NFL DFS Bargain Bin: Week 2 Value Plays for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo

Juan Carlos Blanco analyzes optimal DFS value plays for the Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season. These players are worth considering on FanDuel, DraftKings, and Yahoo daily fantasy sports games.

Welcome to the Week 2 Sunday slates edition of RotoBaller's NFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mis-priced players across the industry that find themselves in favorable match-ups and/or suddenly expanded roles.

Before we go NFL DFS Bargain Bin hunting, a few particulars about format and content:

• The nature of the beast with value plays is at least a modest amount (and sometimes substantially more) of risk. Therefore, the Bargain Bin may prove to be a bit more of a roller-coaster ride on some slates than your typical “tout” article!
• Naturally, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside to be had. All of these selections are therefore suitable for GPPs and can also often serve as solid cash game plays, while often helping you accommodate multiple higher-priced studs into your lineup.
• Typically, I’ll suggest players that are value-priced across three major DFS sites (DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo). However, there are certainly occasions where one or more site prices a player significantly lower than others. Whenever possible, I’ll typically at least note those players as an “XYZ site special.”
• This article is by no means intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all value options for the week. Rather, it’s meant to take a deeper dive into those I feel offer some of the best combinations of savings and upside.
• The goal is to recommend truly affordable players, as opposed to, say, a player priced just $300-$400 away from the highest-priced option at his position. I don’t have set-in-stone price limits in mind for each site, but I do consider legitimate affordability very important criteria.

With those housekeeping items out of the way, I’ll give you my thoughts on where there may be some value spots to exploit on the Week 2 Sunday slates!

Quarterback DFS Value Plays

Justin Herbert, LAC vs. DAL | DK: $6,700, FD: $7,600, Yahoo: $33 

Herbert got his ’21 season off to a rousing start despite the Chargers only scoring 20 points against Washington, as the second-year quarterback amassed 337 yards and a touchdown. Herbert and Keenan Allen were especially in sync to the tune of nine completions totaling 100 yards, but that’s not exactly noteworthy given the receiver’s body of work. Perhaps more encouraging for the quarterback’s fantasy expectations was the fact No. 2 receiver Mike Williams (8-82-1) and new tight end Jared Cook (5-56) both were robustly involved as well.

The pattern should have a good chance of persisting Sunday against the Cowboys, which were taken to task by Tom Brady and teammates in the opener for 379 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air. Dallas’ starting safety tandem of Donovan Wilson and offseason arrival Damontae Kazee are already both sporting questionable tags going into Friday’s final practice of the week as well, while key pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) and Randy Gregory (illness) will be out; it all adds up to the possibility Herbert could have an especially rosy path to a strong return at his reasonable salaries on all three sites.

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs. LVR | DK: $5,900, FD: $7,200, Yahoo: $32

Roethlisberger sported similarly discounted salaries in Week 1 against the Bills, but that was rightfully deemed to be a tough road matchup. While Pittsburgh managed to pull out a rather improbable upset, Big Ben had only a modest role to play in it, throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown. Nevertheless, he now sets up for a much friendlier matchup on paper against a Raiders team he’ll catch on a short week and following a cross-country trip.

Las Vegas did pull off a momentous upset in its own right in its opener by upending the Ravens late, yet the Raiders gave up their share of yards to a team not exactly known for its passing acumen. Lamar Jackson threw for 235 yards and a touchdown without an interception on a solid 7.8 yards per attempt, and Roethlisberger, working with a familiar incumbent wideout trio and undoubtedly looking to take the team’s new offense on a legitimate test drive in front of the home crowd, could take to the air with much more proficiency in this matchup.

ALSO CONSIDER: Mac Jones, NE at NYJ | DK: $5,400, FD: $6,800, Yahoo: $27

Running Back DFS Value Plays

Najee Harris, PIT vs. LVR | DK: $6,300, FD: $6,100, Yahoo: $25

Speaking of Steelers value plays, Harris also certainly qualifies and can conceivably even be deployed in the same lineup as Roethlisberger due to the rookie’s ability to work as a three-down back. In fact, no other Steelers running back saw a carry in Week 1 besides Harris, who logged 16 and also saw three targets, although he brought in only one.

Week 2 brings what should be an easier matchup as well, as the Raiders defense gave up an NFL-high 189.0 rushing yards per game a year ago and also 189 to the Ravens at 5.6 yards per carry in Week 1. Then, the Raiders gave up a hefty 88-677-4 line through the air to backs last season as well, which could facilitate a bigger receiving day for Harris than in the opener.

David Montgomery, CHI vs. CIN | DK: $6,100, FD: $7,300, Yahoo: $25

Lost in Matthew Stafford’s stellar Rams debut Sunday night in a thrashing of the Bears was Montgomery’s strong performance, one that saw him gain 108 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries with a long run of 41 yards. The success was somewhat of an extension of Montgomery’s late-regular-season run in 2020, when he compiled between 69 and 146 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground over the last six games.

