FanDuel Optimal Lineups & Stacks: NFL Week 7

Week 6 was very hit and miss from the article that I wrote, although if you looked at the forum post for Thursday-Monday it was dead on. It was odd that we didn't see that carry over into the main slate. This week looks pretty solid at first glance, and we will take a deeper dive below.

Cash & GPP Lineups

The cash lineup this week presents a fairly balanced approach, which I am in all favor of. The cheapest play is a punt tight end in Jack Doyle at $4,700, who I like quite a bit. The Titans are middle of the road against tight ends, per Football Outsiders (14th). With Phillip Dorsett banged up, Dwayne Allen likely out, and a passing volume in the top half -- Doyle should be a lock for 6-8 targets. He may even surpass that estimate. Josh Lambo and Minnesota's defense do not cost you an arm and a leg, and now we can jump into the meat of the lineup.

I have a hard time trusting Blake Bortles in cash games, yet I love him in GPPs. Due to a $7,400 price tag, to fit other names in here I can certainly see the logic. Oakland's pass defense has been awful so far this season, with a 31.7% DVOA. They have allowed the fifth most FanDuel points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season. The issue isn't the matchup, it's Blake Bortles rather low floor. I still believe he will pay off this week, so I am coming around on him in cash games.

Spencer Ware and Devonta Freeman are two of my favorite running backs this week, and the matchups and totals say it all. Kansas City and Atlanta rank inside the top three for team totals this week. New Orleans allows the most opposing FanDuel points to opposing backs, while Atlanta allows the third most. Ware and Freeman both should see around 15-20 touches this week against cupcake opponents. I love this in cash games and GPPs.

Brandon Marshall is going through a QB change, although volume still shouldn't be an issue. He draws a favorable matchup against a Baltimore secondary that was just torched by Odell Beckham Jr. The Ravens rank 25th against opposing WR1s, with a 21.3% DVOA. Marshall's price is pretty attractive this week. A.J. Green against Cleveland is a treat for DFS players this week, given they rank 23rd against opposing WR1s. Whether Joe Haden plays or not, Green is an excellent option in all formats. Mike Evans is my favorite piece from the Bucs side this week, going up against a defense that ranks dead last against opposing WR1s. Evans volume is certainly going to be 10+ targets with no Vincent Jackson, and a run game without Doug Martin.

In the GPP lineup we see a swerve off of Devonta Freeman for Tevin Coleman, which is a justified play given his touchdown upside. His price is also fairly low. The upgrade is made by going with Brandin Cooks, and upgrading Josh Lambo to Adam Vinatieri. I really like this lineup in GPPs. Kansas City ranks 16th against opposing WR1s, and we know Cooks home run threat nature. While Drew Brees struggles on the road, this is why Cooks is just a GPP play, even with recency bias, I doubt many will be on him.

Optimal GPP Stack

There is no real surprise here, with Atlanta having the highest team total on the board this week. A Matt Ryan, Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones stack is certainly a high upside play for Week 7. You can also use Tevin Coleman in place of Freeman, to bump up Allen Hurns. The Jacksonville wide receiver is the new name we see here, who is a way to get exposure against a bad pass defense. Oakland ranks 21st against opposing WR2s, with an 8.2% DVOA. Keeping all of the same plays from the core above, I love this lineup quite a bit. Using Coleman, could possibly allow you to get in the Michael Crabtree, Stefon Diggs, Jeremy Maclin range.