Things can change quickly in fantasy football. To quote Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
We're here to "look around" and make sure we don't miss any week-to-week salary changes that could pay dividends on FanDuel.
Maybe a player had an outlier performance and saw their salary rise too high, making them a sub-optimal play. Perhaps a player saw an increase in their role but played on Monday night after salaries for the following week's slate already came out, and therefore they haven't been priced accordingly.
This week's article will take a look at which players salaries have changed the most from Week 9 to Week 10 and dig into why those moves happened.
Now that you're ready, let's get to it!
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Week 9 Salary: $6,200
Week 11 Salary: $7,000
The Baltimore Ravens had a bye in Week 10 and Lamar Jackson's Week 9 salary reflected that of a backup quarterback. On November 9th, reports surfaced that Joe Flacco was dealing with a hip injury and was on crutches during their bye week. Flacco has not practiced all week and his status for Week 11 is in doubt. Jackson missed practice on Thursday along with Flacco, leaving Robert Griffin III ($6,300) as the only active quarterback. Coach John Harbaugh has yet to name a starter though it seems more likely it will be Jackson or Griffin.
Jackson's salary was increased assuming he will start against the Cincinnati Bengals. The matchup couldn't be any better for the rookie from Louisville as the Bengals are 32nd against the quarterback position. Jackson's dual-threat ability is exciting and at $7,000 could be an interesting GPP play off Marcus Mariota.
Other Big Movers:
Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals: $7,900 | $7,100
Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans: $6,700 | $7,100
Alex Smith, Washington Redskins: $7,600 | $7,000
David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Week 10 Salary: $6,900
Week 11 Salary: $7,900
If you drafted David Johnson as a top-five pick in season-long leagues, the fantasy football gods answered your calls of distress. Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was finally relieved of his duties after Week 7 and Byron Leftwich was given the keys to the Cardinals offense. In two games under Leftwich, Johnson has 37 rushing attempts for 157 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, DJ's prowess as a receiving threat has been rekindled, accounting for a 17 percent target share, albeit in a very small sample.
In Week 10, Johnson was a consensus value at just $6,900 against a Kansas City Chiefs defense that ranked last versus the running back position using our advanced stats. Johnson didn't disappoint, blowing up for 33.8 FanDuel points. His performance, combined with another strong matchup at home against the Oakland Raiders (28th vs RB), bumps his salary up $1,000 to $7,900. He's still very much in play in all formats this week despite the price adjustment, and he has our eighth-best projection (17 FanDuel points) on the main slate.
Other Big Movers:
Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers: $8,000 | $8,600
Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars: $7,000 | $7,600
Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals: $8,000 | $7,300
Brandon LaFell, WR, Oakland Raiders
Week 10 Salary: $4,600
Week 11 Salary: $5,500
All of the movers this week at wide receiver had a salary increase, but overall, the position remained mostly static. Brandon LaFell is the biggest mover of the week, which is interesting considering the Raiders have failed to score a touchdown in each of their last two games (and three times on the season). LaFell's best game of the year (11.4 points) came in Week 8 versus the Colts, which was his first game as a Raider.
Jordy Nelson exited last weeks game early with a knee injury and has yet to return to practice. Martavis Bryant tore his PCL and will miss time, leaving the Raiders exceptionally thin at wide receiver. LaFell has played over 90 percent of the snaps in each game as a Raider but the injuries will move him into the number one receiver role for Derek Carr. That's perhaps the reason for the salary increase because his Week 11 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, are 10th versus the wide receiver position. With an implied team total of just 18 points, you're not playing LaFell.
Other Big Movers:
Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions: $5,800 | $6,400
Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans: $5,800 | $6,200
Josh Doctson, Washington Redskins: $4,900 | $5,500
Jonnu Smith, TE, Tennessee Titans
Week 10 Salary: $4,200
Week 11 Salary: $5,300
When Delanie Walker fractured his ankle in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve, Jonnu Smith was a popular season-long add and DFS option. Perhaps we anointed the second-year tight end from Florida International too soon, as Smith's highest FanDuel score before Tennessee' Week 8 bye was 2.1 points against the Chargers in Week 7. The entire Titans' offense had disappointed, and Mariota's elbow injury certainly didn't help.
That has charged in the last two weeks as the Titans have recorded their season-high in points in back-to-back wins versus the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots with 28 and 34 points. Jonnu's overall volume has remained low, with a high of just three targets. However, he has scored double-digit FanDuel points in both weeks thanks to touchdowns and is the biggest mover of the week at any position, up $1,100.
Tight end is notoriously difficult to fill each week without paying up for the likes of Zach Ertz or Travis Kelce. The Colts are just 24th against the tight end position so Smith has a decent matchup but will remain hard to trust until he gets a bigger target share. Ricky Seals-Jones is just $100 cheaper than Smith and will be a popular streamer and DFS play this week, making Jonnu a GPP pivot.
Other Big Movers:
Eric Ebron, Indianapolis Colts: $5,400 | $6,000
Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints: $5,900 | $5,600
Jeff Heuerman, Denver Broncos: $4,600 | $5,400
Ryan Bobbitt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ryan Bobbitt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Drummerinabox. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.