NY Giants Fantasy Spotlight – Week 14
Ethan Haskell
Draft a new fantasy football lineup every week on DraftKings. Put a team together of a QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and DST within a $50,000 salary cap.
With Week 14 on the horizon many of you are in the same boat as myself, sitting on the outside looking in for your season-long fantasy football playoffs. That means it's a great time to switch gears and focus on some daily fantasy football tournaments on DraftKings. There are some really juicy matchups this weekend, so this week I'll try and pick out three running backs you should keep your eye on for DraftKings tournament play.
#1: Eddie Lacy vs. ATL ($7,800)
Lacy has a tasty matchup with a Falcons defense that has been in the bottom three in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing running backs this season. The Falcons are coming off a game where they were stout against the Cardinals, but stud RB Andre Ellington left that game after just 12 rushing yards and the Cards are extremely thin in their backfield. The week prior they allowed 88 yards and 2 TDs on just 12 rushing attempts from Isaiah Crowell and the Browns. This week they have a tough test in Eddie Lacy of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers at home are a force to be reckoned with so it's a pretty safe bet that they'll be winning this game by a wide margin. That means plenty of opportunities for Green Bay to establish the run game with their featured back. Further, Lacy is adept at catching the ball out of the backfield and the Falcons are allowing the 7th most receiving yards per game to opposing running backs. Prior to last week, Lacy had a receiving touchdown in three consecutive games and could revive that trend on Monday Night Football.
#2) Carlos Hyde vs. OAK ($3,900)
Hyde is a very high-risk play but the Raiders rush defense is an absolute train wreck and the 49ers should be able to put this game away fairly early. Considering Oakland lost 52-0 against the Rams last week, we shouldn't be too surprised if the 49ers are able to register a big lead early and give Frank Gore some relief in favor of the younger back Hyde. With only one double-digit fantasy game this season, it's hard to imagine Hyde as a viable option but just consider the game Tre Mason put up last week on just 14 carries (117 rush yards, 2 rush touchdowns). Hyde should see somewhere in the 10-15 carry range, depending on game flow, and every time he gets the ball he has the potential to bring it to the house against this porous front seven.
#3) Le'Veon Bell vs. CIN ($9,400)
It might come as a surprise that the Bengals defense has been so bad against the run this year, but they come into Week 14 allowing the 5th most FPPG to opposing backs. They now draw a matchup with perhaps the best RB in the NFL this season in Le'Veon Bell. His price tag is high, but his floor for fantasy scoring is high as well. He has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, which is something that has given the Bengals linebackers fits this year as well. Further, he comes into this game scorching hot. Over the last two weeks, he's totaled over 77 fantasy points in games against the Saints and Titans. You could probably argue that the Bengals are still better than either of those defenses, but don't sleep on Bell for another 25+ fantasy point performance in Week 14 – especially given how important this divisional matchup is to the Steelers playoff hopes.
So there are three guys you can try to fit into your tournament lineups this weekend on DraftKings. Bell and Lacy will cost you a pretty penny but you can counter that with value plays such as Hyde. There are also plenty of other cheap RB options you can try out this week including Marion Grice/Stepfan Taylor, LeGarrette Blount, Bishop Sankey, Jonathan Stewart (if DeAngelo Williams is out), and Andre Williams (if Rashad Jennings is out). These backs all serve as nice salary savers to help round out the remainder of your lineups with fantasy studs.
