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FanDuel roster advice: Look but don’t touch
You want to know where to save money in the game, but only in your head. When spending money, buy the pricier guys first.
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
The first thing I do every week in filling out a FanDuel fantasy football lineup is scroll. I’ve mentioned before that I download the full player pricing spreadsheet at the start of the week, and I do for an overall framework, but when I’m actually filling in a lineup, it’s more comfortable (for me at least) to scroll through the game in question.
Scroll down to about where the starters end and the bench options begin (after about two weeks of FanDueling, you’ll know where this threshold is with ease) and start moving back up, bit by bit. Click on no names. Just read and absorb. You might take nothing from this experience, but some weeks a name will pop out at you.
This week, for me, it was Lance Dunbar. Dunbar is a No. 3 running back, a guy I'd normally ignore altogether. But with Brandon Weeden at quarterback, with Dez Bryant out, with Jason Witten banged up, Dunbar -- the team's best pass-catching running back -- is going to become a de facto wide receiver. He's gone deep for some passes this season, and will likely do that more. I'd rather find my big bargain at wide receiver (where you employ three players) than running back (two), but whatever, Dunbar is $4,900 and that's gravy.
But remember, I said to click on no names. All I did was bookmark Dunbar in my head and move on.
There were no tight ends that intrigued me in my scroll. Some wide receiver who piqued my curiosity, but nothing I wanted to dive on necessarily. Sometimes it's more difficult in defense, where there are only a large handful of names every week anyway, but I found another interesting name. The Jets' defense, which is forcing every turnover in the world this season and now gets a Philadelphia offense that couldn't get out of its own way, is priced at $4,500, well below the highest-priced options.
Again, don’t click.
After you've finished scrolling, start spending the big bucks. I think Le'Veon Bell will be a monster in his first game back this week, and I've been wanting to stack Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski all season. So I grabbed those three (for a combined salary of $25,900). With DeAndre Hopkins questionable for the weekend, the Texans are nigh-on out of weapons, which could mean bit things for Cecil Shorts III.
(This is conditional. You can change your FanDuel lineup right until the first Sunday games start, and if Hopkins ends up playing, Shorts will be changed.) And screw it, I'll take Nick Folk at kicker (I generally scroll to the bottom of kickers and find someone interesting -- kickers are a crapshoot anyway).
It was then, and only then, that I went back to Dunbar and the Jets’ defense. Once I had them, I had two receiver slots to fill and I knew exactly how much I had to spend.
See, this way is better. If you do the scroll thing and click on the bargains early, you get greedy. “Well,” you think, “I’ve spent only $9,400 of my $60,000. I’ve clearly saved my money and can splurge everywhere.” A handful of clicks later, you find out you’ve gotten cocky and suddenly have to clear out another four grand or something.
I prefer my method. Find your bargains early, but spend the big bucks first. You will see your salary drain quickly, and suddenly your bargains seem even better. And hey, doing it this way might let you save enough for ... Demaryius Thomas:
Yeah, look-but-don’t-touch is definitely the way to go.
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