I’m back with the Week 6 DraftKings recommendations for Tight Ends and Kickers. But, first a note about DraftKings. New depositors will get a free ticket into a Millionaire Grand Final qualifier.  So you can get a free game with any deposit you make.  What are you waiting for?

News and Notes

• Teams on bye for Week 5: Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins so we lose top five TE Tony Gonzalez and emerging talent Charles Clay at the TE position.
• Thursday night game: New York Giants at Chicago Bears – so we lose don’t lose a lot on the TE side. DraftKings does have Monday through Thursday games which I highly recommend trying out, especially for new players.
• Julio Jones may be done for the year and there is the potential that the injury could be career-threatening or at least altering. The initial reports were that he’d broken his foot. Now, National Football Post’s Jason Cole is reporting that he broke the screw in his foot from a prior surgery. If that is the case, Jones may be done for more than 2013.
• Roddy White, Jones’ teammate, is iffy for their week 7 game (Falcons on bye this week). The Falcons could be in a world of hurt for their Week 7 tilt if they have to start Harry Douglas and Drew Davis. Tony Gonzalez will see triple teams.
• Rob Gronkowski is expected back this week which will likely mean fewer touches for Kenbrell Tompkins and Aaron Dobson. The Patriots are getting healthier, but still have some nagging issues in their backfield.
• David Wilson is out for Thursday night’s game against the Bears and he won’t have an update until next week. Brandon Jacobs is the starter this week and could have a multi-week job if Wilson’s injury is worse than currently being reported.
• Garrett Graham is elevated to the starting TE spot in Houston as Owen Daniels has a broken leg and will be out 4-6 weeks.
• Mark Sanchez underwent should surgery on Tuesday. He’ll work his way back to hope for a backup gig somewhere in 2014.

DraftKings Tight End Recommendations

If you’ve never played on DraftKings before, you can get a deposit bonus by signing up. And there are different options to pick from at DraftKings for any skill level.

Did you know that you can qualify for a million dollar top prize starting with just a $2 investment? It’s all right here at the DraftKings Millionaire Grand Final. Wait. Did I already mention that?

Finally, a gentle reminder on the scoring for Tight Ends – this is a PPR site so remember that when selecting players.

10 Receiving Yards = +1PT (+0.1PT per yard is awarded)
Reception = +1PT
Receiving TD = +6PTs
100+ Yard Receiving Game = +3PTs
Fumble Lost = -1PT
2 Point Conversion (Pass, Run, or Catch) = +2PTs

The full DraftKings scoring system is here.

Tight Ends can also be used in the flex position at DraftKings. However, with the entire world of RBs and WRs at your disposal, it would be unlikely you’d have to head to the TEs to pick up a flex play. Jimmy Graham is always in play as a flex option.

Let’s take a look at a couple of options at each price point. I’ll mention Football Outsiders a lot – the passes per game and yards per game stats I use are from Football Outsiders. Here is the link to Football Outsiders’ 2012 stats. FO has updated their stats for 2013 and you can find them here.

The Graham Tier

Jimmy Graham | Saints | $9,300 – I have done it. He’s got his own tier. He’s averaged the second most points among all players in DraftKings. All players! Only Peyton Manning averages more points per game than Graham. His matchup is a little tougher this week as New England has been average at defending the tight end (though they have given up 10.2 passes per game to TEs), but it doesn’t matter. He’s the number one target for Drew Brees and will continue to be. Pay for the stud and make up the difference elsewhere.

Beyond the Graham tier, there are other options to consider. For this week, I would either pay for an expensive TE or take the cheap options. The middle is lacking in options.

The Jeffersons

Julius Thomas | Broncos | $6,500 – Thomas exploded last week as did all offensive players on both the Broncos and the Cowboys. The Broncos face the doormat of the league in the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are ninth worst in the league versus the TE and there is the potential issue of Thomas and other starters getting pulled early if the blowout does occur.

Vernon Davis | 49ers | $5,500 – Davis has been hurt a bit this season and his reception totals are not the best with just eight catches over this last three games. However, he does get a great matchup with Arizona Cardinals and their missing LBs. Arizona gives up a league worst 11.1 passes per games to TEs so the opportunities for Davis should be there.

All in the Family

Greg Olsen | Panthers | $5,100 – Olsen’s matchup is great, but he’s injured and could miss Sunday’s game. I would stay away.

Coby Fleener | Colts | $3,900 – Fleener gets a good match up with the Chargers who gave up three TDs to the Texans TEs in Week 1, but have been solid against (mostly) less than stellar TEs (Zach Ertz/Brent Celek, Delanie Walker, Mychal Rivera).

Good Times

Garrett Graham | Texans | $3,100 – DraftKings didn’t know that Owen Daniels would miss this week so their omission is your gain. Graham’s match up isn’t great as the Rams are middle of the road against TEs, but the Texans do like the use the TE (especially around the goal line) and he should be good for TD at least.

Jordan Reed | Washington | $3,000 – Reed is my Hail Mary for this week because he’s coming off of an injury and may not play on Sunday. If he does, his match up couldn’t be any better. He gets the Cowboys who have given up 9.4 passes and 86 yards per game to TEs this season. Reed was a double digit performer in his last two games prior to the injury. Indeed, all of Washington’s four TEs (Niles Paul, Logan Paulson and Fred Davis) are $3,000 and whoever starts could be a value.

Ed Dickson | Ravens | $3,000 – We’ve got another deep sleeper here in Dickson. The Green Bay line backing corps has been decimated by injuries and fellow TE Dallas Clark was not targeted last week. It will be interesting to see how this time share works out as the Ravens are devoid of WRs outside of Torrey Smith so targets are there for the taking.

DraftKings Kicker Recommendations

Your weekly update on this guy is that he’s still not on a roster. Sadly.

A reminder of the DraftKings scoring is below.

There are distance-based bonuses for kickers and no penalties for misses so you can take on risk without penalty.

Extra Point = +1PT
Field Goal 0-39 Yards = +3 PTs
Field Goal 40-49 Yards = +4PTs
Field Goal 50+ Yards = +5PTs

We have the same spread as last week as the most expensive kickers are at $4,000 and the bottom sits at $3,000. A few hundred dollars may not sound like a lot, but every bit counts when assembling your roster. Again, I can’t suggest paying too much for a kicker so we’ll look at the options further down the line.

Billy Cundiff | Browns | $3,000 – Cundiff gets one of the more friendly defenes to kickers the Detroit Lions. The Lions are giving up an average of three FGAs per game (tied for the lead with the Bucs) and present a good matchup for Cundiff off of his 14 point effort last Thursday night.

Nick Folk | Jets | $3,100 – He picked up 13 points last week and he’s got a good matchup again this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Alex Henery |Eagles | $3,600 – If you want to spend money, feel free to grab Henery who faces off against a Bucs team with a stingy run defense that gives up three FGAs per game.