Redskins vs. Vikings: Who to start/sit in fantasy for 'Thursday Night Football'

Vinnie Iyer

Redskins vs. Vikings: Who to start/sit in fantasy for 'Thursday Night Football' image

The Redskins-Vikings Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 8 screams blowout and garbage time, and even though that might not actually happen, the mere potential for it will inevitably skew fantasy start 'em, sit 'em decisions and NFL DFS picks for DraftKings Showdown contests. 

Fortunately, we're here to help you get your fantasy week off to a good start. Here’s a breakdown of Week 8's Thursday game in Minnesota (8:20 p.m. ET, FOX, NFL Network and Amazon Prime Video).

MORE WEEK 8 TNF: DraftKings Showdown Lineup

Redskins: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night

Start: QB Case Keenum

The Vikings have given up multiple TDs to every QB they have faced who weren't two Bears or Daniel Jones. Keenum will have a chance to put up some garbage yards and scores in the second half, which essentially has happened four times against them. You should find a higher floors and ceilings alike in seasonal leagues, but don't rule out CK being as viable as KC in DFS tournaments.

WEEK 8 NON-PPR RANKINGS
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Sit: RB Adrian Peterson

He has a tough ankle injury and running up against the Vikings' No. 7 run defense. It would not be shocking if he got something like 20 carries for 57 yards. You're totally banking on a goal-line TD opportunity that may never happen.

Start: WR Terry McLaurin

"Scary Terry" was spooked by Richard Sherman and the 49ers' nasty pass defense last week, finishing with only one catch for 11 yards. It was only the second bad game for the rookie, the other coming against the Patriots. In the other four games, he racked up 20 catches for 357 yards and five TDs. The Vikings just gave up five TDs to Marvin Jones Jr. last week.

WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end

Sit: WRs Paul Richardson and Trey Quinn

Richardson has done nothing except for that Bears game. Quinn averages about three catches for 22 yards per game. Say no to the No. 2, say no the slot.

Sit: TE Jeremy Sprinkle

Great name for a weatherman, but they're playing indoors and it's a bad call for a fantasy player with Vernon Davis missing another game with a concussion.

Week 8 DFS Lineups: 
Y! Cash | Y! GPP | FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP

Sit: K Dustin Hopkins

He would be a viable fantasy kicker on a more trustworthy scoring team.

Sit: Redskins D/ST

Unless that is, your league rewards negative points.

MORE WEEK 8 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder

Vikings: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night

Start: QB Kirk Cousins.

Enjoy the real revenge game, folks. Cousins will work to become the fifth quarterback to toss three TDs passes against the Redskins, joining Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, Tom Brady and .... Mitchell Trubisky. The Redskins allow 250 passing yards per game. Cousins is also coming off two consecutive 300-yard, four-TD games.

Start: RB Dalvin Cook

Cook is facing the No. 27-ranked Redskins run defense. He leads the NFL with 725 yards rushing and eight rushing TDs. Boom.

Start: RB Alexander Mattison

Mattison came through two weeks ago when the Vikings blew out the Eagles at home. If you're in need of a deep-league FLEX play or someone to pick up either Mark Ingram or Ezekiel Elliott's production during their byes, here's a sneaky plug-and-play.

Start: WR Stefon Diggs

Can we stop complaining about him now after he followed 7-167 and three TDs on 11 targets with 7-142 on eight targets? Thanks. He's locked in for another primo matchup, and he should get the preferred volume as the clear No. 1.

Start: WR Bisi Johnson

Need a quick replacement for Adam Thielen, who is missing this game with a hamstring injury? Look to the real next man up in Minnesota. Johnson had 4 catches for 40 yards and a TD on 8 targets last week. Cousins has proved he has trust in him in that No. 2 role.

Start: TE Kyle Rudolph

Fellow tight end Irv Smith Jr. gets the buzz as the rookie to help replace Adma Thielen's production for another week, but Rudolph proved he can come through for Kevin Stefanski when needed as a receiver again with five catches for 58 yards and a TD against the Lions. He's the most likely Viking to score after Cook, Diggs and Mattison. In a bad TE landscape, he's not a bad dice roll because he has more history with Cousins in these spots.

Start: K Dan Bailey

This screams it will be a tack-on field-goal game in the second half.

Start: Vikings D/ST

Sound the horn several times for a big home favorite with the emotional prime-time bump.

Redskins-Vikings DraftKings Showdown lineup for Thursday night

Captain: WR Terry McLaurin $13,800

FLEX: RB Davlin Cook $13,000

FLEX: Case Keenum $8,000

FLEX: Vikings D/ST $6,800

FLEX: K Dan Bailey $4,000

FLEX: RB Alexander Mattison $4,400

As you can see we're doing a correlated game-script spending job here, zeroing out our budget. It's essentially the classic double-stack of running game and defense for the big winners, and quarterback and wide receivers for the big trailers. We had just enough money left for Bailey.

Vinnie Iyer

Vinnie Iyer Photo

Vinnie Iyer, has been with TSN since 1999, not long after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has produced NFL content for more than 20 years, turning his attention to full-time writing in 2007. A native of St. Louis, Mo. but now a long-time resident of Charlotte, N.C. Vinnie’s top two professional sports teams are Cardinals and Blues, but he also carries purple pride for all things Northwestern Wildcats. He covers every aspect of the NFL for TSN including player evaluations, gambling and fantasy football, where he is a key contributor. Vinnie represents TSN as host of the “Locked On Fantasy Football” podcast on the Locked On network. Over his many years at TSN, he’s also written about MLB, NBA, NASCAR, college football, tennis, horse racing, film and television. His can’t-miss program remains “Jeopardy!”, where he was once a three-day champion and he is still avid about crossword puzzles and trivia games. When not watching sports or his favorite game show, Vinnie is probably watching a DC, Marvel or Star Wars-related TV or movie.