Quarterback

By now you know that my prevailing philosophy is to go ahead and shell out the big bucks for the elite fantasy players, when they have favorable match-ups. Right off the bat, I have to say that I love Dak Prescott -- he and the Cowboys' entire offense is coming off a clunker against the Buffalo Bills. He gets a much more favorable match-up this week against Miami (22nd against the pass) in what figures to be a shootout. There is no reason to expect him to post less than his season average of 20.41 points, which makes his price at $8500 easier to digest.

If the $8300 sticker shock for Dak worries you, another guy I like this week is Justin Fields. In fact, with Allen, Jackson, Mahomes, and Hurts all unavailable for the Sunday slate this week, Fields is priced #2 at $8K this week (behind Dak). I know he is coming off the poor showing last week, but I love the match-up against the Cardinals this week and expect him to make some noise in the rushing game this week.

My top QB bargain this week is Baker Mayfield. He is coming off a huge game last week and has a great match-up at home this week against the Jaguars. While the Jags have struggled the last few weeks, the Bucs are on a hot streak and still fighting for playoff positioning. If you don't want to cough up $8K plus, I like Mayfield's $7300 price point.

Other QBs I like this week in DFS are Kyler Murray ($7600), Geno Smith (a bit of a bargain at $6600 given that he appears to be healthy), Jared Goff ($7800), and Gardner Minshew ($6800).

Running Back

Again, the absence of so many key teams and players from the Sunday slate hurts. No CMC, Kyren Williams, James Cook, Kamara, Mixon, or Pacheco. The good news is that -- depending on which route you choose to go at QB -- you may be able to invest decent money and get some bang for your buck at the RB position. I'm not in love with the high price tag on Jonathan Taylor ($9K) -- especially since I expect him to be rusty and possibly be in a timeshare. In all honesty, I am not liking any of the RBs priced over $8K this week, which include Mostert and Gibbs who are both in a timeshare -- and Mostert is dealing with a bum knee. Derrick Henry may he hard to trust after last week, but it is hard to overlook a tempting $7900 price point. I love Rachaad White at $7700 against a lousy Jacksonville run defense. Breece Hall gets a dream match-up against Washington, and Bijan Washinton should explode (if the coaching staff lets him) against Indy.

Other RBs I like this week in DFS are Aaron Jones (if he is healthy at $6700); James Connor has a tough match-up against the Bears but I like him at just $6500, Chuba Hubbard gets to go against a bad GB defense at just $6400, and Travis Etienne is the only high-priced RB ($8000) that I like this week. Meanwhile, Miles Sanders ($5300) and Dameon Pierce (at just $5000) represent low-ticket contrarian plays.

Wide Receivers

If you are following my advice at QB, then CeeDee Lamb and Mike Evans both represent nice combo picks to associate with QB selections. The Dak-Lamb combo may be too costly at a combined price of $18,200, which could leave in a bind at other positions. If the price tag on Evans concerns you, Curtis Godwin is a more economical solution; he is priced down at $6700 because he is on the injury report -- but it is the same injury he dealt with last week -- and he went off for over 150 receiving yards. Lastly, if you are rolling with Fields this week, then you have to also like DJ Moore at $8200.

Other receivers I like this week for DFS are Amari Cooper who I have as my biggest bang for the buck this week at $7500. I also really like both Seattle receivers, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, at $7600 and $6700 respectively.

Tight Ends

There is no reason to over-think the Travis Kelce dilemma this week because he is not on the Sunday slate. While I love both young guns Sam LaPorta and Trey Bride this week, I just can't bear to pay $7K or more for them. I would rather pay slightly less and get TJ Hockenson ($6800) or Evan Engram ($6400), who both also have very nice match-ups. We have already talked about the other side of the Jax/TB game in recommending multiple Tampa Bay players, but the Tampa defense ranks dead last in production allowed to fantasy TEs, which makes Engram a great play this week.

Corps Four

As usual, I like to center my lineup around a suite of four players that I feel very confident about -- and whom I believe are great values. This week, here is who we have:

QB Baker Mayfield
WR Amari Cooper
WR Tyler Lockett
TE Evan Engram

Below is a sample lineup: