The flex position on DraftKings -- or in your season-long fantasy football league, for that matter -- is really just a WR4, RB3 or TE2. But if you view the position as a strategic advantage rather than a leftover slot determined by price or bye-week availability, you could have a leg up on your opponents.I cannot tell you how many owners fill out their lineups only to slot the highest-priced player they can afford with their remaining salary into flex. Sure, we might have ways of justifying these players -- maybe X, Y and Z will all happen and he will score two touchdowns. Anything is possible.But thats exactly the kind of thinking that Im hoping to erase from your lineup-building process. Id like you to know whom you want on your rosters and why before you ever get to the sites salaries. Next, I want you to consider your roster as a whole. Are you competing in head-to-head contests? Double-ups? Huge prize-pool multi-entry tournaments? What is it that you want your lineup(s) to do for you -- beat one other person, or a half million other lineups?With those considerations in mind, here are a few principles I use to fill my flex spot:StackingEveryone knows that quarterback and wide receiver are the highest correlated fantasy point pairing, and you likely build your cash game and tournament lineups around such mini-stacks every week. Adding a running back to that combination might seem counterintuitive (if youre high on the passing game, why roster the running back?), but DFS expert Chris Raybon has shown a trend of three or four main stacks that involve at least QB, WR1 and RB being effective in terms of their potential to exceed the average projections of the positions. I think of it in terms of giving yourself a good chance to gain access to all of a teams touchdowns.So, if youre high on Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, think about using Latavius Murray in the flex. Hes got a reputation for not being reliable, and maybe not even being well liked by his own coaches, but the Oakland Raiders ran the ball 59 percent of the time from inside the 10-yard line last year (and 42 percent in the red zone overall). Thats a lot of opportunity for a running back. Other teams that ran a high percentage in the red zone included Dallas, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Now that people are on a minimum-priced Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant stack (predicted by some to be the highest Week 1 stack), will Ezekiel Elliott be forgotten? Are people afraid that Tevin Coleman will detract from Devonta Freemans production? These are ideal situations to go one step further with your stack than most of your opponents will and put you in position to access all of one teams scoring.ScoringSome weeks I look at my lineup and all I see is risk and upside. These are fun tournament lineups to make, but its important to see both upside and downside in your DFS lineups. Many of us -- myself included -- are optimists and have a much easier time seeing how things could work out beneficially when rostering a Chris Hogan or Brock Osweiler. In a tournament, you need a lot of low-probability, high-upside events to happen simultaneously to find yourself atop a huge field. But even in these big multi-entry games with huge prize pools, there is room for some safety. It goes without saying that cash-game lineups are built on solid ground, and safety starts with opportunities. Touches and targets from a team and quarterback with a track record of moving the ball and scoring are what Im looking for in a safe player, whether Im using him to balance a high-risk lineup or further shore up an already-solid squad.On a PPR site, receptions are obviously extremely valuable and the highest target/reception guys are priced accordingly -- Julio Jones, Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins among them. But someone like Jarvis Landry is affordable. In 2015, he posted nearly identical numbers to Odell Beckham Jr. with over 10 targets and nearly seven catches per game. Landry is a great flex filler. Michael Crabtree and Eric Decker (with around nine targets per game) are players I used a lot to round out my lineups last season and should be in line for similar numbers this year. Crabtree still comes at a significant discount relative to players with similar numbers.UpsideOn the other hand, some lineups emerge that beg for upside. Theyre full of safe, high-floor players but lack the ability to really push your lineup into elite range. This is where I look to big-play guys -- the receivers with great speed, who stretch the field and make 80-yard touchdown catches look routine. There arent many of them, but they often come cheap because those long plays are anything but guaranteed. Players like DeSean Jackson, Travis Benjamin and John Brown could fit the bill once again for 2016, as they all have competent quarterbacks who pass often and can throw deep.Third-down or pass-catching running backs also can