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If you're a daily fantasy player, before each game I will look at three/four players from the New Orleans Saints and their opponent’s rosters that I would target in daily fantasy (based off their value and potential results). Obviously, Saints QB Drew Brees is a safe QB for daily fantasy leagues, but spending your money on a top-tier starting QB leaves you scraping the barrel to fill out the rest of your roster.
So here are three Saints and one Jet that provide the most bang for your buck. (Values from Fanduel.)
RB Mark Ingram (NO) - $8,300
Ingram isn’t super cheap this week, but is still $1,100 cheaper than the most expensive RB available. Even though Alvin Kamara is reportedly ready to go this week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Saints take it slow with him in a game that isn’t likely to require much of a workload for the rookie back. That means a heavy dose of Ingram throughout the game, including (hopefully) garbage-time runs to run out the clock.
RB Matt Forte (NYJ) - $5,400
Let’s go ahead and get the one Jet out of the way now. Yes, I know that Forte is on the injury report, but he’s so cheap this week it’s hard to stay away. He comes a whopping $4,000 cheaper than the most expensive RB available this week, and even though he shares touches in the backfield, he still will be the focal point of the offense with Josh McCowan on IR.
WR Michael Thomas (NO) - $8,100
Thomas has been QB Drew Brees’s favorite WR target all season, and it hasn’t even been close. The second-year wideout is the third most expensive WR this week, but is still $1,200 cheaper, so there is still value to be had. Sticking with the theme of a lighter workload for Kamara, that means if Drew drops back to pass, there’s a high probability the ball is going Thomas’s way.
Saints DST (vs Jets) - $4,600
Frankly, I’m shocked the Saints defense is so cheap, coming in $1,300 cheaper than the most expensive DST available. The Broncos defense, that had actually struggled all season to this point, kept the Jets to under 100 total yards of offense. With a full game of Bryce Petty, I don’t expect the Jets to fare much better, so the Saints defense is a sneaky value play this week.
My full daily fantasy lineup this week:
QB Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) - $8,000
RB Mark Ingram (NO) - $8,300
RB Matt Forte (NYJ) - $5,400
WR Michael Thomas (NO) - $8,100
WR Brandin Cooks (NE) - $7,400
WR Jordy Nelson (GB) - $7,200
TE Evan Engram (NYG) - $6,300
K Mason Crosby (GB) - $4,700
DST Saints (vs Jets) - $4,600
Dunz’s 50/50 daily fantasy record: 11-3