5. Brett Dobson, Goalie, Utah Archers

Dobson leads the PLL in save percentage and saves against average, and the Archers defense in front of him just added 2023 All-Pro Graeme Hossack ahead of this weekend's slate of games in Minneapolis.

Regardless of how high his salary cap hit is, I still like Dobson's outlook against the Boston Cannons on Friday night. Boston’s offense has the league’s lowest shooting percentage at 25.7% and will be playing without rookie Pat Kavanagh due to injury.

Boston will also be playing against a faceoff specialist – and a good one in Utah's Mike Sisselberger – unlike last week when it controlled the possession game against the Philadelphia Waterdogs. 

If you want to spend more money on a goalie, Dobson is your guy.

4. Nick Rowlett, Faceoff, Carolina Chaos

Yes, Rowlett has the lowest faceoff percentage in the league. You might be asking yourself, “Why does Paul have him as a top 5 player to watch?” The reasoning lies with experience.

Rowlett will be facing off against the Waterdogs’ rookie faceoff specialist, Alec Stathakis, who is making his professional debut. 

Training camp aside, Stathakis has not played a game since the NCAA semifinals over a month ago. 

While Rowlett does not have the fantasy stats to prove his worth, he is a second-year player going against a rookie who is being thrown into the fire.

3. Jared Connors, LSM, California Redwoods

In a game the Redwoods desperately need to win against Denver, the outcome could lie in the hands of California’s rope unit. 

The Redwoods will need to dominate faceoff possession against Outlaws rookie specialist Luke Wierman. While TD Ierlan has showcased his dominance over the past two games, Conners may need to support his specialist if the faceoff battle turns into 50/50 ground ball scrums. Wierman has the third-highest faceoff percentage in the league at 63.1%.

Conners’ ability to vacuum balls in the middle of the field will be pivotal for the Redwoods as they look for their first win of the season.

2. Zach Currier, Midfield, Philadelphia Waterdogs

With Waterdogs head coach Bill Tierney finally making the decision to dress a faceoff specialist against the Chaos this Saturday, the burden has been taken off Currier, who took 45 faceoffs over the past three games.

Currier leads all PLL midfielders in fantasy points this season, and with him off the faceoff stripe, fantasy owners won't need to worry about lost draws diminishing the points he gains through ground balls, goals and assists.

Currier also will have more gas in the tank now that he can focus more on the fundamentals that make him an outstanding two-way midfielder. 

He should have another great week for fantasy owners looking to spend more salary coins on a midfielder.

1. Ryder Garnsey, Attack, California Redwoods

Looking back at the stats from last weekend, there was one note that stood out from Garnsey’s performance. Not that he had the most fantasy points out of all players, but that he was able to do it on so few touches. 

Garnsey scored 88 fantasy points on just 28 touches in the Redwoods’ loss to the New York Atlas. What’s more remarkable is the fact he didn’t have the most touches on his own team. 

Through two games, Garnsey has averaged 46.5 fantasy points. He currently ranks 12th out of all attackmen in fantasy points, and almost every player ahead of him has played at least one more game than Garnsey this season. 

The Redwoods, who are sitting at 0-2 and have the lowest-scoring offense in the league, look to distribute to Garnsey in order to get points on the board. 

On an even better note, the Outlaws allow the most scores on average with 16.5 each game. This could be a great week for the Redwoods to capitalize and get their first win of the season.