Here’s a look at my cash game Lineup for Fanduel in Week 10.

Quarterback

With Patrick Mahomes being priced $1100 higher than any other quarterback, it made sense to pay down at the position, as it typically does. Still, there were some quality options at the high end including Aaron Rodgers ($8600), Matt Ryan ($8500) and Philip Rivers ($8200) but ultimately landing in the mid-range with Ryan Fitzpatrick ($7600) or Baker Mayfield ($7400) was going to be optimal. Most took this approach as Fitzpatrick was 58 percent owned in this double-up contest I’m highlighting while Ryan (1.5%), Rodgers (4.4%) and Rivers (5.6%) had much lower ownership. At the low end of the pay scale, Marcus Mariota ($6700) was somewhat popular (5.6% owned) as an extreme salary saver and delivered more than enough bang for his buck, outscoring Rodgers, Rivers, Ryan and Fitzpatrick in Week 10.

I wasn’t overly excited with Fitzpatrick’s matchup against the Redskins even though Washington ranks in the top 10 of fantasy points allowed to QBs, but given the pass-happy ways in Tampa, plus Fitzpatrick playing at home, was more than enough to make me feel good about him as my cash game QB. He became a foundation piece early in the week and I never really gave serious consideration moving off him.

Running Back

I messed around with lineups containing Kareem Hunt ($9000), Melvin Gordon ($8900) and Alvin Kamara ($8800), but could never get comfortable enough at the wide receiver position to make it work. In the end, I took the approach that many others did and locked in Hunt and Gordon who were both double digit favorites with high TD expectations. Both running backs were 70-plus percent owned with Gordon topping the 80 percent ownership level in most cash games. While still a good play, Kamara had some workload concerns in a game where it was easy to speculate Mark Ingram ($6800) getting a few more touches than normal against a pitiful Bengals defense that ranks in the top five in fantasy points allowed to RBs.

My third choice at running back was between Dion Lewis ($5800) and Mike Davis ($5800). Lewis had seemingly become the favorite option in the Titans backfield the last two games out-touching Derrick Henry 42 to 22 and figured to get all of the passing down work should Tennessee find themselves in a hole to the Patriots. Throw in some revenge game narrative for Lewis and he quickly became my favorite over Davis who I thought would see the bulk of work for the Seahawks but did had concerns Pete Carroll could surprise us with more Rashaad Penny or C.J. Prosise than expected.

David Johnson ($6900) was the sharp play as it seems like the switch of offensive coordinators is having the desired effect we hoped it would - more David Johnson in space and in the passing game. The matchup was beautiful but I wasn’t fully on board with the Cardinals keeping this game close and didn’t feel comfortable coming off Hunt or Gordon or finding the $1100 elsewhere to improve off of Lewis.

Wide Receiver

Optimal lineup construction limited you to one high-priced receiver or two in the high mid-range. Julio Jones ($8700), Davante Adams ($8600) and Michael Thomas ($8600) all were viable options if you wanted to pay up at the position but I felt most comfortable in the mid-range with Josh Gordon ($6700) who seemed a bit underpriced given his role in the offense and an expected 7-9 looks with a high aDOT. Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($5400) seemed like a great salary saver who was locked into a starting role with Geronimo Allison out and Randall Cobb declared inactive on Sunday. The last time MVS was in the position, he saw 10 targets in a loss to Detroit and 6 targets for 103 yards against the 49ers. MVS was 64.6% owned in this double-up.

Tyler Boyd was a consideration most of the week but I felt like the loss of A.J. Green would really hamper the offense and wasn’t confident Boyd would be able to take over a leadership role. I considered a Boyd – Golladay pairing along with MVS but felt like that grouping had too many question marks and contained a lower floor than I felt comfortable with.

I had a 1 v 1 at the wide receiver position and ultimately it decided my fate. With $7600 left, I had access to Tyreek Hill ($7600), Mike Evans ($7500), or Robert Woods ($7500). I liked all the Rams receivers including Cooper Kupp but trying to parse between these guys on a weekly basis is challenging. I quickly ruled out Woods and focused my attention on the Hill vs. Evans debate. I liked Hill quite a bit especially with Sammy Watkins out but felt like Evans’ floor was a bit safer. This was a coin-flip for me that I debated all the way to lineup lock and somehow I knew this decision was going to make or break my DFS week. Ultimately, I decided to use Evans in my cash lineup and ran a Mahomes-Hill stack in tournaments.

Tight End

What a dumpster fire this was. There’s wasn’t a lot to like at the position this week and most (50.3%) decided to use Jordan Reed ($5200) who’s been terrible most of the season but did have the benefit of the Redskins being down Jamison Crowder and Paul Richardson. If you couldn’t stomach paying up for Travis Kelce ($8000), then Jack Doyle ($5600), Jared Cook ($5500), David Njoku ($5400) were all up for consideration. Doyle owners like me could only watch and tilt as Eric Ebron continued to troll us with touchdown after touchdown while playing far fewer snaps with a significant smaller target share.

Flex

Melvin Gordon ($8900)) was an early-week lock as part of my 3-headed RB group that I routinely use in Fanduel cash. He was a no-brainer given his usage in the running and passing game against a Raiders team that’s thrown in the towel.

Defense

One bright spot in my losing lineup was the Redskins-D ($3400) which I used a bit of a hedge against Fitzpatrick who we all know has a propensity for turnovers. If Fitzpatrick was going to have a bad game, it stands to reason the Redskins-D would benefit. It was also well with the range of outcomes for both to have solid performances as long as Fitzpatrick didn’t get benched… something that concerns me less than other analysts. I would’ve been more than happy for a combined 33 points from my quarterback and defense regardless if it was Fitzpatrick finishing with 28 points and the Redskins posting a 5 or the result that actually happened. This kind of scenario doesn’t show itself every week, but every once in a while the salaries and matchups make it a viable strategy.

Results

It didn’t take long for the tilt to begin as Hill racked up 75 yards and a touchdown on the Chiefs opening drive. Being a Chiefs fan eased the pain a bit and all I could was hope Evans could muster up a solid performance. Needless to say, the tilt only increased as the early games concluded with Evans dropping a TD from Fitzpatrick late in the fourth quarter. Derrick Henry, Ebron and Davante Adams combined for 7 touchdowns soaking up all the scoring opportunities for Lewis, Doyle and MVS. Outside of my 1 v 1 at wide receiver, there really isn’t a lot I felt -uncomfortable about prior to lock. Given that I had Fitzpatrick as my QB, I probably should have come off Evans for Hill at wide receiver given the likely TD options were condensed in KC with Watkins out of the lineup. The “L” moves me to 7-3 on the season in 50-50’s and double-ups. We’ll try and hop back on the winning side next week.

On to Week 11…