Now that all of the value that Week 1 presented is gone, Week 2 pricing has tightened up making building our cash game lineups on DraftKings a little bit more difficult. That said, we also now have some evidence of what teams’ strengths and weaknesses might be this season. Week 2 presents us with a more typical cash game lineup construction where we spend down at quarterback, pay up at running back, and find value at wide receiver, tight end, and defense where we can. Let’s keep this cash train rolling.

Dominate your NFL football pools with TeamRankings (FREE TRIAL)

Quarterback

Derek Carr (OAK): $5,100 vs. KC
There are other places where I want to spend up on the Week 2 Sunday slate, so I’m recommending saving salary at quarterback to make that happen. Carr and the rest of the Raiders’ players have inexpensive price tags after playing on Monday night, where they didn’t look too bad. They will be in a pace up spot this week as they try to keep up with the Chiefs’ offense. Carr has played well against the Chiefs in Oakland each of the last two seasons averaging 351 passing yards with three touchdown tosses in each game. If Carr can duplicate those numbers again this week, he will smash value for his cheap salary and allow you to open the bank at other positions.

Other Notables:

• Patrick Mahomes (KC): $7,500 @ OAK
• Dak Prescott (DAL): $6,300 @ WAS
• Jared Goff (LAR): $5,900 vs. NO

Running Backs

Alvin Kamara (NO): $8,200 @ LAR
After all of the Week 1 value at the running back position, Week 2 is shaping up as a week to spend up at the position. I will be looking to cram in both Saquon Barkley and Alvin Kamara which looks to be quite possible. If you want a more balanced approach and can only fit in one, then look to Kamara who is $1,000 cheaper than Barkley and playing in a game with a higher Vegas total against the Rams. The Rams gave up 129 rushing yards and three scores to a similarly skilled back, Christian McCaffrey, last week which resulted in the Rams posting the 28th Defensive-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) through one week according to FootballOutsiders. Kamara has averaged slightly more DraftKings points per game on the road compared to at home during his career.

Leonard Fournette (JAX): $6,300 @ HOU
The mid-priced running back that I am most comfortable rostering in cash games on DraftKings this week is Fournette. He was limited to just 13 carries in Week 1 as the Jaguars tried to play catchup against the Chiefs. However, the intriguing part is that Fournette saw six targets, which matched a career-high, resulting in four receptions for 28 yards. There aren’t many three-down backs in the league these days who will get goalline and passing game work, but Fournette is one of them. He’ll face the Texans who got shredded by the Saints backs for 140 rushing yards and 7.37 yards per carry last week. I also expect the game to be closer than the 8.5 Vegas line indicates which should work in Fournette’s favor to get a heavy workload.

Other Notables:

• Saquon Barkley (NYG): $9,200 vs. BUF
• Derrick Henry (TEN): $6,000 vs. IND
• Josh Jacobs (OAK): $4,700 vs. KC

Wide Receivers

Cooper Kupp (LAR): $6,000 vs. NO
If we are loading up on high-priced running back then we will need to play the mid-range game at wide receiver. Kupp looked good in his return from last season’s injury as Jared Goff looked for his security blanket 10 times in the Rams’ opener. While the overall production was modest with seven grabs for 46 yards, it re-establishes the strong connection between Goff and Kupp. With fellow Rams wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods battling Marshon Lattimore on the outside, Kupp gets a favorable individual matchup working out of the slot. Kupp has excelled at home during his career averaging 16.7 DraftKings points per game, compared to just 11.5 on the road. A little home cooking should help Kupp overflow with fantasy production.

John Brown (BUF): $5,200 @ NYG
In cash games, we want high-floor options who get consistent touches and targets and have the ability to take one to the house from distance if possible. Brown could be the perfect wide receiver to match that formula this season including this week against the Giants. The Giants ranked 31st DVOA against the pass last week while getting scorched for 405 passing yards and four touchdowns by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. While the Bills passing game isn’t quite that electric, they do have big-play potential with Josh Allen‘s ability to throw deep and Brown’s upside which we saw in Week 1 when he scampered in for a 38-yard touchdown. Brown also saw 10 targets (27% target share) in the Bills’ passing game which should continue as their top receiving option.

Other Notables:

• Keenan Allen (LAC): $7,600 @ DET
• Sammy Watkins (KC): $7,200 @ OAK
• Randall Cobb (DAL): $4,500 @ WAS
• Tyrell Williams (OAK): $4,400 vs. KC

Tight End

T.J. Hockenson (DET): $3,000 vs. LAC
I would like to try to squeeze a few more dollars out of my lineup to get up to either Mark Andrews or Darren Waller, but all of my current builds seem to require saving a few more bucks with T.J. Hockenson. Hockenson is hardly a consolation prize as the rookie made a splash in his first game with six receptions on nine targets for 131 yards and a score. While we can’t expect numbers like that every week, it was encouraging that Hockenson was such a big part of the Lions passing attack (20% target share). The Lions probably won’t throw 45 times against this week, but they are a small home underdog against the Chargers which could put them in a positive game script for an ariel assault if needed. Hockenson doesn’t need to do much to pay off a $3,000 salary.

Other Notables:

• Travis Kelce (KC): $7,300 @ OAK
• Mark Andrews (BAL): $3,800 vs. ARI
• Darren Waller (OAK): $3,300 vs. KC

D/ST

Bengals (CIN): $2,600 vs. SF
Last week there was enough value floating around that you could pay up at defense if you wanted. With tighter pricing in Week 2 to resort back to trying to find value at the position. Using the Bengals defense doesn’t sound too exciting, but they performed well in the opener with four sacks and one forced turnover on the road against the run-heavy Seahawks. They should get more opportunities to pressure the quarterback this week with the 49ers coming to Cincinnati. The Bengals have one of the highest projected quarterback pressure rates this week according to ProFootballFocus.

Other Notables:

• Ravens (BAL): $3,800 vs. ARI
• Patriots (NE): $3,700 @ MIA
• Jaguars (JAX): $2,400 @ HOU

Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS

Brad Richter is a Featured Writer and correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.