Week 2 NFL FanDuel Salary Movers
Running Back
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 1 Salary: $6,400
Week 2 Salary: $7,800
No player at any position saw a larger spike in price than Kareem Hunt, whose salary rose 21.9% in Week 2. And it makes sense, considering what he did to the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football. Is Hunt worth playing at nearly $8,000, though?
From a matchup standpoint, the Philadelphia Eagles have lots of talent up front, but their numbers last season don't jump off the page, but they did fare well against the Washington Redskins' rushing attack last week (big surprise). After watching Hunt run all over what was thought of as a solid run defense, we're not really too concerned with the matchup in this one anyway.
What is important for him is his usage. Last week, Hunt was an absolute workhorse, handling 22 touches (91.7% of the halfback touches for the Kansas City Chiefs). His snap rate was a bit concerning at first glance (58%), but the fact that he out-touched Charcandrick West 22-to-2 speaks volumes for his workload going forward.
With Kansas City owning the fifth-highest implied team total on the slate (26.75 points) and expected to control the tempo (six-point home favorites), the game script could work out for another large volume day from Hunt. You probably shouldn't expect another 43.1 FanDuel points from him, but don't let his salary increase scare you off.
Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers
Week 1 Salary: $6,600
Week 2 Salary: $6,500
Speaking of emerging workhorse backs, can someone please explain why Montgomery's salary is down from last week's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks? He goes from one of the toughest matchups for a running back (in which he still put up 17.3 FanDuel points) to one of the absolute best against the Atlanta Falcons. The dude was given the bell-cow treatment in Week 1, handling 19 of 21 running back carries and played a new career-high 90.2% of the offensive snaps.
No team gave up more fantasy points to opposing running backs through the air last year than Atlanta, who coincidentally also gave up the most fantasy points (PPR scoring) to running backs through the air in Week 1.
In a perfect matchup -- a game that could quickly turn into a shootout -- it would make sense for Montgomery's price to have seen a sharp increase. The fact that it not only didn't jump into the $7,000 range, but instead dropped, is certainly eye-opening and makes him arguably the best point-per-dollar running back play on the slate.
