Week 2 Flex Targets DraftKings

By Armando Marsal

On DraftKings, there is a flex spot which allows you to take different approaches in your lineup construction. Our goal every week is to find you some solid options that fit in the flex position and provide some nice upside. I know I am excited for the start of the season and I am sure you are too, so let’s dive right into some flex targets for Week 2.

Running Back

LeGarrette Blount $4,000 vs. Miami Dolphins
Blount is coming off of a 22 carry 70 yards and one touchdown game on the road against a tough defense. This week he will head back home, Gillette Stadium, to take on the Miami Dolphins. Although the Dolphins defense looked solid against the run in Week 1, they still allowed 140 total yards to the Seahawks running backs. Last season, they were one of the worst run defenses in the league. If the game plan is anything like it was last week, we can see Blount get 20+ touches once again this week. He is very affordable and rostering him will allow you to pay up at other positions. He will likely not get a ton of yardage, but always has double digit touchdown upside being that he is the featured back in the goal line for the Patriots. He played in nearly 60 percent of the offensive snaps. This should be another busy week for Blount.

T.J. Yeldon $4,700 at San Diego Chargers
Yeldon was one of 13 running backs last week to receive over 20 touches. He caught four passes for 30 yards on six targets and ran for 39 yards and a touchdown. His yards per carry were awful at just 1.9 YPC, but this week he has a very good matchup. The Chargers surrendered 69 rushing yards and a touchdown as well as 13 receptions and 153 receiving yards to the Chiefs running backs last week. With Chris Ivory unlikely to play this week, Yeldon could be in for another heavy workload. He was targeted six times last week and could see similar usage in the passing game, but against a much easier opponent. At this price he needs 14.8 fantasy points to hit value, which should not be difficult to do considering volume and matchup. Last week, Yeldon received all of the goal line rush attempts and played in 87.5 percent of the offensive snaps. There’s a lot to like about Yeldon this week. This of course is if Ivory sits this one out, which I expect him to.

Wide Receiver

Sterling Shepard $5,200 vs. New Orleans Saints
Whenever I see a player playing against the Saints, I simply cannot resist rostering him. There are several options on this Giants offense that are in play and I think Odell Beckham makes the most sense, but I do like Shepard as well. In the first game against Dallas, Shepard caught three of his four targets for 43 yards and a touchdown. He received 20 percent of the red zone targets and 14.3 percent of the team targets. He was also on the field for 94.6 percent of the offensive snaps. This game has the highest projected point total of the slate at 52.5 points. Last week the Saints allowed 243 yards and a touchdown to the Raiders receivers. This should be a shootout and Shepard is in a good spot to be very productive. Since most people will be on Beckham this week, Shepard could come in at a lower ownership than he should, given the matchup.

Tajae Sharpe $4,100 at Detroit Lions
The price has gone up on Sharpe, but not enough to keep me away from him. The issue here is that he might be chalky, but that is fine because some chalk is needed. Sharpe was targeted 11 times in Week 1 which accounted for 26.8 percent of the Titans targets. He caught seven passes for 78 yards and it was against a much tougher opponent than he faces in this contest. This week he heads to Detroit to take on the Lions who surrendered 237 yards and a touchdown to the Colts receivers last week. The projected total for this game is 47.5 points and the Titans are projected to score right about three touchdowns. After what I saw last week and in the preseason, I am convinced that this rookie is going to have a big role in this offense. The Lions could score points, so the Titans will have to do the same in order for a chance at a win. Sharpe should see a heavy amount of targets again this week and is in a favorable situation to have another solid outing.

Tight End

Clive Walford $2,900 vs. Atlanta Falcons
I know, I missed on Walford last week, but I am going back to the well again this week. Walford was targeted five times in the season opener and caught three passes for 25 yards. This will be the Raiders first game in Oakland this season so they should come out with a lot of energy, especially after a big win on the road against the Saints. This is a favorable matchup for Walford. The Falcons got torched by the Bucs tight ends last week, allowing 64 yards and two touchdowns against them. At 6 foot 4 inches Walford makes a big red zone target. His price went down and he has just as good of a matchup as he had last week. Let’s give the big man one more shot to make up for last week.

Gary Barnidge $4,000 vs. Baltimore Raves
This is a great example of using recency bias in your favor. Last week, Barnidge delivered a big goose egg. He was targeted twice, but could not come down with a catch. However, now that Josh McCown is under center that should change. Barnidge averaged 8.6 targets per game and scored six of his nine touchdowns last season with McCown under center. Last season, Barnidge caught 15 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown in two games against the Ravens. Everything is lining up for a nice game for Barnidge. I’ll definitely have some shares.

Good luck to all this week. For any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me on the Twitter machine: @Armando_Marsal