FanDuel advice: The bright side to a midweek injury

You never, ever root for injury, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't quick to find the bright side of Brandin Cooks' injury downgrade Thursday afternoon. The Saints' wide receiver had been seemingly fine, but a concussion suffered sometime Wednesday or Thursday has his status for Sunday not only in question, but in serious doubt.

But like I said, there was bright side. When you're playing FanDuel, you're always looking for discounts. You need guys who will outperform their salary (on the production-per-dollar scale I discussed a few weeks back). Well, the easiest way to do that is find guys whose roles FanDuel didn't expect. And while yes, a late-week injury downgrade sucks, guys like Brandon Coleman, who should see a big bump with Cooks likely out and Willie Snead less than 100 percent, become very interesting FanDuel plays. Add to that the fact that Zach Miller, with Martellus Bennett out, is in a similar situation, and I had the foundation for my Week 14 FanDuel roster:

• I'm going all-in on the Buccaneers against that Saints' defense, with Jameis Winston (another discount play), Doug Martin and Mike Evans all in my lineup. It might be too much from one team, and I might change my mind by Sunday, but if you're going to load up on one team, the one facing New Orleans is the way to go.
• The Chargers are done, right? Cairo Santos and the Kansas City defense are both strong, to me.
• And now we get to the benefits of finding those savings. By saving on Coleman, Miller and (to a lesser extent) Winston, I could splurge at the big spots. I have LeSean McCoy (on fire lately), Martin, Evans and Odell Beckham Jr.? Yeah, I like savings. Injuries suck, but man is that a bright side.