Staff Thursday Cash Plays - Week 10

Week 10 is kicking off and we’re still dealing with massive injuries at too many positions. Which means research and adjustments are almost as important as managing your bankroll. 

If this year seems like it’s worse regarding high profile guys going down, that’s because it might be.

Still, the staff is here to give you some insights into how we’re handling the turmoil and what we have in store for this Thursday night’s lineups.

To see all the staff picks subscribers can head here.

Staff Trends

Cheap Quarterbacks

The staff went with some interesting selections for the quarterback position—Kirk Cousins and Blake Bortles. At $6500 and $7800 both are a lot more reasonable than the top quarterbacks who range from $9200 (Rodgers) to Drew Brees ($8600). We project both Cousins and Bortles as a borderline QB1s in FanDual’s format. If there is one hesitancy I have around Cousins it’s his refusal to go deep right now. Still, he has been taking care of the ball the last two games (4 touchdowns, 1 interception), has had a touchdown in every game this year. Bortles is risky as well, given he has turned the ball over almost as frequently as he has thrown touchdowns (4 touchdowns to 3 interceptions) over the last two weeks. It does allow you to go deeper at wide receiver and/or running back though.

McFadden

It seems like the hot running back trend this week was Darren McFadden. Five out of eight staff members used him in their lineups. Despite a 117 yard game against Philadelphia, McFadden is just $7000, a reasonable price for a starting back with upside. Tampa Bay has improved its defense but there should still be ample opportunity for McFadden to get his carries and maybe even sniff the end zone.

Allen Robinson

Robinson has been a hot property for a while assuming you’ve been paying attention. His $7500 is a good price coming off his last three games. Against the Jets he put up 121 yards, while the previous two games he was just under 100, with a touchdown each of those two games. He has caught six balls the last three weeks as well. Baltimore is not doing well defensively, so you can bet Robinson will ball. If Allen Hurns is out, expect even more from Robinson who is virtually a must play each week.

Glaring Omissions

We have both a Tom Brady and a Rob Gronkowski sighting, so it’s hard to feel like anything is missing. We’re used to no Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers or Julio Jones (who is on a bye anyway).

It does seem like Todd Gurley’s $9200 finally became too much for most of the staff. I loved playing Gurley but I have to concede that it’s too much at one position. Feery feels differently, and did a nice job having Cam Newton, Michael Crabtree, Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Reed in his lineup though, and added DeAngelo Williams as well. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

Diamonds in the Rough

I liked Miglio’s pick of Jarvis Landry at $7000 and he could make value pretty easily this week. Tavon Austin at $6000 against the Chicago Bears is even better, though last week against Minnesota went poorly. Both you and Wimer (who made the pick) should expect a bounce-back and some value from him this week. Finally, James Starks is getting the start for the Packers against a Lions team which is ugly defensively. Starks will probably get most of the carries which makes his $6000 price tag an obvious value for Parsons.