Doug Martin, Josh McCown spurred Week 5 winner in $750K Baller contest
Week 5’s winner of the “NFL $750K Baller” contest put up a big score of 212.68 points and every last one was needed, as second finished just behind with 212.02. Every player the winning entry had was owned by less than 30% of teams and five were owned in fewer than 10%, as some hidden gems helped lead the way to the $75,000 prize.
The winner made a shrewd move using Josh McCown at quarterback, as he was owned by just 5.2% of teams and put up 35.48 points, the highest among any player in Yahoo DFS in Week 5. McCown cost just $22, although he’s up to $29 for Week 6 after averaging 384.7 passing yards with six TD tosses (and a rushing score) over the past three games.
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The winning entry hit another home run with their backfield, starting Doug Martin, who racked up the most points by a running back (35.30) this week and was only owned by 6.8% of teams (Jacksonville entered tied for having allowed the fewest YPC (3.1) on the year) while costing only $17. Martin is suddenly on pace to finish the season with 1,597 total yards and 13 touchdowns and won’t be this cheap when the Bucs come off their bye.
Devonta Freeman was used by the team that ultimately won this contest for the third straight week, this time finishing as the No. 2 scoring back. People may have shied away (20.3% ownership) since Atlanta was facing Washington, who entered having allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing backs this season, despite Freeman remaining affordable ($27). He’s now totaled 539 yards with 17 catches and seven touchdowns over his last three games and is easily one of the three most valuable fantasy commodities.
This week’s winner got modest production from their wide receivers but hit it big at defense and tight end. The Packers were barely used (5.5%), cheap ($13) and racked up 23.0 points. Meanwhile, Gary Barnidge continued to be one of the year’s biggest surprises, producing 23.90 points while costing just $14. He was owned by just 5.1% of teams likely due to a perceived tough matchup, as Baltimore entered having allowed just eight catches for 31 yards and zero scores to tight ends over four games this season. Barnidge has scored in three straight games and has been a huge profit for those who’ve had him in their lineup over that span.
This week’s winner had the No. 1 scoring QB, the No. 1 and No. 3 scoring running backs and the No. 3 scoring tight end, but it was the No. 6 scoring back (Le’Veon Bell) who’ll be remembered most. Week 5 had the most memorable finish yet and likely won’t be topped any time soon, as the winner was vaulted into first place (by 0.66 points) thanks to Bell’s touchdown run as time expired Monday night. It doesn’t get any more dramatic than that.
