Like any healthy market, price fluctuations are expected for players in daily fantasy football. Exploring those fluctuations can often reveal bargain players to target after down weeks or players that are rising too high in price above future expectations.
Each week, we will analyze one player at each position that has notably increased and decreased in price.
Notable NFL DFS Price Increases
Justin Fields, QB (Chicago Bears) Week 16 DraftKings Price $7,500; Week 17 DraftKings Price $7,900
Fields couldn’t find his recent magic against the Bills on Saturday. He finished with just 11 rushing yards, his lowest total of the season, along with his lowest passing total since Week 3.
Despite his performance, Fields’ salary increased to its highest point of the season this week against the Lions. Prior to the Bills game, Fields strung together seven straight weeks of 20+ DraftKings point performances.
The Lions just allowed 37 points and 320 rushing yards to the 6-9 Panthers. With the game inside at Detroit, Fields should be in line for a massive fantasy result. With this salary bump, he will need it to pay off.
James Conner, RB (Arizona Cardinals) Week 16 DraftKings Price $6,800; Week 17 DraftKings Price $7,200
The Cardinals have been a major disappointment in 2022, but Conner continues to churn out strong fantasy performances. In Kyler Murray‘s place, Trace McSorley handed Conner the ball 15 times and completed seven passes to him on eight targets.
Conner has seven straight positive Plus/Minus games in a row as his workload remains high both on the ground and through the air.
That shouldn’t change this week in Atlanta, with both teams relying on the ground game.
CeeDee Lamb, WR (Dallas Cowboys) Week 16 DraftKings Price $7,500; Week 17 DraftKings Price $8,000
The Cowboys have played in two straight 40-34 games, and Lamb has been the beneficiary with 120-yard games in each.
Lamb has four 20+ DraftKings point games in the last five weeks and at least five catches in every game this season since Week 2.
With Dak Prescott opening up the offense down the stretch, Lamb’s salary has reached a season-high $8,000. He has one of the highest ceilings on the slate, but the Cowboys may not need to air it out as much this Thursday against a Malik Willis-led Titans squad.
George Kittle, TE (San Francisco 49ers) Week 16 DraftKings Price $5,300; Week 17 DraftKings Price $5,900
Brock Purdy continues to steer the 49ers along toward a deep playoff run, and his usage of Kittle is a big reason for his success.
Kittle has a total of 10 catches, 213 yards, and four touchdowns in the last two games with Purdy taking the reins. Those games resulted in his two highest fantasy totals of the season.
The Raiders defense gives Kittle another great opportunity to get into the end zone this week. Even with a $1,700 salary increase in the last two weeks, there are few other tight ends that represent his fantasy upside at the price tag.
Notable NFL DFS Price Decreases
Josh Allen, QB (Buffalo Bills) Week 16 DraftKings Price $8,500; Week 17 DraftKings Price $8,400
Only a few quarterbacks dropped in value this week after the severe winter weather affecting last week’s slate. Allen takes a slight drop this week in Cincinnati as the Bills continue fighting for the top seed in the AFC playoffs.
Allen remains at the top of the quarterback projections but has not been a consistent top producer. He has six negative Plus/Minus performances in his last 10 games.
The Bills have the highest projected point total on this week’s slate. Allen is an incredible talent with strong weapons in Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Devin Singletary, James Cook, and more. That said, he will need to have one of his best performances of the season to make good on his $8,400 salary if you’re playing the Thursday-Monday slate.
Josh Jacobs, RB (Las Vegas Raiders) Week 16 DraftKings Price $8,000; Week 17 DraftKings Price $7,400
Jacobs has had a breakout year for the Raiders, with the most rushing yards in the NFL and the third-highest fantasy points per game at the position.
The last two weeks have not been so kind to Jacobs’ fantasy owners. After five straight weeks in the top 10 running back fantasy scorers, he has finished 20th and 38th over the last two games. He managed just 50 total yards on Saturday in a bitterly cold game against the Steelers.
With the Raiders now all but eliminated from the AFC playoff race, it is possible Josh McDaniels will begin to ratchet down Jacobs’ workload in their last two games.
Christian Kirk, WR (Jacksonville Jaguars) Week 16 DraftKings Price $6,400; Week 17 DraftKings Price $6,000
The surprising Jaguars are on a three-game winning streak and could be looking at a playoff run. Kirk has struggled in that stretch with negative Plus/Minus results in all three games.
Kirk had some flashes this season but has not reached alpha receiver status with second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence has spread the ball around to Kirk, Zay Jones, Marvin Jones Jr., and others.
The Texans upset the Titans last week and have put up tougher resistance over the last few weeks, including taking the Chiefs to overtime. The price drop is warranted for Kirk this week.
Daniel Bellinger, TE (New York Giants) Week 16 DraftKings Price $3,300; Week 17 DraftKings Price $3,200
Without many notable price drops at the tight end position, Bellinger’s small drop is enough to indicate he should be off the low-end dartboard.
In his rookie season with the Giants, Bellinger has two touchdowns and started this season with three top-10 fantasy finishes in his first five games.
With Daniel Jones throwing for 334 yards, his second 300-yard game of 2022, Bellinger managed just two receptions for 27 yards against the Vikings. Don’t expect much this week against the Colts.
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