Week 2 DFS bargain shopping

One week down and 17 to go in the NFL regular season. Was there enough excitement for you opening weekend? Are you still alive in your survivor pools? Was your fantasy team so bad that you've been living in the waiver wire since Monday? Were you looking like you'd finish in the green heading into the Monday night game with Aaron Rodgers left to play? Too soon? Well, hey, that's how the NFL season goes. Four months of jam-packed ultra highs and lows so low you may be replacing a smashed TV or two between now and New Year's.

Even if you're a Jets fan, take a breath and follow this mantra..."It's only week one. It's only week one". There's plenty of season left to rack up wins. Guy's like Bill Belichick and Patrick Mahomes have been "on to week two" for days, so splash some cold water on your face, grab a jug of coffee and let's get a nice W this week. Belichick and Mahomes are grinding in practice this week searching for the small things to perfect in order to earn their first wins of the season and you need to do the same. In Daily Fantasy Sports for the NFL season there are a lot of flashy high-ticket items that you'll need to finish in the money, but it's the value plays in the bargain bin that will turn a three dollar win into something much bigger. So let's take a peek at a few great plays at low prices for Week two!

Rashid Shaheed, WR, Saints

Much like Saints fans, second year wide receiver Rashid Shaheed is hoping Derek Carr is a big improvement over last season's Andy Dalton/Jameis Winston combo. So far, so not so bad as Carr opened New Orlean's 2023 season with 305 yards passing on 23 of 33 attempts with a touchdown pass and a pick while being sacked four times by the Tennessee defense in a tight win over the Titans Sunday. Carr's TD pass just happened to go to Shaheed late in the third quarter to break a 9-9 tie and put the Saints up for good. Not only did Shaheed catch the go-ahead touchdown for New Orleans but also scored the only touchdown of the whole game as all other scores came by way of field goals. The touchdown was certainly a nice fantasy boost for the young Saints receiver, but a deeper look into the game shows why I like him Monday night in Carolina.

To go with what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown, a 19-yarder, Shaheed added 89 yards receiving from five catches off six targets. The yardage was second to number one receiver Chris Olave (112 yds) while his targets fell behind Olave (10) and Michael Thomas (8). The former Weber State Wildcat's game film shows more as a highlight reel as he ran a great route to gain outside spacing on the touchdown reception, had a dazzling toe-tapping twenty-two-yard reception early in the game and caught a deep forty-one-yard pass with under two minutes left in the game to seal the deal for New Orleans, a play Carr called for on the sideline.

The Saints travel slightly northeast to play Carolina on Monday night. The Panthers lost to Atlanta in their opener, but the defense held Desmond Ridder to 115 yards passing and sacked him four times. Although the sample size is small, of the twelve games Shaheed played in his rookie season his receptions, yards, yards per target and yards per game were higher in the six road games than the six games he played in Caesars Superdome. Clearly Carr has confidence in Shaheed which combined with a DFS price tag in the $4000-$4200 range makes the Saints number three receiver a great value play. Shaheed also rushed twice for eleven yards in the opener so this could turn into a thing on offense during Alvin Kumara's absence.

Roschon Johnson, RB, Bears

By all means, please go spend big bucks on Christian McCaffery and Saquan Barkley this week. Grab a high-end receiver or two, a legit QB and the best field goal kicker money can buy. Once you've made those purchases and find yourself shocked that now you can't afford Bijan Robinson, have a glass of water and focus in on a solid option at running back for a few thousand less in price than the big names at running back.

At 6'2" and 220 pounds Roschon Johnson is built in the classic old-school bruiser back fashion. There are surely Bears fans that see the rookie out of Texas as part Dick Butkis, part Walter Payton. For the rest of us that don't live directly under The L, those views of Johnson may be a bit far-fetched but there's no doubt his performance on the field will play an important part in whatever success the Bears find this season. The Bears may have lost the season opener to the Packers, but Johnson got some quality first-game experience. In twenty-nine plays Johnson had five carries for twenty yards rushing plus a touchdown and six catches for thirty-five yards on seven targets. Johnson led the Bears in receptions on Sunday and was tied with wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet for the lead in targets. A chunk of the rookie running back's production came late in the game with the victory all but sealed for the Packers, but Johson ran hard, nonetheless.

Chicago heads to Florida this weekend to take on Tampa Bay. The Bucs pulled out the surprise win in Minnesota opening Sunday and their defense played a big role. Tampa Bay held the Vikings to just two rushing first downs and held their backfield to just forty-one yards rushing at a 2.4 yards per carry. Minnesota's backfield was held in check in the passing game as well as three players combined for just thirty-five yards on six catches.

Johnson's versatility as a runner, receiver and competent pass blocker will only raise his profile in the Bears weekly offensive gameplan. Don't be surprised if, when the opportunity arises, it's Johnson and not Justin Fields nor Khalil Herbert getting the goal line carries. Johnson is currently priced at $4900 on DraftKings DFS.

Luke Musgrave, TE, Packers

I've never been a quarterback, but if I was, I would feel really good about the weekends if I had a big, reliable tight end to throw to. I'm no QB, but Jordan Love is and in the first game of his first season as the number one guy under center in Green Bay he seems to have found his tight end in rookie Luke Musgrave. At 6'6", 250 pounds Musgrave certainly has the size and Sunday at Soldier Field he proved to have the hands hauling in three catches for fifty yards off four targets. Much like Rashid Shaheed, Musgrave also caught a deep bomb from his quarterback which counted towards a big chunk of his yardage, but the young tight end was fully in the mix as an option for Love. His three catches were tied for second behind Romeo Doubs, his yards receiving was second only to Aaron Jones and his four targets were just one behind Doubs and Jayden Reed.

The Packers host Atlanta Sunday in the home opener at Lambeau Field. Atlanta managed to keep Bryce Young and the Panthers passing game in check in week one giving up only 146 yards passing. Panthers tight end Hayden Hurst scored Carolina's only touchdown and tallied five catches total for 41 yards. Backup tight end Giovanni Ricci added one reception for two yards to bring the total reception yards at the positions for the Panthers to 43 off eight targets. I like the Packers in this matchup and really like Musgrave at the bargain price of $3200 in most DFS leagues.

Good luck this week and spend wisely!