NFL Week 8 DFS Picks For FanDuel

Week 7 of NFL DFS action was my first brutal main slate week of the season as it was my first line to not hit in cash formats (aside from the Daniel Jones injury that was out of our control), and it wasn't close to reaching that mark. I went with a Chiefs stack, and they failed to register a single touchdown against the bad Titans defense. Also, I rostered Miles Sanders, who left early with an injury. Regardless, Week 8 gives a new opportunity to cash in, and most returnee readers will know what that means. I have said this every even numbered week, and I will continue to until the streak ends - since the start of the 2020 NFL season, I have only missed the cash on an even numbered week one time. During Week 6, I was able to nearly triple my investment, so hopefully we can recreate that on Sunday. The last two slates have been slightly smaller than usual due to London games and bye weeks, but we once again have a larger 12 game slate this week. There are a ton of options that I love this week, particularly at running back. Let's dive into my breakdown of the NFL main slate on FanDuel!

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Top Play:

Darrell Henderson Jr. ($7700) -

I was all over Darrell Henderson Jr. last week against the Lions, and it didn't work out too well. The Lions had been one of the worst run defenses in the league this season, but he was only able to score 7 FD points. The game script wasn't as favorable to him as we would have expected with the Lions striking first and jumping out to an early lead. However, if you liked Darrell Henderson last week, you have to like him again this week. He finds himself in almost the exact same situation as a week ago, but this time is projected for less ownership. The Texans rank second to last against the run, and the Rams are currently 16 point favorites, so the game script should fall perfectly into his lap. Darrell Henderson Jr. has taken full control of the backfield with 18+ touches in each of the last four games, and with his matchup in Week 8, I expect him to have a big game.

Best Value:

Kenneth Gainwell ($5900) -

With Miles Sanders out for this week and probably more, Kenneth Gainwell will likely emerge as the primary running back for the Eagles. Boston Scott saw more rushing attempts last week after Sanders went down, but Gainwell saw nearly all of the passing down work. I expect them to have a similar game plan with Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell splitting carries, but with Gainwell once again getting the receiving work. It should be noted that the Eagles have refused to run the ball this year, but they might have to this week as they play the Lions, the only winless team left in the league. Due to the Eagles lack of commitment to the run so far, as well as Boston Scott stealing some touches, Kenneth Gainwell is not a lock for me, but he is an excellent option at a cheap cost. There are a lot of pay up options at running back that are in killer scenarios this week, so you will need to decide if you want to construct your lineup around them, or stick in a value play like Gainwell to allow you to spend up in other spots.

Best Game Environment:

TB @ NO ?

This is a difficult week to pick the best game environment for as I like targeting a lot of teams, but there aren't many game stacks that I am interested in. The reason for this is a lot of the games are currently projected to be blowouts. The main teams that we would usually like to target, the Rams, Bills, Buccaneers, and Bengals, are all very enticing options, but it is tough to run back with more than one player on the opposing team since they play the Texans, Dolphins, Saints, and Jets. If I had to pick one game to stack, it would have to be TB @ NO. The Saints are the best of the teams who have to face off against the aforementioned offensive power houses, so I think they have the likeliest odds of keeping the game the closest, as well as having Alvin Kamara who is an easy run back option given how the majority of his work comes through the air. This game sits with an implied total of 48.5, which is the third highest on the slate. I am not nearly as interested in going with a full game stack this week as I have been in weeks past - I prefer to target players on different teams.

Main Player Pool: Quarterback:

Josh Allen ($8800)

Matt Stafford ($8200)

Joe Burrow ($7800)

Other great plays: Jalen Hurts ($8400), Tom Brady ($8300), Justin Herbert ($7900), Carson Wentz ($7200), Trevor Lawrence ($6700)

Running Back:

Alvin Kamara ($8400)

Darrell Henderson Jr. ($7700)

Joe Mixon ($7600)

Other great plays: Derrick Henry ($10500), Jonathon Taylor ($8500), James Robinson ($8200), Nick Chubb ($8000), D'Andre Swift ($7900), Cordarrelle Patterson ($7300), Leonard Fournette ($7200), Chuba Hubbard ($6600), Khalil Herbert ($6500), Kenneth Gainwell ($5900), Eli Mitchell ($5800), Myles Gaskin ($5700)

Wide Receiver:

Stefon Diggs ($7300)

Chris Godwin ($7200)

Tee Higgins ($6300)

Other great plays: Cooper Kupp ($9200), Ja'Marr Chase ($8200), DJ Moore ($7700), A.J. Brown ($7600), Calvin Ridley ($7000), Keenan Allen ($6900), Robert Woods ($6800), Michael Pittman Jr. ($6600), Brandin Cooks ($6000), Laviska Shenault Jr. ($5800), Jakobi Meyers ($5700), Amon-Ra St. Brown ($5100)

Tight End:

Kyle Pitts ($6800)

T.J. Hockenson ($6200)

Tyler Higbee ($5300)

Other great plays: Dallas Goedert ($5900), Noah Fant ($5800), Jared Cook ($5200), Dan Arnold ($4900), Tommy Sweeney ($4300)

D/ST:

Rams ($5000)

Browns ($4000)

Football Team ($3400)

Other great plays: Bengals ($4900), 49ers ($4600), Broncos ($4100), Jaguars ($3500)

Cover Picture Attribution: All-Pro Reels, Darrell Henderson, CC BY-SA 2.0