4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 15

If you've played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field -- and to find players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership -- can help separate you from your opponents.

The purpose of this article will be to identify some players who will be the chalk at each position and how you can pivot off of them with high-upside options that could go overlooked.

Let's take a look at pivot options for Week 15.

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers ($6,700)

With a 27.75 implied team total, why isn't Jimmy Garoppolo going to be a popular option this week?

Garoppolo is never one of the most popular quarterbacks on a given slate, but this week, he really should be. The San Francisco 49ers have the third-highest team total on the board and are facing the Atlanta Falcons, who are allowing 21.2 FanDuel points per game to opposing quarterbacks (second-worst in the league). So it's a fantastic matchup, they have a high team total, and yet, Garoppolo still won't be popular.

Maybe it's due to the 49ers being viewed as a "run-first" offense, but that might not be entirely true. Last week when running back Elijah Mitchell was out, the 49ers ran the ball 23 times compared to Garoppolo having 41 passing attempts, which was a season-high. With Mitchell still in the league's concussion protocol, there's a chance he misses another game. If that is the case, Garoppolo is in a great matchup to post plenty of fantasy points.

Michael Gallup, WR, Dallas Cowboys ($5,900)

The Dallas Cowboys have an elite matchup versus the New York Giants.

Not breaking news, but the Giants are terrible on defense this year. They are particularly weak against wide receivers, allowing 31.8 FanDuel points per game -- fourth-worst in the league. The Cowboys have a 27.50 implied team total, which is the fourth-highest on the slate. The question I have is, how are they going to reach that team total? I highly doubt the majority of it will come via the rushing game; Ezekiel Elliott hasn't seen more than 15 rushing attempts in any of the past six weeks.

The Cowboys are going to rack up points via the passing game, it's as simple as that. However, their receivers aren't projected to be popular, which could be due to the 10.5-point spread in this game. Larger spreads generally cause DFS players to shy away since it's projected to be a blowout and we may not see full usage from the offensive options.

A blowout means they are going to be up by 20-plus points so I'm banking on them getting there via the passing game. That's why Michael Gallup is a player I'm targeting this week. He will likely be the least popular among himself, CeeDee Lamb, and Amari Cooper, making him the one you want in tournaments.

Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets ($5,700)

Someone has to catch passes for the New York Jets, right?

Well, at least we'd hope someone could catch passes for them and Jamison Crowder would be the top pick. With Corey Davis out for the year and Elijah Moore on injured reserve, Crowder is the new number one receiver for the Jets. While they only carry a 15.75 implied team total this week, it's actually a solid matchup for them against the Miami Dolphins.

This season, the Dolphins are allowing 31.6 FanDuel points per game to wide receivers, which is the sixth-worst in the league. The Dolphins have a bad defense and should be attacked each and every week. But, it's the Jets, so Crowder won't be popular. With the Jets as 9.5-point underdogs, they will be in a positive passing game script, which should lead to plenty of production for Crowder.

Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos ($5,600)

With several strong options at tight end this week, Noah Fant should be going overlooked.

The Denver Broncos have a solid 23.25 implied team total against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it's a good matchup for Fant. The Bengals are in the bottom half of the league for the most FanDuel points allowed per game to tight ends (11.2). Fant has the second-highest target share (17.31%) on the team and the highest red zone target share (20.00%) on the team.

He has four targets or more in nine straight games but only has two touchdowns in that time. With his favorable matchup and his involvement in the red-zone passing game, Fant is due for some more scoring, and he will likely go overlooked this week.