Week 15 NFL FanDuel Salary Movers
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 14 to Week 15 and dig into why those moves happened.
Now that you're ready, let's get to it!
Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 14 Salary: $7,700
Week 15 Salary: $7,000
Jameis Winston has made this salary review several times this season, mostly for his benching in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick and subsequent reinstatement as the starter. Winston's salary went up last week due to the matchup at home against the New Orleans Saints, who allow the third-most FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks. He completed just 18 of 38 passing attempts for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding 47 yards on the ground for his third consecutive game over 20 points.
This week, Winston and the Bucs hit the road to face the Baltimore Ravens, numberFire's top-ranked passing defense. It's the matchup that knocks $700 off his salary from last week, down to $7,000. As 7.5-point underdogs with an implied team total below 20 points, it's easy to scroll past Winston even with a reduced player pool on the main slate due to Saturday games.
Other Big Movers:
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: $7,700 | $8,000
Tom Brady, New England Patriots: $7,600 | $7,900
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders: $6,600 | $6,800
Jaylen Samuels, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 14 Salary: $4,600
Week 15 Salary: $5,500
In Week 13, James Conner missed some time due to injury in the Steelers' win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. Rookie Jaylen Samuels was the next man up and scored a short receiving touchdown to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
So, with Conner ruled out for their trip to Oakland, Samuels handled the majority of the running back touches Sunday. He didn't do much on ground, running for just 28 yards on 11 carries. However, he caught all 7 of his targets for 64 yards to salvage a decent game (12.7 FanDuel points).
Given Samuels' increased workload, it's no surprise a running back is once again the biggest salary mover of the week at any position. Conner has yet to practice this week, meaning Samuels could be the Steelers' top running back again as they face the New England Patriots' 25th-ranked rushing defense at home. At only $5,500 and playing in the lone game on the main slate with a total above 50 points, Samuels should once again be a popular value option at the running back position.
Other Big Movers:
Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals: $7,000 | $7,800
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans: $5,500 | $6,100
Zach Zenner, Detroit Lions: $4,500 | $5,300
Isaiah McKenzie, WR, Buffalo Bills
Week 14 Salary: $4,500
Week 15 Salary: $5,100
Kelvin Benjamin was waived by the Buffalo Bills 10 days ago, prompting a reshuffling of the wide receiver group. Teammate Zay Jones was the biggest mover at wide receiver last week, coming off a 22.7-point game against the Miami Dolphins. With Benjamin out, Jones moved outside with Isaiah McKenzie moving into the slot. He caught 4-of-7 targets for 47 yards and was also used in the running game as LeSean McCoy and Chris Ivory dealt with injuries, rushing 4 times for 22 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the New York Jets.
Both McKenzie and Jones are $5,100 this week at home against the Detroit Lions in a game with the second-lowest over/under at just 39 points. The Lions surrender the 12th-most FanDuel points per game to opposing wide receivers, and McKenzie could get a few carries again with McCoy and Ivory nursing hamstring injuries. He's a cheap GPP option if you need the savings in what could otherwise be an ugly game.
Other Big Movers:
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons: $8,400 | $8,800
Julian Edelman, New England Patriots: $6,900 | $7,200
Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins: $5,200 | $5,700
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Week 14 Salary: $6,600
Week 15 Salary: $7,400
George Kittle has moved from mid-tier tight end option to begin the year to the highest-priced tight end on the main slate this week. Kittle was on fire against the Denver Broncos Sunday, receiving nine first-half targets. He caught 7 for 210 yards - including an 85-yard touchdown - for 30.5 FanDuel points. He was just five yards short of Shannon Sharpe's single-game receiving yardage record for tight ends and inexplicably failed to even see a target in the second half.
With such a slate-breaking performance, its no surprise Kittle is the biggest mover at tight end this week and $500 more than Gronk. He now faces a Seattle Seahawks defense that he scored 10 points against just two weeks ago, catching 6 passes for 70 yards. That's in line with his current projection this week of 11.1 points, which is third-most on the slate.
Other Big Movers:
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots: $6,200 | $6,900
Vernon Davis, Washington Redskins: $4,900 | $5,300
Blake Jarwin, Dallas Cowboys: $4,000 | $4,700
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.
