Ok so we had our first rocky week with the Cash Game flowchart last week. David Montgomery going down early plus missing out on Mack Hollins or Romeo Doubs on the cheap end likely led to some disappointment or lineups right on the bubble. Fortunately, I went with the Dameon Pierce side last week so was still able to get into the green even with the Double TE misstep.
After writing up The Flowchart on Saturday morning last week, I think I became a little too anchored to the double TE angle, and didn’t allow for my process to open back up and re-assess some of the other cheap chalk that bubbled up on Sunday morning due to injuries. That is definitely something I’m going to be cognizant of moving forward. If late news breaks and foundational pieces of The Flowchart change, I will always always always go to Twitter with this first. I will also post to the Momentum Labs Discord, which is available to all premium subscribers.
Week 4 Cash Game Locks
Khalil Herbert is a straight baller. He’s averaging over 7.0 yards per carry this season and is also very efficient catching the ball. We know the Bears aren’t going to throw it, and we already saw what happened last week when Montgomery went down. Herbert absolutely cooked. Do not run out a cash lineup without Herbert this weekend.
This may sound crazy to you, but the Seattle Seahawks are actually throwing the ball more this year with Geno Smith at QB. Tyler Lockett is priced below $6000 for the first time in what feels like forever, and is projecting like a really good value spot. The game environment against the Lions screams points, so we are going to load up on Lockett this weekend.
Mack Hollins and Richie James Jr. are two guys that I’m not going to proclaim I have any deep analysis on. Yes of course we are chasing the big Hollins result from Week 3, but Hunter Renfrow is out again and Mack Hollins and Davante Adams basically cornered all of the WR targets last week. Meanwhile, the Giants lost Sterling Shepard to a knee injury last week and are still without Wan’Dale Robinson and Kadarius Toney. Who else are they going to throw to?
Making a Decision at Quarterback
This is the most crucial decision to make this week, and it involves the position with the highest weekly floor. Do you want to go up to Josh Allen and get access to this Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens matchup? Or do want to pay down for Marcus Mariota and free up salary to jam in another stud into your Cash Game lineup. As of writing this I am still up in the air on this, but I’ll keep you posted as we get closer to kickoff on Sunday. This will likely be the make or break decision of the week!
On Defense, it seems like the way the cash game build is trending this week includes paying up for Defense. Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants are projecting well. I’m not usually a huge fan of paying up, so this is another situation to keep our eye on as injury news falls out over the weekend. If there end up being better options at the skill positions, I am surely going to punt down on Defense. The Chicago Bears also fit as an option for one of the routes on The Flowchart this week.
Tight End and 2nd Running Back
Mark Andrews is on an absolute tear to start the season and the Overall TE1 crown looks to be pretty secure with him so far. We know that that Ravens and Bills matchup is probably going to have some fireworks and if the Ravens are scoring a lot of the time it’s going through Andrews. If you go the Andrews route, then pairing up Josh Jacobs in your 2nd RB slot makes a lot of sense. Even after spending the first half of the week with an illness last week, the Raiders still played their entire rushing offense through Jacobs. He should do well against the Broncos this week.
On the flip side, T.J. Hockenson is popping in all projection models this week. The Detroit Lions are going to be without their two best skill position players, so you have to assume that some offensive production us going to go to Hockenson here. At $4100 he’s fairly low-risk this week. He’s been quite the last couple of weeks, but Jonathan Taylor is primed to blow-up this week against the Tennessee Titans.
Final Piece
Again, if you go the Mariota route, you have the ability to get up to Stefon Diggs or Saquon Barkley and get access to the ceiling that both of these possess. I prefer Diggs here, but can easily understand the case for Barkley as well. If you go the Josh Allen route, then pairing up Jamaal Williams in your final slot makes a lot of sense. He’s already on pace to challenge the league lead for TDs and that was with D’Andre Swift playing in the first three weeks. It’s wheels up for Williams this week.
Good luck to everyone!