NFL DFS: Week 4 Building Blocks

Last week was a wild week, and if you played Devonta Freeman like I suggested you were only half surprised at the bloated fantasy scoring at the hands of running backs last weekend.  This week I'll give you a couple backs that could explode, as well as a few building blocks to build around, particularly given the absence of Tom Brady and company in their early bye week.

Building Blocks

Peyton and his receivers

Peyton and his offense have been trying to get on the same
page all season. Will this be the week they finally get it right?

I'm going back to an old reliable in fantasy this week, in Peyton Manning and his premier recievers: Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.  With the adoption of the pistol formation last week, Peyton looked to be back to his former self, much more comfortable with the offense.  If this compromise between Peyton and coach Kubiak continues, I look for them to build on their successful week 3 outing with an even more impressive week 4 outing against a middle of the road pass defense in the Vikings.  Their last game saw Peyton throw for 324, and Thomas and Sanders combine for 15 catches on 22 targets (more than 50% of Peyton's throws were targeted towards these two) for 179 yards and a touchdown.  Look for more of that this week.

The Bills
I'm a Patriots fan by birth (born in Mass) so naturally it hurts me a bit to write this, and to play a lineup built around the Bills, but nonetheless I have to suggest it.  Taylor has proven himself to be a legitimate thrower as well as a mobile QB.  While the Giants have eaten up some of these guys in the past, I think this time is different.  I'm playing a combination of Taylor and Percy Harvin in several lineups this week.  With Watkins hurt, Harvin should receive an even larger percentage of Taylor's targets (he's already seeing 23% of Taylor's throws come his way).  Taylor's completing 75% of his passes this season, and the Giants are the league's worst pass defense right now.  Look for Taylor and Harvin to exploit that.

Backs that can help
Lance Dunbar-Cowboys
This guy is being talked about a bit by analysts and radio hosts, but not nearly enough for a ppr league owner (or Draft Kings owner in other words).  Right now, he's a ridiculous 13th in the league for receptions, having caught 21 of the 23 passes thrown his way.  Sure he's getting almost no rushing touches, particularly with the dominance on the ground of his teammate Joseph Randle, but rushing is not the most highly valued aspect of a player's game in Draft Kings, the ppr aspect giving Dunbar more value than his teammate in my opinion.  His last game for instance-10 catches for 100 yards with 1 rush for 5 yards-was good for 23 points.  In order for a rushing type back to score those points he'd have to add two touchdowns in.  And Dunbar didn't have any.  He's a big play type of player, and he'll break that barrier on the goal line at some point.  I definitely want to be owning him when he does.

Carlos Hyde-49ers
The 49ers got absolutely embarrassed last week, and this week they'll want to do something to look better.  Kaepernick is just terrible, but Hyde is pretty great, and the Packers are giving up a staggering 5.0 yards per rushing attempt this season, suggesting to me the opportunity for the 49ers to pound the ball a bit, keeping Rodgers off the field, and their own QB from turning the ball over in the process.  Hyde could very well score big this weekend.

Stay away from:
I'm an Andy Dalton owner in my "main" fantasy league, and I'm sitting him this week there, and staying away from him in DFS as well.  The Chiefs are coming off something of a nationally televised beating, and I expect them to come out swinging.  They're also coming out with a fresh Sean Smith, who will be the biggest and best cornerback AJ Green has faced this season.  I'm not saying I have no confidence in Green (I have him on that same team also) but I think there are safer, better DFS plays this week, and coming off a dominant week in fantasy Dalton and Green are going to be a bit overvalued and overpriced.

Good luck this week everyone!