Week 5 of the NFL season is here, and we will be turning our attention to the NFL DFS Week 5 main slate over on FanDuel. This week we are looking to break down some players who have seen their salaries rise or fall over the past week and determine if they are worth their new price tags or not. Players like Damien Harris and George Pickens have seen their salaries rise after solid Week 4 games, but we have also seen a drop in the prices on receiver studs AJ Brown and Tyler Lockett.  What do we do to these players as we build our DFS FanDuel lineups? Keep reading and make sure you are still checking out the fantasy football DFS player projections as well as checking out the NFL DFS lineup generator when building out your lineups. 

 

FanDuel NFL Week 5 Salary Risers

Damien Harris, RB, NE - $7,200

Do you think the Detroit Lions defense is bad against the quarterback? Just check out their numbers against the run- NFL worst 5.1 yards allowed per carry and third-worst 662 yards allowed on the ground. Damien Harris is one way to exploit their troubles against RBs as the Patriots veteran now has three straight double-digit FD point games despite even splitting opportunities in the backfield with Rhamondre Stevenson.

One downfall is that Harris is no longer a bargain-bin $6.2K FD like he was last week as he has jumped $. However, both Harris and Stevenson are in play this week against a Lions defense where there should be plenty of opportunity for both to hit value against a team that is allowing an average of 22.8 FD points per game to opposing RBs and at least 20+ points in every game so far. With major QB questions right now at New England, I would expect heavy doses of the run game making Harris a solid play even with a price increase.

George Pickens, WR PIT - $5,500

The second-round pick out of Georgia caused quite a stir in the preseason with highlight-reel plays during exhibition games and training camp. His breakout game came last week as he reeled in six of eight targets for 102 yards mainly due to the Steelers’ quarterback switch from Mitch Trubisky to Kenny Pickett. The breakout game does come with consequences as Pickens price jumped $400 from $5.1K FD to $5.5K FD plus he is facing a Bill defense that s only allowing an average of 11.9 FD points a game to WRs. Hold up one second though before you throw Pickens in the “Do Not Touch” bin this week- the Steelers are big underdogs here (14.0 points) which means they will be playing catch-up all game plus we have garbage time production to think about. His salary has risen but I could think of worse plays than George Pickens in GPPs this week. 

T.J. Hockenson, TE DET - $7,100

Up $1.7K to $7.1K FD. Hockenson balled out last week (8-179-2) hence the huge price bump. He is now the most expensive TE on the slate and probably still Goff’s main target with Swift probably out and St. Brown limited but is he the best TE of the day? That’s still a big price bump to eat for a TE.

Tyler Allgeier RB, ATL - $5,700

Up $900 to $5.7K FD. With Cordarelle Patterson out Allgeier will start to get attention from the DFS world. I would proceed with caution as he has run fewer routes than Avery Williams and Atlanta is a 9.0 dog on the road against a tough Tampa Bay defense. 

FanDuel NFL Week 5 Salary Fallers

AJ Brown, WR PHI - $8,000

Brown takes a bit of a bump this week as he sees his FD price drop $300 from $8.3K FD during Week 4. He went from the second highest-priced WR last week to sixth this week at $8.0 FD. Brown remains quarterback Jalen Hurts' favorite weapon early on this season and ended last week with the team lead in targets (seven) for third time in four games. This week he gets another plus matchup against an Arizona defense that is PFF’s worst graded pass defense plus they are allowing 25 FD fantasy points a game to wide receivers (third worst in the NFL). This Eagles offense has been a juggernaut so far and now with a price decrease on Brown expect high ownership in the Jalen Hurts/AJ Brown stacks this week with the highest-total game of the slate (49.5).

Tyler Lockett, WR SEA - $6,800 

Lockett is just too cheap for his role. He is off to a solid start with 27 passes caught for 302 yards through the first four games. With a route run on 90% of his team’s dropbacks, he has seen a team-best 27% target share of those routes. Lockett’s FD price has fluctuated over the four games, but he has dropped $100 from last week’s $6.9K FD salary. The Seahawks veteran has been busy with 30 targets in the last three games and should continue to build on his early chemistry with Geno Smith. Lockett will be on the road against the Saints this week in a dome where he should be able to utilize his speed plus the Seattle passing attack has been much better than we expected, and it has been funneled to either Locket or DJ Metcalf.

Kyle Pitts, TE ATL - $5,600

Down $500 to $5.6K FD. Pitts is now at a season-low $5.6K FD after only 150 yards and catching 10 of 22 passes through the first four games. Pitts only ran a route on just 13 of 20 pass plays last week which does make it difficult for him to succeed in this Atlanta offense. I haven’t given up yet because of the talent level but proceed with caution here especially after he missed Wednesday's practice with a hamstring injury.  

 

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