FanDuel Week 1 picks and lineup advice: Running Back
Running back is the most important position in normal fantasy, and daily fantasy is no different. Most of the time they are going to be the first position you add to your lineup and become the players that you build the rest of your lineup around.
This week there are four clear top running backs, Christian McCaffrey ($10,400), Dalvin Cook ($9,400), Derrick Henry ($8,900), and Alvin Kamara ($8,600). Of the four, I would highly recommend getting at least one of them in every single lineup, especially in cash formats. If you can manage to squeeze two of them in without sacrificing too much at any other position, even better. My personal picks are Cook and Kamara, with Cook likely to be the focal point in a blowout against a bad Bengals defense and Kamara being one of the only viable offensive options on the Saints offense.
However, there are plenty of less expensive running backs that still have the potential to put up a huge week. Of these options, I like Joe Mixon ($7,200) and Najee Harris ($6,500), who both figure to receive almost all of their team’s opportunities. Harris faces a decent Bills defense but is drastically underpriced and I would not be surprised if this is as cheap as he gets all season.
One of my favorite plays of the week has to be Raheem Mostert ($7,100), as he gets to face a weak Detroit defense as massive road favorites. Because we have seen Mostert exit multiple games with injuries, I much prefer to play him in tournament formats due to his big play upside, though his injury potential makes him a little too risky for cash formats.
Finally, James Robinson ($5,900) is a great value this week against a Houston team that looks historically awful. If you really want to punt the position, Carlos Hyde ($4,800) looks to play a role in this Jaguars offense as well and could easily find the end zone.
I am avoiding Derrick Henry ($8,900) and Saquon Barkley ($8,500) at their price points as I much prefer the options around them. In Barkley’s case, he may see limited work against a stout Broncos defense and I would much rather pay up for Kamara or save some salary with an option like Mixon or Harris.