FanDuel: Moving quickly through the matchups

This is the week's look at individual situations in FanDuel, a quick glance through who represents a smart investment and who represents a dumb one. Here's hoping I can help you make some FanDuel money this week.

• It's not just that the Washington defense is bad, giving Tony Romo ($8,200) a good chance at accumulating points. It's also that Washington is starting Colt McCoy, meaning there's every chance Washington has a lot of really short drives -- Romo could get an even higher dose of touches. Considering value, he's my favorite quarterback in all of FanDuel this week.
• Only four teams allow more fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks than the Eagles. And since Carson Palmer ($7,400) returned to action, the Cardinals' points per game has jumped from 21.5 to 27, with Michael Floyd's production going way up. Could be a big offensive week for Arizona.
• I already invested in him in my 50/50 and am starting him in the season-long league where I own Colin Kaepernick. So this is just hammering the point home that Kyle Orton ($7,200) has a great matchup this week against the Jets. He hasn't had huge games as the Buffalo starter, but he also hasn't had any bad games. If you splurge elsewhere, Orton could be a nice discount at quarterback.

• Last time the Ravens played the Bengals, Joe Flacco ($7,500) had his season-high in yards, but only one touchdown. That Bengals defense is supposed to be good, and I just don't believe it's as bad as it has looked of late. There's a lot of supposition, but I don't think the Ravens are as good as they've looked, or the Bengals are as bad as they have.
• Blake Bortles' ($6,600) statline through five games: 1,163 yards, 5 touchdowns, 10 interceptions. He's had some decent yardage games, and he'll run for a handful of yards, but he turns the ball over far too much to invest in, even as a discount bargain.

• The Colts are a really good pass defense, and a much less exciting run defense. That should lead to good things for Le'Veon Bell ($8,400), who would be a fine investment against any team, but looks even better in this one.
• Only Atlanta, Oakland and Carolina have allowed more fantasy points to running backs than Cleveland, and Darren McFadden ($6,100) has firmly established himself as the Raiders' go-to guy. This is his stock's highest point in a long time.
• I don't really understand why Jerick McKinnon ($5,800) is still as cheaply priced as he is. In two starts -- both against really good run defenses -- McKinnon has had 82 and 101 total yards from scrimmage. And now he gets to play against a Tampa Bay defense that, if I'm being kind, is not really good against the run.

• I think Giovani Bernard ($8,600) will be fine in the long-term, even after his awful game last week. But, as always, that's a season-long fantasy issue. Let him prove himself before you invest in him again in FanDuel.
• I'm much less sure about Ben Tate ($7,000) after his bad game. I really think the absence of Alex Mack on that offensive line hurts him, and even against Oakland, Tate isn't a running back I want to buy this week.

• Not that you need the encouragement, but Jordy Nelson ($8,800) also gets to face a woeful New Orleans pass defense. Some week he'll struggle, but this doesn't seem like that week.
• When I think about good defenses, my mind keeps landing on Arizona, but that's on reputation only -- the Cardinals are fifth-worst against opposing fantasy receivers this year, and we've seen Demaryius Thomas, Steve Johnson and DeSean Jackson have huge games against Arizona. This week, off a bye, it's Jeremy Maclin's ($8,000) turn.
• I knew Reggie Wayne was injured, but his deactivation as of Friday took me by surprise. The Colts will be looking to Ahmad Bradshaw, T.Y. Hilton and Dwayne Allen, sure. But Donte Moncrief ($5,100) has already seen his targets increase a little of late, and Wayne's absence could get him some more. For the deep bargain hunter, he's interesting.

• New England is already decent against wide receivers, and as spotty as the entire Chicago offense looked a week ago, this seems like a bad week to make either Alshon Jeffery ($7,700) or Brandon Marshall ($7,400) the cornerstone of your passing offense.
• In the War Rooms, I keep getting questions about Brian Quick ($6,000). This despite three combined receptions the last two weeks, for 43 total yards. Quick peaked a few weeks ago, and sure, he might bounce back for another good game on occasion, but he's not a piece to build a FanDuel roster around.

• Even if the Seattle defense were as dominant as it's supposed to be, it's not elite against tight ends -- only Cincinnati and Dallas have allowed more points to the position. Greg Olsen ($7,600) is already an elite tight end, and should be Carolina's top option on offense.
• Early in the year, it looked like Rob Gronkowski ($7,200) was going to be dependent on touchdowns for his value, which is a dicey proposition in a weekly game. But the last three weeks, he's scored only one touchdown, while his targets have gone way up, and his yardage has followed. He's valuable, touchdowns or no.

• In the week's tight end rankings, I dove into whether you should start Jimmy Graham ($7,000) in your league despite his injury concerns, ultimately deciding that yeah, he's worth the risk. But that's for a season-long team, where you already have Graham, your alternative isn't nearly as desirable and you will still get the (likely) upside of Graham down the road. It's a wholly different story in FanDuel, where Graham is just an expensive investment with more downside than up.

• Weekly announcement: You want the defense facing Jacksonville. Even last week, when the Jaguars beat the Browns, the team turned the ball over several times. This week, it's time for Miami ($5,400) to take its shot.
• Not only does the Houston ($5,100) defense likely get Jadeveon Clowney back for Sunday, it also gets to face a brand-new rookie sixth-rounder at quarterback in Zach Mettenberger. It could be bad.

• This is the inverse of my Tony Romo point from earlier: Even if the Tennessee ($4,900) defense does well, the Tennessee offense doesn't promise to have a lot of extended drives, which means the defense will have to do a lot of work.