provide some upside and are typically priced low. As long as the player is involved in the game plan, and you have a reasonable expectation that the team will score, guys like Theo Riddick, Giovani Bernard, Shane Vereen and, of course, Danny Woodhead make great fill-in flex options.DiversificationThe chalk plays are the chalk plays for a reason. Theyre good players in good defensive matchups, probably in what Vegas expects to be high-scoring games. Plus, there is plenty of content from expert analysts telling you whom to play every week, which leads to high rates of ownership. You know you need to use game theory to win big games (game theory is the approach of making your decisions based on what others are doing, not merely doing what appears optimal). But that doesnt mean you have to fade every good player.One way to diversify your lineups at the flex position is to use a teams best player when that team is in what seems to be a bad matchup. The crowds wont be on Keenan Allen vs. Seattle, or Sammy Watkins vs. the Jets. Todd Gurley figures to remain the Los Angeles Rams primary offensive weapon, even when hes facing Arizona or Seattle, situations when most people will be looking elsewhere at running backs in better matchups. Top players often find their way to abundant fantasy points due to their own talent and their teams reliance on their playmaking regardless of defensive scheme.Another option for diversification is to pay up for the top position player when there is significant and obvious value at that position. This typically works for tight ends or running backs (or quarterbacks) when a starter is injured. What doesnt work is to use a player with no opportunity or little talent -- regardless of the matchup.Above all, dont let circumstances like remaining salary dictate which player fills this slot on your roster. Make it work for you to gain an edge on your opponents with a more thorough stack, higher upside, increased security or that unique player with low ownership. How you design and arrange your lineup should vary from week to week. Thats the beauty of DFS; what works best one week wont be the answer the following week. So dont take any one strategy as a strict rule of thumb. Be flexible and on the lookout for that weeks winning formula. Bruce Matthews Womens Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Warren Moon Youth Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-37-Amani-Hooker-Womens-Jersey/ .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Curley Culp Jersey Marcus Mariota Titans Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. ST. LOUIS -- Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run home run and Randal Grichuk also went deep to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 5-1 on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep and end the Pirates season-best seven-game winning streak.Adam Wainwright (8-5) worked seven effective innings for St. Louis, which reclaimed second place in the NL Central by a half-game over Pittsburgh to end a rough 4-5 homestand. All-Star Matt Carpenter (oblique) joined Brandon Moss (ankle) and Brayan Pena (knee) on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day.Piscottys 11th homer off Arquimedes Caminero was initially ruled off the top of the center-field wall but the call was overturned after review.Tyler Glasnow (0-1) was charged with four runs in 5 1/3 innings in his debut. The 22-year-old right-hander was the 11th starter used by the Pirates and, like Steven Brault earlier in the series, got his first career hit.Jordy Mercer doubled and had an RBI for the Pirates, who had come from behind to win the previous six games. They havent swept a four-game series in St. Louis since 1997 and the Cardinals havent been swept in four games at home by anyone since Colorado in 2009.Aledmys Diaz, named an All--Star earlier in the day to replace Carpenter, tripled off the top of the left-field fence and scored on a wild pitch to tie it in the fourth.dddddddddddd Grichuks first homer since June 12 gave the Cardinals the lead for good in the fifth.Wainwright matched his season best with nine strikeouts and got his 129th career win, passing Harry Brecheen for seventh on the franchise list. Hes permitted one run over 14 innings his last two outings.The first pitch was delayed 31 minutes by rain.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (triceps) is expected to make a second rehab start on Sunday.Cardinals: 3B Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) missed his second straight start.NICE GLOVECardinals 3B Greg Garcia made two nice grabs on liners, robbing Jung Ho Kang in the first and pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez in the eighth.UP NEXTPirates: Francisco Liriano (5-8, 5.34) snapped a five-game losing streak his last time out, but is 0-2 against the Cubs this year.Cardinals: Michael Wacha (5-7, 4.38) has won three straight starts and faces the Brewers for the second straight time. ' ' '