Figuring out value on who to slot into your DFS can be quite difficult. You may have to sacrifice one position for another and hope for your sleeper pick to ball out. I will share with you my opinions on value at each position and why I believe a certain player should or shouldn’t be in your lineup.



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Quarterbacks to highly consider starting:



($$$) Ben Roethlisberger vs. San Francisco 49ers: DraftKings $7,200, FanDuel $8,400



Roethlisberger went 26-38 for 351 passing yards and 1 touchdown in his first game of the season. Even without his starting center, deep-threat wide receiver and running back, Roethlisberger still put up great numbers. Against a below-par secondary, Big Ben could be a boom pick to shine.



($$) Ryan Tannehill vs. Washington Redskins: DraftKings $7,000, FanDuel $8,000 



Tannehill has never been that ‘sure-start”-caliber player, but the Miami Dolphins made sure to upgrade his protection and stock him up with dangerous weapons since his arrival in Miami. These weapons consist of Lamar Miller, Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings, Jarvis Landry, Jordan Cameron and DeVante Parker. There are so many options for Tannehill to throw to – and to ultimately score touchdowns. I know Tannehill had only an average showing last week, but Jacksonville’s defense shouldn’t be able to stall Tannehill like Washington did.



Other QBs to consider: Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford, Marcus Mariota, Drew Brees



Quarterbacks to shy away from: 



($$$) Eli Manning vs. Atlanta Falcons: DraftKings $7,100, FanDuel $8,000



Eli Manning threw for zero touchdowns and only 193 yards against a suspect Dallas secondary. Manning’s top target, Odell Beckham Jr., only nabbed 5 receptions on 8 targets for 44 yards. How that happens is beyond any of us. Atlanta’s Desmond Trufant should handle Beckham and while it’s unlikely OBJ gets contained for two straight weeks, Trufant is coming on as an NFL player as we always expected. Manning is due for some turnovers as well. 



($$) Joe Flacco vs. Oakland Raiders: DraftKings $6,400, FanDuel $8,100



Flacco has one of the worst wide receiving corps in the NFL. The Ravens invested a first round pick in Breshad Perriman, who is ruled out once again for Week 2. Starting opposite of Steve Smith Sr. will be Kamar Aiken, are you comfortable with that? Not me. Even against Oakland, I would not start Flacco until he proves he can produce. Zero touchdowns and two interceptions won’t do it. Avoid.



Other QBs to shy away from: Tom Brady, Jameis Winston





Running backs to highly consider: 



($$) Carlos Hyde vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: DraftKings $5,100, FanDuel $7,000



Hyde rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns on Monday night. He proved that he is a quality starter in the NFL and should be started in fantasy leagues. Pittsburgh’s defense has yet to look decent in the past 20+ games that they’ve played. Hyde is a cheap option with a very high boom-potential. At a ridiculous $5,100 salary on DK, he’s likely to be the most-highly-owned player of the week – so fade Hyde at your own peril.



($$) Chris Ivory vs. Indianapolis Colts: DraftKings $4,700, FanDuel $6,900



I was on the money last week with Ivory, as he rushed for 91 yards and had two touchdowns. Ivory has established himself as the sure starter and that was proven with his 20 carries. Look for Ivory to be a boom-pick with the Colts giving up 147 yards and two touchdowns last week on the ground.



Other RBs to consider: Justin Forsett, Doug Martin, DeAngelo Williams, Lamar Miller




Running backs to shy away from: 



($) Joique Bell vs. San Diego Chargers: DraftKings $4,600, FanDuel $6,100



Bell spent the entire preseason on the physically unable to perform list. Only six carries last week for 14 yards is not worthy of a selection, especially with the rookie Ameer Abdullah getting seven carries. Bell is a cheap option but I don’t see the ‘boom’-possibility with him. I would explore elsewhere.



($$) LeGarrette Blount vs. Buffalo Bills: DraftKings $5,000, FanDuel $6,400



Nobody knows how many touches Blount will get, especially with the emergence of Dion Lewis in New England. The Bills are the No. 1 ranked run defense in the league, only allowing 64 yards to the Colts. I would avoid.



Other RBs to shy away from: Frank Gore, Isaiah Crowell, Latavius Murray, Melvin Gordon




Wide Receivers to highly consider: 



($$$) DeAndre Hopkins vs. Carolina Panthers: DraftKings $7,400, FanDuel $8,100



Hopkins was targeted 13 times, caught 9 of those for 98 yards and two touchdowns by different QBs last week in Houston’s season-opener. Hopkins is not only matchup-proof, he’s bad-QB-situation-proof. He is primed for another great outing against a sub-par Carolina secondary. Hopkins is the No. 1 WR in Houston with the departure of Andre Johnson. Hopkins has all the tools, talent and skill to be a fantasy demon this year.



($) Donte Moncrief vs. New York Jets: DraftKings $4,600, FanDuel $6,000



With TY Hilton out, Moncrief will see an extended role in the Colts’ passing offense. Moncrief had 11 targets this past Sunday, catching six of those for 46 yards and a touchdown. Low-cost potential boom pick.



Other WRs to consider: Terrance Williams, Emmanuel Sanders, Keenan Allen, Kendall Wright




Wide Receivers to shy away from:



($$$) Sammy Watkins vs. New England Patriots: DraftKings $6,200, FanDuel $6,600



With Tyrod Taylor at quarterback who seems more honed in on Percy Harvin, I don’t see a boom pick here. He will have an average game. With a suspect run defense, I think Rex Ryan will run the wheels off of Lesean McCoy (or Karlos Williams is McCoy is unable to go). There are better and cheaper options than Watkins this week.



($$) Allen Robinson vs. Miami Dolphins: DraftKings $4,900, FanDuel $5,700



After only one reception on six targets for 27 yards, I don’t trust Robinson just yet. The hype around Robinson in the fantasy, draft and dynasty communities has been huge, but, to this point, totally unfounded and speculative. He’ll need to prove he is worth a spot on my WR/FLEX DFS board. Blake Bortles wasn’t great in Week 1, either. The Dolphins have a defensive line that may cause Bortles some havoc, and the entire defense is 10th in the league against wide receivers. 



Other WRs to shy away from: Victor Cruz, Michael Floyd, Michael Crabtree




Tight Ends to highly consider: 

($$) Greg Olsen vs. Houston Texans: DraftKings $4,900, FanDuel $6,000



Totally worth the asking price, Olsen is in for an awesome year. He may lead his team in targets with Kelvin Benjamin out for the year. Not the best first game from Olsen, but look for him to improve on those numbers this week. A lot of players will be off Olsen this week due to recency bias, which is one of the easiest situations in daily to exploit. Houston is 29th in the NFL against opposing tight ends.



($) Jordan Reed vs. St. Louis Rams: DraftKings $3,700, FanDuel $5,000



Reed was targeted a team-high 11 times, catching seven of those for 63 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. With DeSean Jackson out, he could remain Kurt Cousins’ safety net and main target. Low-cost potential boom-pick.





Tight Ends to shy away from: 



($) Vernon Davis vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: DraftKings $3,000, FanDuel $5,100



47 yards and 0 touchdowns is not the production you want out of your tight end. He is not a huge threat, especially with the 49ers running the ball so often.




D/ST to start: 

Dolphins, Rams, Ravens, Arizona



D/ST to shy away from: 

Colts, Pittsburgh, Vikings, 49ers


Follow Chris Nicolau on Twitter – @CNicNFL