4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 2
Quarterback
Chalk
Despite dealing with an elbow injury this week, Ben Roethlisberger is destined to be one of the most popular quarterbacks on FanDuel . Though he sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday, he was able to join his teammates Friday, which means he's almost certainly a go against a Kansas City Chiefs secondary that just gave up 424 yards and 3 touchdowns to Philip Rivers.
The Chiefs were without Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry, and it looks like they'll be without him again in Week 2. The game's total of 53.5 is the highest on the slate, and the Pittsburgh Steelers' implied total of 29.5 is second only to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The last time Roethlisberger faced KC at home, he completed 22 of 27 passes for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. With that type of upside, Big Ben's ownership should be very high.
Pivot
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans: $7,400 (at Tennessee Titans)
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson should be higher owned with a matchup against the Tennessee Titans on tap, but the second-year star is coming off an underwhelming opening game against the New England Patriots. Watson completed just 50% of his passes for 176 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in Week 1.
The Texans were without Will Fuller, however, and coach Bill O'Brien believes Fuller will play this week. With Fuller on the field last year against the Titans, Watson finished with 34.72 FanDuel points, which was -- amazingly -- just his third-best fantasy performance of the season.
Tennessee ranked 21st against the pass by DVOA in 2017, and we currently have them ranked 24th against quarterbacks.
The Titans will be using both Marcus Mariota and Blaine Gabbert this week, and they will do so without their starting offensive tackles. With them out, we could easily see Houston's pass rush forcing Tennessee into a lot of three-and-outs and getting the ball into Watson's hands frequently.
Our models have Watson as the player with the highest fantasy ceiling this week, which makes him an excellent pivot option from Big Ben for a savings of $200.
