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
Carson Wentz, QB (Washington Commanders) Week 2 DraftKings Price $5,800; Week 3 DraftKings Price $6,300
Wentz has impressed in his first two weeks as the new leader of the Commanders. He has two double-digit Plus/Minus performances against the Jaguars and Lions
Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson have emerged as solid pass-catching options alongside Terry McLaurin. Wentz’s seven touchdowns through the first two weeks of 2022 are more than his last five games with the Colts combined.
Wentz’s salary has spiked by $500 this week and $800 since Week 1. He has a difficult matchup against an Eagles team that just shut down a talented Vikings offense. The Eagles have the third-lowest Opponent Plus/Minus in the league at the quarterback position.
This may be the peak of his price tag for a while with the Cowboys and Titans up next on the schedule.
Aaron Jones, RB (Green Bay Packers) Week 2 DraftKings Price $6,800; Week 3 DraftKings Price $7,400
The Packers rebounded from an opening week stumble against the Vikings to handle the Bears in a 27-10 win. Jones had 15 rushing attempts for the first time since October 28, 2021, and made good on them for 132 yards and a touchdown. He added three catches for 38 yards and another score.
The usage split with AJ Dillon limited Jones in Week 1 to just eight touches, but he impresses whenever he gets the ball. He has both the highest success rate and DVOA of all running backs this season, according to Football Outsiders.
With a difficult matchup against the Buccaneers’ tough run defense looming in week three, expect Jones’ usage to look closer to Week 1’s totals.
The price seems to have jumped too high, too soon.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR (Detroit Lions) Week 2 DraftKings Price $6,500; Week 3 DraftKings Price $7,200
St. Brown doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon and continues to trend higher in salary charts. His DraftKings salary jumped $700 after a massive 42.40-point output against the Commanders.
On 12 targets, St. Brown tallied 9 receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Oh…and he added a slick 68 rushing yards on two attempts for the cherry on top.
He is top five among wide receivers in targets, receptions, and touchdowns after two weeks with Jared Goff showing promise under center. The Vikings were just torched by Jalen Hurts‘ arm on Monday night.
The Lions could easily be in another high-scoring affair this week in Minnesota, and St. Brown should continue to see massive opportunities.
Gerald Everett (Los Angeles Chargers) Week 2 DraftKings Price $4,100; Week 3 DraftKings Price $4,400
Despite being chastised for quitting on a route to cause a game-changing interception return for a score against the Chiefs, Everett has been a bright spot for the Chargers through two weeks.
Everett has 13 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown so far in 2022, all top 10 marks at the tight end position. He is averaging 13.9 yards per reception with an impressive 8.2 average yards after catch.
Without star wideout Keenan Allen still nursing a hamstring injury, Everett has stepped up into a leading role for Justin Herbert.
He is a solid fantasy option this week against Jacksonville.
Notable NFL DFS Price Decreases
Jameis Winston, QB (New Orleans Saints) Week 2 DraftKings Price $5,500; Week 3 DraftKings Price $5,200
Winston may have been confused by the Buccaneers’ uniforms in the secondary last week as he threw three picks to his former team. The Saints struggled to generate offense against a solid defense, and Winston amassed just 10.64 fantasy points, mostly in garbage time.
He is falling into bargain territory as the 24th highest-priced quarterback on DraftKings. We know he has the talent to put up major yardage totals as he led the NFL in 2019 in that category.
If he can limit the turnovers and find a resurgent Michael Thomas, Winston could be a low-ownership surprise for fantasy owners against the Panthers.
Jonathan Taylor, RB (Indianapolis Colts) Week 2 DraftKings Price $9,900; Week 3 DraftKings Price $9,000
Excitement for Taylor got a little out of hand with a sky-high $9,900 salary last week, the highest of his career. He promptly let fantasy owners down with his worst scoring total since week two of last season with 7.30 DraftKings points on nine rushes for 54 yards and one reception for nine yards.
A near 10% drop in salary is pretty rare for high-end DraftKings salaries, but it seems warranted as the Colts offense appeared completely lost against the Jaguars. Matt Ryan threw three interceptions to end drives and was sacked five times.
Taylor is top five in the league with a 75.4% offensive snap rate. Expect the Colts to get back to the run this week and feed Taylor.
With Ryan struggling and both Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce dealing with injuries, Taylor is the best hope for offensive production against the Chiefs to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field.
Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco 49ers) Week 2 DraftKings Price $5,100; Week 3 DraftKings Price $4,900
The 49ers’ season took a 180-degree turn last Sunday with the season-ending injury to Trey Lance. Despite the disappointment of losing a young, talented player, the pass catchers in San Francisco may actually see a boost with Jimmy Garoppolo coming back into the huddle.
Aiyuk has played second fiddle to teammate Deebo Samuel for much of his short career but has provided a slew of usable fantasy weeks with Garoppolo. Last week, he saw a respectable eight targets for 63 yards and is near league leaders with a 93.1% offensive snap rate.
He has a higher bargain rate on FanDuel, but is an interesting middle-tier dart throw this week at Denver.
Kyle Pitts (Atlanta Falcons) Week 2 DraftKings Price $5,400; Week 3 DraftKings Price $4,800
A highly-touted young tight end coming out of the University of Florida, Pitts has not lived up to the lofty expectations on the stat sheet in the first 19 games of his career. He earned just three targets last week, the lowest total since week three of 2021.
Rookie wide receiver Drake London has burst onto the scene in Atlanta with a strong connection to new starting quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota has a 117.8 passer rating when targeting London compared to just 51.3 when targeting Pitts.
The tight-end landscape is pretty barren for fantasy purposes, but Pitts needs to show some life before he can be trusted in lineups.
