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Juan's top NFL DFS value plays for Week 5 of the 2023 season. These sleepers are cheap on FanDuel, DraftKings, and Yahoo daily fantasy football contests.
Welcome to the Week 5 main slate edition of RotoBaller's NFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mispriced players across the industry who find themselves in favorable matchups and/or suddenly expanded roles.
Each week, I’ll give you my thoughts on where there may be some value spots to exploit. On this fifth main slate of the 2023 campaign, I'm glad to report there is an abundance of value-salary players on Yahoo, FanDuel, and DraftKings.
In addition to offering multiple candidates at each position, I'll also list at least one more player to consider, along with some site-specific value plays when applicable.
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NFL DFS Bargain Bin Intro
Before we go NFL DFS Bargain Bin hunting, a few particulars about format and content.
The nature of the beast with value plays is at least a modest amount (and sometimes substantially more) of risk. Therefore, the Bargain Bin may prove to be a bit more of a rollercoaster ride on some slates than your typical “tout” article! Naturally, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside to be had. All of these selections are therefore suitable for GPPs and can also often serve as solid cash game plays, while often helping you accommodate multiple higher-priced studs into your lineup.
Typically, I’ll suggest players that are value-priced across three major DFS sites (DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo). However, there are certainly occasions where one or more sites price a player significantly lower than others. Whenever possible, I’ll typically at least note those players as an “XYZ site special.”
This article is by no means intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all value options for the week. Rather, it’s meant to take a deeper dive into those I feel offer some of the best combinations of savings and upside.
The goal is to recommend truly affordable players, as opposed to, say, a player priced just $300-$400 away from the highest-priced option at his position. I don’t have set-in-stone price limits in mind for each site, but I do consider legitimate affordability a very important criterion.
Quarterback DFS Value Plays
Bryce Young, CAR at DET | DK: $5,100, FD: $6,600, Yahoo: $20
Young naturally has a bright spotlight on him as the top overall pick, and although he's yet to deliver the Panthers their first win, the rookie did seem to show some progress in Week 4 after a week on the sidelines due to an ankle injury. Having had a chance to watch veteran Andy Dalton lead the team's offense to its best showing of the season against Seattle in Week 3, Young came back with a seemingly refreshed outlook after a tough first two games. That led to him throwing for 204 yards at 6.4 yards per attempt, his best figures in those categories over the first three games. With a matchup against a Lions team Carolina figures to have to remain aggressive against, Young could well improve on those numbers at what are still very reasonable salaries.
Ryan Tannehill, TEN at IND | DK: $4,900, FD: $6,300, Yahoo: $22
Tannehill is admittedly a tough sell despite finally looking like himself in Week 4, as he and the Titans' offense had been unquestionably poor for much of the first three games of the campaign. However, the veteran signal-caller's salaries remain very reasonable -- especially on DraftKings -- and Tannehill could be locked into a favorable game environment against a Colts team he has a good career body of work against and whose weakness has been pass defense. Indy has allowed 263.8 passing yards per game at 10.2 yards per completion, and they also could put enough pressure on a vulnerable Tennessee secondary to turn this divisional clash into a bit of a back-and-forth affair.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jared Goff, DET vs. CAR | DK: $6,300, FD: $7,400, Yahoo: $28 // C.J. Stroud, HOU at ATL | DK: $6,300, FD: $7,200, Yahoo: $27
Running Back DFS Value Plays
Joe Mixon, CIN at ARI | DK: $6,400, FD: $7,000, Yahoo: $21
Mixon, like Tannehill, is a key piece of what has mostly been a highly underwhelming offense, but the veteran running back has actually been its most consistent piece to date. Mixon has averaged over 4.0 yards per tote in three of his first four games, and with Joe Burrow still clearly not himself and Tee Higgins now out with a rib injury, head coach Zac Taylor could well turn to his talented back for stability and balance against a feisty Cardinals squad. Arizona had the misfortune of facing Christian McCaffrey in Week 4 and is now allowing 132 rushing yards per game, and they've surrendered 5.2 yards per carry at home specifically.
