How to Handle Week 1's High-Ownership Daily Fantasy Football Assets
Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
This one has nothing to do with injuries or suspensions; the New Orleans Saints' defense is just that bad. Amari Cooper is likely a bit under-priced at $7,100, so hold onto your butts. This ownership could get bonkers.
The over/under of 50.5 for this game is tied for the highest on the slate, meaning offensive assets on both sides of the ball are going to be abundantly popular. Cooper just has the advantage of going up against a defense that was historically bad in 2015.
The Saints' Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play of 0.36 was easily the worst in numberFire's database, which dates back to the 2000 season. They allowed four different receivers to rack up at least 130 yards against them, and six had multi-touchdown games. The thirst for Cooper and company is absolutely warranted.
That doesn't mean he should be a top option for your tournament teams.
This has nothing to do with Cooper. It's just the volatile nature of the wide-receiver position. Because they see fewer opportunities than quarterbacks and running backs, there's a higher chance here that the chalk will burst, leaving you with little to show for your high-ownership investment.
Not mentioned in the slaying of the Saints' defense was DeAndre Hopkins in Week 12, when he hovered around 40% tournament ownership only to produce 5 receptions for 36 yards and no touchdowns. If there's chalk at wide receiver, you'll want to fade it more often than not.
You can still get exposure to the Oakland Raiders' passing offense, and there are attractive options outside of Cooper. Specifically, Michael Crabtree would be a fun tournament play. Not only did Crabtree get more targets than Cooper overall last year (146 to 130), but he also out-targeted Cooper in the red zone, 15-7. This isn't to say that Crabtree's better, by any means, but this isn't a switch simply for the sake of being contrarian.
The other option here could be tight end Clive Walford. The team has said repeatedly this offseason that they want him to be a big part of the offense, a process that started toward the end of last year as he saw at least five targets in half of the team's final eight games. He's not a sure-fire thing, but at the near-minimum price of $4,700, he's a cheap way to get exposure to this potentially big-time offensive output.
