Last week I detailed my process to identify the players I want to further research for cash game play. Starting this week I’ll share those that made the cut at each position with a bit of commentary. Please keep in mind that these aren’t final recommendations – they’re just a first run. I’ll bet over the course of the season that over 90 percent of my cash lineups indeed come from the initial review but there are occasions where I find a player through the course of my research using the Fantasy Alarm Playbook PRO.

For those that missed last week’s column and just want the Cliff Note’s version, something I’ve learned over the years is no matter how good an individual prognosticator might be (present company included), group-sourcing – over the long haul – is a more accurate means to gauge player expectations. As such, I developed the following method to filter out the players under consideration for my cash lineups:

1. Gather four or five trustworthy rankings

2. Determine average ranking per position

3. Compare average ranking to ranking according to DFS salary

4. Players with an average ranking higher than their DFS salary ranking are cash game candidates

I added another step and that’s also calculating the standard deviation for the average ranking. In cash games, you want the most trustworthy – the more reliable options. The smaller the standard deviations, the more the analysts are in lock-step which makes them a stronger cash game candidate. For example, if two players were each ranked eighth and had the 12th highest salary, the one with the smaller standard deviation would be a better cash game option, provided my follow-up research corroborated the finding. I do play some tournaments and will consider players with a large standard deviation for my GPP lineups, but that’s a story for another day.

KEY

ARPAverage Ranking by Position
StDevStandard Deviation from ARP
RankRank from ARP
DFS RankRank from DFS Salary

 

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER FOR FANDUEL CASH GAMES

QuarterbackARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Tom Brady1.40.5138800Needs at least 2 TD to justify price
Carson Palmer5.82.4478100Very reliant on Fitz
Eli Manning83.17.597700Needs another weapon other than OBJ
Philip Rivers6.82.55117500Gates returns
Sam Bradford83.77.5117500High StDev, better GPP play?
Alex Smith12.84.412196900Ignoring Kelce is criminal
Kirk Cousins23.25.823266400Allows top tier RB in lineup
Running BackARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Le'Veon Bell1.20.4129000Not worried about no Big Ben
Matt Forte4.61.1348400Talent overcomes system
Devonta Freeman52.1477600Won't get 3 TD every week
Eddie Lacy5.21.9577600Needs a TD to be worth it
Latavius Murray12.82.310127000Nursing shoulder
Todd Gurley9.85.49196700Flavor of the week
Anthony Dixon424.843724500Cheap chalk play
Wide ReceiverARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Demaryius Thomas3.20.8238600Knocks Antonio Brown from top cash play
DeAndre Hopkins6.63.26.588000PPR gold
Julian Edelman8.61.7897700Best play on board after first pass
Larry Fitzgerald6.65.36.5157400Still getting it done
Allen Robinson17.82.618256300Should keep getting better
Leonard Hankerson282.026326000Benefitting from lining up same side as Julio
Kendall Wright266.724345900In sync with Mariota
Willie Snead37.86.237515300Emerging as No. 2 target for Brees
Tight EndARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Travis Kelce2.81.8236500Too good to continue to ignore
Martellus Bennett3.81.8345900Only if Jeffery is out
Jason Witten4.21.5455700Security blanket with upside
Owen Daniels10.63.610204900Raiders struggling versus TE
Maxx Williams19.43.018244800If Smith and Gilmore are out

 

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER FOR FANDUEL CASH GAMES

QuarterbackARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Tom Brady1.40.5127800Needs at least 2 TD to justify price
Matt Ryan52.3386700Curiously low salary
Carson Palmer5.82.4496600Very reliant on Fitz
Philip Rivers6.82.55106200Gates returns
Sam Bradford83.77.5116000High StDev, better GPP play?
Alex Smith12.84.412165500Ignoring Kelce is criminal
Running BackARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Matt Forte4.61.1347000Talent overcomes system
Eddie Lacy5.21.9566700Needs a TD to be worth it
Devonta Freeman52.1476300Won't get 3 TD every week
Mark Ingram7.81.38106100Active in passing game
Justin Forsett6.23.56.5135800Not giving up on him yet
T.J. Yeldon14.85.713294400Risky but price right
Todd Gurley9.85.49314300Flavor of the week
Boobie Dixon424.843593000Cheap chalk play
Wide ReceiverARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Demaryius Thomas3.20.8248100Knocks Antonio Brown from top cash play
DeAndre Hopkins6.63.26.597200PPR gold
Julian Edelman8.61.78117000Best play on board after first pass
Larry Fitzgerald6.65.36.5126800Still getting it done
Allen Robinson17.82.618225500Should keep getting better
Allen Hurns24.44.222324500But not with Robinson
Leonard Hankerson282.026444000Benefitting from lining up same side as Julio
Willie Snead37.86.237783000Emerging as No. 2 target for Brees
Tight EndARPStDevRankDFS RankSalaryComment
Travis Kelce2.81.8235200Too good to continue to ignore
Martellus Bennett3.81.8345000Only if Jeffery is out
Jason Witten4.21.5464500Security blanket with upside
Charles Clay5.43.7584100Getting targets, red zone too
Owen Daniels10.63.610242700Raiders struggling versus TE