De'Von Achane, MIA vs. NYG | DK: $6,100, FD: $7,500, Yahoo: $27
Achane most likely isn't going to qualify as a value play after one more week of stellar play, so jump on him at these salaries in a favorable matchup this week. The Giants look absolutely uninspired on either side of the ball. Although the defense's issues have been overshadowed by the offense's worrisome play, Achane's matchup-proof speed and New York's issues stopping the run could lead to another standout effort in a game Miami could enjoy a big lead in by early in the second half. The G-Men are giving up 133.8 rushing yards per game at 4.4 yards per carry. Achane could also cause plenty of trouble in space as a receiver as evidenced by his pair of touchdown grabs on eight catches.
ALSO CONSIDER: James Conner, ARI vs. CIN | DK: $5,800, FD: $6,500, Yahoo: $19
DK-only Special: David Montgomery, DET vs. CAR | $6,600
DK-Yahoo Special: D'Andre Swift, PHI at LAR | DK: $6,000, Yahoo: $23
Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays
Garrett Wilson, NYJ at DEN | DK: $6,000, FD: $7,400, Yahoo: $20
Zach Wilson, on the precipice of losing his job, finally showed some life during the second half of the loss to the Chiefs in Week 4, and Garrett Wilson was one of his top targets on the night. The second-year wideout, who was the darling of fantasy players in all formats before the season when it was thought he'd be Aaron Rodgers' top target, was able to corral nine of 14 targets for 60 yards versus Kansas City. The duo could have a very good chance of going back to the well often with success in a matchup against what has been a highly porous Broncos secondary that's given up the second-most passing yards per game (285.5).
Adam Thielen, CAR at DET | DK: $5,100, FD: $6,700, Yahoo: $17
Thielen enjoyed a breakout effort with Andy Dalton as his quarterback in Week 3, but the veteran wideout had an encouraging 7-76 line on eight targets with Young as his quarterback in Week 4. Moreover, Thielen also recorded seven grabs and a late touchdown in the Week 2 loss to the Saints. He should once again be heavily involved in this Week 5 matchup where Carolina figures to have to remain aggressive through the air. Detroit has been very good about keeping plays in front of its secondary while allowing a modest 9.1 yards per completion, which fits Thielen's offensive profile perfectly in Carolina's offense as the team's best short-to-mid-range target.
Tank Dell, HOU at ATL | DK: $4,800, FD: $6,000, Yahoo: $17
Dell makes for an interesting roster option this week with the fantasy pendulum seemingly having swung back Nico Collins' way in Week 4. That makes it an opportune time to take a shot on the speedy rookie, who posted a 12-227-2 line over Weeks 2 and 3, against a Falcons defense that certainly has talent in the secondary but also plays on a fast track of a dome environment. Dell is already commanding just under 28 percent of the Texans' air yards, which gives him that extra boost of upside despite the tough matchup on paper.
ALSO CONSIDER: Zay Flowers, BAL at PIT | DK: $5,500, FD: $5,900, Yahoo: $22 // Jordan Addison, MIN vs. KC | DK: $5,300, FD: $5,900, Yahoo: $17 // Michael Wilson, ARI vs. CIN | DK: $3,700, FD: $5,300, Yahoo: $12
Tight End DFS Value Plays
Darren Waller, NYG at MIA | DK: $5,400, FD: $6,100, Yahoo: $18
Poor as the Giants' offense has been, it theoretically has nowhere to go but up and has little choice but to rely on its best playmakers if there's any hope of turning a 1-3 -- which was almost 0-4 -- start around. Waller would certainly qualify as one of those players even if Saquon Barkley is able to return from his ankle sprain. In fact, he would arguably benefit if the star back is available to help attract some defensive attention. The Dolphins make for good targets considering they've allowed a 22-178-2 line to tight ends and have been struggling with linebacker play in particular of late.
Sam LaPorta, DET vs. CAR | DK: $5,000, FD: $6,000, Yahoo: $16
LaPorta has been a hit right out of the gate in his NFL career, garnering at least five targets in each contest and encouragingly drawing targets on 28.1 percent of his routes. The rookie is also recording an encouraging 9.0 yards per target and now draws a matchup against a Panthers team that has some soft spots to exploit in the middle of the field on pass defense. Carolina already has talented linebacker Shaq Thompson (lower leg) on injured reserve and standout position mate Frankie Luvu is dealing with a hip injury that has him listed as questionable heading into Friday.
ALSO CONSIDER: Tyler Higbee, LAR vs. PHI | DK: $4,100, FD: $5,300, Yahoo: $16
DK-Yahoo Special: Mark Andrews, BAL at PIT | DK: $5,500, Yahoo: $18
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