting there rolling your eyes because you knew all this already, I’ll get to the good stuff now. Here are some players (along with their prices on FanDuel) whom you should be looking to grab in order to win yourself some money this weekend.

FanDuel Lineup Picks for Week 4

Steve Smith Sr. ($6,100) - You guys remember Steve Smith? That guy who used to play receiver for Carolina and would regularly try to punch out teammates and/or opponents as fire burned in his eyes? Well, he and this new guy in Baltimore are the same person! He just decided to add a suffix to his name to further distance his identity from his Carolina days. And guess what? Carolina is playing in Baltimore this weekend!

Expect the speedy Smith (who has become the undoubted No. 1 option for Joe Flacco) to do everything he can to make his former organization rue the decision to let him walk. I picture a monster game as the Baltimore fans do their best to help their new receiver forget ever putting on that Carolina blue in the first place.

Ahmad Bradshaw ($6,100) - The former Giant is having a comeback year for the ages, and the Indianapolis offense looks as dangerous as anyone dreamed it could be coming into the season. Bradshaw has been splitting carries with Trent Richardson, and the arrangement seems to be working as well as you could hope for a dual-back system to work. Both seem to feed off the lighter workload, and they've been very productive this season as a result.

The biggest difference is that Bradshaw usually gets the rock around the goal line-- which, believe it or not, is huge in fantasy football. Tennessee is visiting this weekend and nothing screams “we’re going to shut everything down” about it. Save some money and go with Bradshaw.

Teddy Bridgewater ($5,900) - The future is now. A broken foot has ended Matt Cassel’s season and all signs point to this being the Teddy Bridgewater Show for the foreseeable future. Considering the firestorm surrounding their organization and Adrian Peterson in recent weeks, I am almost positive that fans’ reactions to the former Louisville star’s first game in Minneapolis is going to have an impact on the game.

I also expect an Atlanta team coming off of a long layoff since their Thursday night blowout last week to come out flat and underestimate an opponent who is missing their best player. And Teddy could be the main beneficiary of that miscalculation.

Jeremy Kerley ($4,900) - It may seem like a bit of a reach, but think about the potential this could have in shaping the rest of your line up. The money you save here can be used to overspend in other positions to get some assurances of positive production.  Plus, the Jets see Detroit this weekend in a game where, potentially, neither team will have the ability to run the ball against the other's front seven.

If the Jets go down, Geno Smith will have to throw, and Kerley has proven to be one of his best playmakers. Throw in the fact that Eric Decker is dealing with a hamstring injury and considering that no other Jet seems awfully interested in trying to make plays in the passing game, and you realize that Kerley could be an absolute steal. If the player you expect the least out of is still eclipsing 10-12 points, then you should be looking good.