Daily fantasy football, more than any other brand of fake pigskin, requires players to embrace the idea that we’re playing a math-based game about football, not a football-based game about math.
Dynasty owners are right to evaluate skill sets and schemes and player measurables in their obsessive prognostication. Even re-draft owners have some right to incorporate intangibles and eyeball tests in their calculus of player values.
Daily fantasy ballers should eschew this approach and see players as little more than muscular, rich commodities to be targeted and avoided according to their weekly price. We must, above all else, get bang for our daily fantasy buck.
We’re always dealing with short-term investments. The shortest term, actually. Loyalty has no place here, friend.
If you raise your right hand and repeat the above sentences, you’ve sworn allegiance to the degenerate creed.
My daily fantasy analysis this season will focus exclusively on Star Fantasy Leagues. You can compete against me and win up to $100 in Week 1 — not a bad start to our money-making mission.
I’ll comb through every player from every position every week to find screaming values that can help optimize your lineup, stuffing as many potential fantasy points into your lineup with a nice mix of value plays and dependable fantasy machines.
Fight the temptation to fall head over heels for more than a few values every week. The salary cap is there to spend, not to save. Using less than 95 percent of your weekly cap is wading in dangerous daily fantasy waters.
I’ve highlighted below the best Week 1 values after calculating every player’s dollar per point (DPP) — or their salary divided by their projected fantasy point total. The point projections are subjective, of course, so do your own DPP dabbling if you’re particularly high or low on any player.
The lower the DPP, the better.
| Player | Salary | Projected Points | Dollars Per Point |
| Michael Vick | $12,807 | 17.9 | 715 |
| Colin Kaepernick | $14,022 | 20.4 | 687 |
| EJ Manuel | $10,522 | 15.5 | 678 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | $12,609 | 17.2 | 733 |
| Terrelle Pryor | $6,250 | 15.7 | 398 |
| Robert Griffin III | $14,667 | 20.4 | 718 |
- Vick and RGIII, at first glance, don’t look like they should be included with the other value quarterback plays. I lumped them in for two reasons: Star Fantasy Leagues require two signal callers, and I have Griffin and Vick as two of Week 1’s best upside plays. Above are their median projections; their high projections are scary good.
- Pryor, who was last year’s Week 16 QB7, is Tebowesque in his ability to play ugly and rack up fantasy points. He’s dirt cheap this week, and in what could be a blowout, I like his garbage time prospects.
- Kaepernick scored 46 fantasy points against Green Bay in last year’s playoffs. The 49ers didn’t run a single read-option play in the preseason, according to XN Sports writer Rich Hribar, but Kaepernick’s various skills will be put to good use. Bank on that.
| Player | Salary | Projected Points | Dollars Per Point |
| Isaac Redman | $3,250 | 11.1 | 292 |
| Shane Vereen | $7,892 | 13.8 | 571 |
| Lamar Miller | $9,191 | 15.2 | 604 |
| David Wilson | $9,368 | 17.1 | 551 |
| Maurice Jones-Drew | $9,728 | 17.5 | 543 |
| Darren Sproles | $9,498 | 14.5 | 655 |
| DeMarco Murray | $9,331 | 16.9 | 552 |
- Sproles is listed here for the same reason Vick and Griffin were included in the quarterback values: If the Saints-Falcons throwdown becomes a no-holds-bar shootout, Sproles will eat, and eat well.
- Jones-Drew has told us that he expects his workload to return to 2011 form, when he touched the ball around 25 times a game. His Week 1 price might be the first and last time MJD will be a daily value in 2013.
- Redman is a money saver without equal in Week 1. He’s a true test of how daily owners are willing to cash in on one-week value plays. Expect Redman to see 13-17 touches against a so-so Titans’ defensive front. A single plunge into the end zone and Redman instantly pays dividends.
| Player | Salary | Projected Points | Dollars Per Point |
| Greg Little | $5,891 | 10.6 | 555 |
| Kenbrell Thompkins | $6,523 | 13 | 501 |
| Cecil Shorts | $8,108 | 14.2 | 570 |
| Pierre Garcon | $8,691 | 14.8 | 587 |
| Wes Welker | $8,307 | 14.7 | 565 |
| Jeremy Kerley | $6,082 | 10.9 | 557 |
| Anquan Boldin | $6,969 | 13 | 536 |
- There’s a regular cavalcade of wide receiver value plays, including Thompkins, who proved a Tom Brady favorite this summer. Thompkins daily fantasy price is sure to rise in the coming weeks, so take advantage now.
- I know the thought of plugging Kerley into your daily lineup makes you throw up in your mouth a little bit. Consider this, however: He likely won’t take the dreaded trip to Revis Island and the Tampa Bay front seven is primed to suffocate the Jets’ running game. Geno Smith will throw quite a bit, and Kerley’s no slouch with the ball in his hands.
| Player | Salary | Projected Points | Dollars Per Point |
| Vernon Davis | $7,428 | 13 | 571 |
| Zach Sudfeld | $5,753 | 11.8 | 487 |
| Julius Thomas | $3,000 | 7.4 | 405 |
- Sudfeld, like Thompkins, will see his daily fantasy salary skyrocket in the coming weeks. He’s one of several Patriots who could post gaudy numbers in Week 1.
- Denver Broncos tight ends caught nine balls for 90 yards in last year’s playoff game against the Ravens. Expect Welker to absorb some of that production. Thomas will still benefit from single coverage against linebackers slower than him and safeties much smaller than him.
