4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 7

Running Back

Chalk

Death, taxes, and Todd Gurley performing like an absolute boss. It's getting difficult to bestow the proper amount of platitudes onto Gurley, but each week he just keeps ringing up more fantasy points. Week 6 saw Gurley add to his already impressive 2018 season with 225 all-purpose yards and two more scores. Gurley now has an absurd 870 all-purpose yards to his name through six weeks in the NFL season.

Now, fire in the fact that Gurley faces the 49ers in Week 7, who rank 16th per our rushing metrics and were roasted by the Green Bay Packers for 116 rushing yards for an average of 5.5 yards per carry (YPC) last week. Gurley also destroyed the 49ers last season in his only matchup, notching 149 all-purpose yards and 3 scores. It's not surprising that we have him projected for 24.9 FanDuel points this week, the highest for any player.

A second popular option has to be Ezekiel Elliott, who faces a porous Washington Redskins rushing defense. The 'Skins rank 30th per our metrics, and the Dallas Cowboys running back continues to rack up monster usage. In three of Elliott's last four games, he has topped 100 all-purpose yards, including a 240 total yard effort three weeks ago. We have him pegged for 19.6 FanDuel points this week, and with the Saints racking up 3 scores against Washington two weeks ago, it could be a monster afternoon for Elliott.

Pivot

Sony Michel, New England Patriots: $7,300 (at Chicago Bears)

Rostering a New England Patriots running back is always a bit of a scary proposal, as figuring out head coach Bill Belichick's plan from game-to-game is difficult to predict. But a peek at usage rates for the New England backfield is definitely trending in Sony Michel's direction.

In a week 6 victory against Kansas City, Michel gained the lion's share of the offensive snap rates with a mark of 47%, and he out-touched James White by a mark of 24 to 11. That now gives Michel 67 rushing attempts over the last three weeks.

The Bears have been pretty strong against opposing ground games, as they rank ninth in our per-play metrics and have allowed the second-fewest (417) rushing yards this season.

Keep in mind, though, that the Patriots have an implied team total of 26 points, which is one of the highest on the main slate. Surprisingly, the Bears were blasted on the ground last week by Miami for 161 rushing yards and 5.2 YPC.

We have Michel projected for 13.2 FanDuel points this week. While that may seem low, he's clearly shown an increasing amount of work in this offense, and a positive game script would definitely work to Michel's favor. In addition to that, our models have his tournament upside at 26.1. If you're looking to move off of some of the popular running back names, peep Michel.