5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 7

Tennessee Titans Rushing Offense

From a roster-construction perspective, it's really hard to pay up at running back this week. There are tons of low-cost options at the position, and the high-priced wide receivers like A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Allen Robinson, and Mike Evans are all in ideal matchups. Why would you want to pay up at running back when this is the case?

That's kind of what makes DeMarco Murray appealing.

Murray isn't going to slide under the radar by any means, and he'll likely be the most popular of the high-priced backs, especially with LeSean McCoy tweaking his hamstring in practice on Wednesday. Still, Murray's ownership isn't likely to be as high as it should be given the value that has cropped up throughout the week.

When you look at Murray's matchup, though, you'll see why his upside is tempting. The opposing Indianapolis Colts rank 28th against the rush, according to numberFire's metrics, and they have allowed each and every one of their opponents to excel on the ground. Five different running backs have been top-10 scorers against them, and two others were in the top 16. Yes, that means they've allowed seven top-16 running backs in six games. Not. Great. Bob.

What furthers Murray's cause is that the Colts haven't faced many guys with Murray's workload. He has at least 21 carries in each of the past three games, and his snap rate has been above 95% in two of those. Additionally, he has a 15.5% target market share -- second on the team -- giving him more safety if the Tennessee Titans were to fall behind.

This wouldn't be enough to justify paying up for Murray. He's got a safe floor, but we also need a grotesque ceiling. Murray has that, too.

He has 15 red-zone carries this season, nine of which have come from inside the 10-yard line. He also has seven targets in the red zone with five of them inside the 10, giving him the ability to pile on touchdowns. With a 25.25 implied team total in the Titans' favor, they're going to get red-zone opportunities, and you know where the ball is going when that happens.

It's going to be hard to afford Murray, and you're going to dislike your lineups relative to what you could do with a low-cost option. But given the potential for some reduced ownership in an ideal role, this is a perfect time to pay up to differentiate from the pack.