Montgomery also averaged a solid 4.5 yards per carry at home last season and gets a crack at a Bengals defense that finished 2020 with the fourth-most rushing yards per game allowed (148.0) and 5.4 yards per carry surrendered to running backs. Cincinnati did look much better in that regard in Week 1 against Dalvin Cook while holding the star back to 3.1 yards per rush, but Chicago’s O-line’s performance against an extremely tough Rams front in Week 1 lends credence to the notion they could push Cincinnati around a bit on the ground as they look to establish some balance in a home contest they have a reasonable chance of prevailing in.

ALSO CONSIDER: Javonte Williams, DEN at JAC | DK: $4,400, FD: $5,500, Yahoo: $21

Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays

Mike Williams, LAC vs. DAL | DK: $6,100, FD: $5,600, Yahoo: $23

As mentioned in Herbert’s entry, Williams thrived in his first game in new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi’s offense, playing a workhorse-type role on par with that of Keenan Allen’s. The 12 targets Williams logged were more than he saw in any 2020 contest, and if he sees a similar level of opportunity again against a Cowboys defense that could be without both its starting safeties and missing up to two key pass rushers, he could have enough time and room to get open on the deep routes that are often his calling card.

Brandin Cooks, HOU at CLE  | DK: $5,900, FD: $6,600, Yahoo: $23

Cooks may not be on the radar for many despite his impressive Week 1 performance, one where he generated a 5-132 line on seven targets in his first full game with Tyrod Taylor as his quarterback. While there’s certainly a legitimate caveat about the big game coming against the hapless Jaguars, the fact Cooks was used in his usual high-upside downfield role despite the switch to Taylor under center shouldn’t go unnoticed. Additionally, the Browns were repeatedly exploited all over the field by Tyreek Hill in Week 1; while Cooks and Taylor don’t come close to matching the upside of the Chiefs’ prolific Mahomes-Hill battery, Houston will likely have to take the air and remain aggressive to have a chance in this road battle, which could certainly spell plenty of attention and opportunity for the veteran speedster.

Tim Patrick, DEN at JAC | DK: $4,600, FD: $5,400, Yahoo: $17

Jerry Jeudy will miss several weeks with the gruesome high-ankle sprain he suffered in Week 1, meaning Patrick, much like last season when it was Courtland Sutton on the shelf, will see an expanded role. In 2020, Patrick responded to the increase in snaps and targets with a career-best 51-742-6 line across 15 games. The fourth-year wideout opened 2021 with four receptions and a touchdown against the Giants, playing part of that game as the No. 3 wideout before Jeudy went down.

He’ll now step back into the starting role and immediately get a crack at a Jaguars defense, that, as just explained in Cooks’ entry, was punished through the air by the Texans in Week 1 for 291 yards at 8.8  yards per attempt. Patrick enjoyed a robust average depth of target of 12.8 yards a year ago, and with Jacksonville allowing passer ratings in excess of 100 in the deep left and right passing windows a season ago before this past Sunday’s debacle, Patrick could be in for a fruitful day.

ALSO CONSIDER: Mike Evans, TAM vs. ATL | DK: $6,100, FD: $6,700, Yahoo: $27

Tight End DFS Value Plays

Tyler Higbee, LAR at IND | DK: $4,100, FD: $5,600, Yahoo: $16

Gerald Everett is now in Seattle, leaving Higbee with a golden opportunity to maximize his production while working with a savvy veteran quarterback in Stafford who knows how to make good use of athletic tight ends. Higbee and his new signal-caller already flashed some impressive Week 1 chemistry, with the former producing a 5-68 line on six targets. The number of looks actually finished second only to Cooper Kupp on the Rams for the night, and the Colts, which allowed a combined 5-57-1 line to Will Dissly and Everett in Week 1, could facilitate another strong performance for Higbee at excellent value salaries.

Pat Freiermuth, PIT vs. LVR | DK: $2,700, FD: $4,200, Yahoo: $10

This may well be the longest-shot value play in this article, so a tournament-only designation might apply. However, Freiermuth is certainly carrying minimal risk at his salaries, and the reality is he could find himself in a starting role against the Raiders if Eric Ebron is unable to overcome a hamstring injury that cost him Thursday’s practice. The big rookie notched a 24-yard reception on his only target in Week 1, but he displayed plenty of promise with a two-touchdown effort in preseason versus the Lions. The Raiders allowed a 76-857-6 line to tight ends a year ago, and while they did do a good job on Mark Andrews (3-20) in the opener Monday night, Ben Roethlisberger is an exponentially more experienced and accurate passer than Lamar Jackson and could certainly exploit holes in the defense and the red zone with an athletic target like the 6-foot-5 Penn State product.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jared Cook, LAC vs. DAL | DK: $3,900, FD: $5,400, Yahoo: $13

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