FanDuel NFL Week 1 GPP Tournament Picks: Daily Fantasy Advice & Strategy

With all the news over the last few weeks and heading into Week 1 with no preseason to watch or take notes on, the 2020 season is going to be an interesting one. Throughout the season I will focus on the “Main” slates that FanDuel provides, which do not take in the Sunday or Monday night game. We are set up with 12 games on the main slate for this week, and there are a few games that stand out just simply looking at the slate. Tampa Bay and New Orleans is sitting with the highest total at 49.5, Atlanta-Seattle, and Baltimore-Cleveland are all over 48.

Ownership Corner

There are a few games that are going to be very popular. The Saints-Bucs game is going to be a focal point for the average player to build around. It has the highest total, and the hype around the new-look Buccaneers offense is going to be targeted heavily in Week 1. New Orleans also has that ownership tie because their offense is so good for fantasy. Now, this isn’t a game to throw out because they are high owned, just know to work in some lower owned names with it. There are a lot of middling games on this slate, like Green Bay and Minnesota, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville, and then a couple of lower totals with the AFC East matchups.

When we get the eye-popping games mixed with the middling games, we usually get spread out ownership. The Cardinals-49ers game is a late-game hammer that I am looking at. Outside of George Kittle, we shouldn’t see crazy high ownership on any of the names. FanDuel is also easier to cram higher priced guys into a lineup. The Chargers offense isn’t being talked about with the departure of Philip Rivers. While it won’t be as downfield as before and high volume in terms of passing attempts, this is still a plus matchup for this group with a veteran quarterback under center.

High Priced Tournament Plays

Zach Ertz – $6,600 – TE  – Projection: 12.5 

There are a lot of great tight ends in great spots for Week 1. George Kittle is the most notable against Arizona, but Mark Andrews is also in a great spot with the Browns ranking 24th against tight ends. There are also some cheaper options that some will take a flyer on, and Zach Ertz is sitting in the middle of all this chaos. There has weirdly been a consensus that Ertz isn’t the target-hog he once was and that is a bit odd. He led the league in red-zone targets last season, and they don’t have a lot of red-zone threats at wide receiver for Week 1. Ertz led the Eagles in targets, and second was Dallas Goedert. They are already dealing with injuries to the receiving core and Ertz will continue to see a heavy workload. In the final seven games of the season, he had five games with ten or more targets.

Kenny Golladay – $7,300 – WR  – Projection: 14.2

Kenny Golladay is coming off a season where he was a top-five fantasy wideout. He had 116 targets, which was 21% of the Lions targets. He also led the Lions in red-zone targets. Golladay is the guy and the matchup against the Bears is going to depreciate some ownership. With Matthew Stafford back and healthy this will put the Lions offense back on track. Golladay had an aDOT of 15.1 and had 32% of the Lions’ air yards. The way he is used is what makes him perfect for fantasy, especially tournaments.

Josh Allen – $7,900 – QB  – Projection: 19.8 

Josh Allen is one of those better fantasy quarterbacks than real-life quarterbacks. He is in the range of the NFC South matchups and then Russell Wilson. Lamar Jackson will also soak up some ownership, so I don’t expect Allen to be crazy high owned. His rushing ceiling always makes him an attractive play. Between the opt-outs and the Jamal Adams trade, the Jets defense took a big hit over the offseason. We also get Stefon Diggs making his Bills debut to give Allen another weapon.

Davante Adams – $8,000 – WR  – Projection: 16.2

Kind of like Allen above, Davante Adams is in the mix of a lot of NFC South wide receivers, and there is just a ton of value at the position. I don’t expect Adams ownership to be low, but not as high as some of the other wide receivers in the mix. The volume is going to be insane for Adams all season long. Minnesota is having some turnover in the secondary this offseason and while I like the young names, this is a favorable matchup for Adams.

Value Tournament Plays

Jonathan Taylor – $5,400 – RB  – Projection: 13.1

Jonathan Taylor is one of the up and coming rookie running backs, but his landing spot as put him in the mix with Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines. Taylor is super cheap on FanDuel and while the touches are a big question mark, this is a perfect matchup and potential game script for the Colts back. Jacksonville’s defense is now at a full reboot, and they ranked 31st in points allowed. Opposing running backs saw 27.5 touches per game. To load up on a few other positions, a punt at RB isn’t the worst idea.

Henry Ruggs III – $5,100 – WR  – Projection: 9.1

This game is filled with WR talent and all of them are reasonably priced. Henry Ruggs III is going to be a tournament play often for me this season. He gets a Carolina secondary that took a major step backward in the offseason and the matchup is better than it shows from last season. Wide receivers averaged the fourth-most targets against Carolina last season and they did rank 22nd in fantasy points allowed. Ruggs is a burner and opens up in a spot with a decent quarterback situation and has a chance for stable targets.

Teddy Bridgewater – $6,800 – QB  – Projection: 15.7

Carolina is going to put up some points with an offensive-minded head coach and a loaded receiving core. Teddy Bridgewater is essentially a punt at quarterback, yet I love the upside. This Panthers stack is on the cheaper side and has some great correlation plays from the Raiders as well. Bridgewater is accurate and he filled in nicely for New Orleans last season. I am buying in here as a guy who has a three-touchdown upside.