Part of managing the salary cap in daily fantasy is knowing which costly salaries to avoid while, at the same time, uncovering those hidden gems.

For example, Mike Reilly’s $13,982 salary is the most expensive in the game after the Eskimos’ pivot led the CFL in passing and sprinkled in nine rushing touchdowns. But while Reilly will put up consistent numbers, is it enough to justify spending more than a quarter of your cap?

On the other hand, there are some players in the game that cost the minimum $2,500. Adding one or more of these guys can allow you to stack your team with higher-end talent elsewhere — ideally without sacrificing production.

With that, here are five players to be wary of given their price tags and five super sleepers that could help you become a champion.

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5 TO AVOID

RB JOHN WHITE | EDM
CURRENT VALUE: $9,098
POSITION RANK: 1st

White was the CFL’s top RB down the stretch last year, but can he continue finding the end zone? (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

White is ranked tops among running backs in the Canadian Football League going into Week 1 and is still going to collect the yards but I’m not sure about the touchdowns. He had the second-most among RBs last season, meaning when the norm was around four last season, he doubled that. Passing it in has become a lot more regular than running the ball near the goal line. There should be just as good options for less cost to start the year.

QB MATT NICHOLS | WPG
CURRENT VALUE: $10,242
POSITION RANK: 4th

Matt Nichols enters his first full season as a starting quarterback in 2017 (Larry MacDougal/CFL.ca)

With Zach Collaros, Ricky Ray and Trevor Harris coming in for less than Matt Nichols, his price at over $10,000 is a little steep when you consider the value beneath that price range. He also had far fewer ‘big games’. His TD max in a game last year was two while he had four 300-yard games, ranking ninth among quarterbacks. His highest game total of 341 was nowhere near tops in the league. Consistency was his game last year but there was rarely a big pay off for investing in him.

WR CHAD OWENS | SSK
CURRENT VALUE: $5,409
POSITION RANK: 12th

Chad Owens’ undetermined role on offence makes him a risk for fantasy buyers (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Chad Owens is ranked 12th among receivers and that is way too high for a player that was only brought in to return kicks. Owens has also been held back in training camp, still rehabbing an injury from last year. It’ll be interesting where Owens will sit when the team makes its final cuts but Naaman Roosevelt, Duron Carter, Bakari Grant and others will see a lot more scoring opportunities than Owens.

QB MIKE REILLY | EDM
CURRENT VALUE: $13,982
POSITION RANK: 1st

The top-ranked quarterback in fantasy, Mike Reilly finds himself on Nye’s ‘do not buy’ list (The Canadian Press)

Don’t think for a second I’m putting Reilly on this list because I don’t think he’ll be a top quarterback. He’s on this list because his price tag is inflated due to his nine touchdown runs last season. He’s losing a big weapon in Derel Walker as well through the air. I see a slight drop in production from the Eskimos’ offence but wait until that price tag inevitably drops down before breaking the bank to get him on your roster.

WR NICK MOORE | BC
CURRENT VALUE: $4,320
POSITION RANK: 22nd

An influx of weapons in Vancouver makes Nick Moore a risky play, writes Nye (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)

I know Nick Moore is only ranked 22nd but the team added Chris Williams this off-season and already has Manny Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham. Plus, Jeremiah Johnson and an increase in touches for Chris Rainey makes for the potential of Moore keeping up in the top 25 of receivers tough for me to predict.

5 SUPER SLEEPERS:

WR LEMAR DURANT | CGY
CURRENT VALUE: $2,545
POSITION RANK: 39th

Lemar Durant could be ready for a much larger role in Cow Town this season (Larry MacDougal/CFL.ca)

The Canadian receiver seems primed to have a big year with the Stampeders. I think he has the talent to reach 1,000-yards and built some confidence with Bo Levi Mitchell in his second year, doubling his output from his rookie season. Definitely a player around the minimum price range who could pick up decent points and allow you to fill up with higher salary players.

WR, TORONTO ARGONAUTS
CURRENT VALUE: $2,500
POSITION RANK: 40th+

DeVier Posey could double as a returner and receiver for the Argos in 2017 (Bea Serden/Argonauts.ca)

S.J. Green ($3,777) is the highest receiver on the Toronto roster in terms of price. He’s ranked 30th. Khalil Paden ($2,500), Jeff Fuller ($3,175), Armanti Edwards ($2,500) all have CFL experience but there could be a lot of rookie receivers who will come on strong with the most accurate passer in the game at quarterback. This is a wait and see approach but when that 46-man roster is set, JUMP! Great value from Argo receivers early in the season.

RB KIENAN LAFRANCE | SSK
CURRENT VALUE: $2,500
POSITION RANK: 19th

The Riders signed Kienan LaFrance from the Grey Cup-winning REDBLACKS this off-season (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Kienan LaFrance could start the season on the injured list but it sounds like Chris Jones would really like to add some flexibility to the ratio by getting the Canadian RB on to the starting lineup. When healthy, he could be a good value pick as he comes in at the minimum price and it’ll be hard to find a starting running back worth that little. Problem will be if Anthony Allen and Cameron Marshall are too good to give LaFrance a chance at the starting job. Those other two could be of great value as well, however.

WR BRYANT MITCHELL | EDM
CURRENT VALUE: $2,500
POSITION RANK: 40th

Bryant Mitchell could slip into Derel Walker’s old spot in the Eskimos’ prolific pass offence (Esks.com)

The other Edmonton receiver who could take advantage of the catches and yards as Mike Reilly will have to look elsewhere with Derel Walker in the NFL. Brandon Zylstra appears to be option one, but Mitchell (or maybe Vidal Hazelton) could become a great second or third option for Reilly in the passing game.

RB ROSS SCHEUERMAN, ALEX GREEN | HAM
CURRENT VALUE: $2,500
POSITION RANK: 19th

While C.J. Gable is the No. 1 back, Ross Scheuerman is standing by in the Ticats’ backfield (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

I’m looking at the Tiger-Cats running back situation as a potential spot in fantasy for a relative no name to step up. C.J. Gable is a solid running back but has had problems staying on the field. Green had a good pre-sason game last week, but Scheuerman impressed in the pre-season last year and in his lone start at running back in the regular season when he went for 119-yards total offence in Week 13. Keep an eye on Hamilton and take advantage if something goes wrong for Gable this season.