Week 8 DraftKings Picks: Best lineup stacks for NFL DFS tournaments, cash games

Bennett Bedford

Week 8 DraftKings Picks: Best lineup stacks for NFL DFS tournaments, cash games image

Week 8 is probably the most tightly priced NFL DFS slate that we have seen so far this season. While Kerryon Johnson’s injury opens up some value at running back with Ty Johnson, he is far from being a sure thing, even at his price tag. Latavius Murray would make for the top value play on the slate should Alvin Kamara sit out another week, but the Saints released backup Zach Zenner on Wednesday, which makes the situation hard to read at this point. With that being said, there is some value stacking options that we can target to free up some salary with the Titans and Lions, as well as a few high-end stacking options that have immense, slate-breaking upside. 

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

Week 8 NFL DFS Picks: Top DraftKings stacks for cash games     

QB Ryan Tannehill and WR Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans @ Panthers

The quarterback position is narrow this week. There aren’t a whole lot of guys who are jumping out at first glance outside of Deshaun Watson at the very top end. However, I really want to get the high volume running backs in my cash lineup, so I’m looking at Tannehill at $6,900 on FanDuel and $5,100 on DraftKings in a great matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. 

The Bucs defense has been significantly improved this season against the run, but they are still a bottom-5 team in the league against the pass. Tannehill looked steady in his first start for the Titans after they benched Marcus Mariota, throwing for 312 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Chargers. Out wide is where the Tampa defense struggles the most, ranking 28th DvP against opposing wide receivers this season. Tannehill also has some decent rushing upside after rushing five times last week.

There are a few value options to stack with Tannehill, with my favorite being Davis. Davis looked like Ryan Tannehill’s favorite target last week with eight targets, and a matchup with the Bucs is a dream spot for any wide receiver, especially one with the physical tools of Davis. His price tag is especially attractive on DraftKings at $4,400 in a week where finding value at the position is very difficult. 

MORE WEEK 8 DFS: Values | Lineup Builder

QB Deshaun Watson and WR DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans @ Jaguars

If you don’t want to go for the cheap stacking option in cash games, I don’t mind spending way up for Watson and Hopkins. Watson is pricey at $7,100, but he has been on fire over the last five weeks, and he is due for some positive touchdown regression after throwing only two total touchdowns over the last two weeks. It’s hard to see Watson having a true ceiling type game without the big-play threat of Will Fuller V in the lineup, but Kenny Stills is a capable fill in, and he can still stretch opposing defenses.

I’m going to lean on Hopkins in a bunch of lineups this week. “Nuk” has an incredible matchup against a Raiders team that is coming off a game in which they allowed Aaron Rodgers to throw for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns with mostly second-rate receivers. 

Hopkins’ target share should be secure this week with Fuller out of the lineup and Stills only a week removed from coming back from a hamstring injury. I’m sure that Stills will get a few deep shots, and Keke Coutee will absorb some low aDOT targets, but the red zone and intermediate routes will belong to Hopkins. $8,200 on FanDuel and $8,100 on DraftKings might feel like a steep price to pay for Hopkins, who has not been his usual model of consistency this season, but the matchup and projected target volume are just too much to ignore. 

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

Week 8 DraftKings Picks: Best stacks for daily fantasy football GPPs/tournaments

QB Matthew Stafford and WR Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions  

I’ve been attacking passing games facing the New York Giants virtually every week this season in GPPs, and there is no reason to get away from that angle this week with the Lions hosting the Giants in Detroit. Stafford is having one of his best seasons as a pro, and it’s hard to see him failing in this spot. In three home games this season, Stafford has averaged 24.7 DraftKings points and has exceeded his salary expectations in all three of those games. Another potential plus for Stafford is the absence of RB Kerryon Johnson, who just hit the IR. With Johnson out of the lineup, I expect the Lions to throw a few more times per game and utilize Ty Johnson’s skill set as a pass-catcher out of the backfield more than what they were doing with Johnson. 

You can pair Stafford with either or both of Marvin Jones and Golladay, but I’m giving the slight edge to Kenny G. Golladay is coming off a total dud game last week against the Vikings, where he saw only two targets. I have to think that the Lions will look to get Golladay involved much more this week in a matchup with Giants CB Janoris Jenkins, who has been one of the worst corners in the league this season. Jones is also a great play, and we have seen him have massive upside over the last few seasons, but ownership should be skewed towards Jones after his four-touchdown game last week against the Vikings. 

QB Jared Goff and WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams  

My big mistake last week was going with Matt Ryan over Jared Goff in my cash game lineup. While I played plenty of Goff in GPPs, fading him in a prime matchup was a misstep. This week, I’ll be rostering Goff again in tournaments as the Rams play the Bengals in London. The Bengals defense has been solid against the run this season, but rank dead last DvP against opposing quarterbacks. Cincinnati has allowed at least 16 fantasy points to every quarterback that they’ve faced this season, and their lack of a reliable pass rush should negate some of Goff’s struggles against pressure. 

I’m also going right back to Kupp as much as I can this week as a pivot off of DeAndre Hopkins and Michael Thomas. I expect Kupp to be at his lowest ownership in months after back-to-back poor games. Kupp has the best individual matchup among Rams pass catchers in the slot, and he should return to his 10-12 target share in the offense after seeing only 14 total targets over the last two weeks. This is a perfect game to leverage Kupp’s lowered ownership against the other top-end wide receivers with him having a great matchup against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.

There's plenty of strategy that goes into putting together a winning DFS lineup, and the best place to start is RotoQL’s DFS tools . RotoQL's Lineup Optimizer  is a massive advantage when you're building lineups, regardless of contest size or site.

Bennett Bedford