The Daily Dose: Week 8 FanDuel Starts
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Welcome to the Week 8 edition of The Daily Dose: FanDuel Starts Of The Week. Usually every Friday on The Fantasy Footballers Podcast, the guys welcome in Chris Meaney from the FNTSY Sports Network to deliver his top DFS picks of the week. Just like in Week 7, Week 8 has been granted by the Ballers to yours truly for another week of my top personal picks that could help you win and put some cash in your wallets this weekend. You can follow me on Twitter @brandontsanders. Even though The Daily Dose will not be featured in today’s podcast, please don’t miss all of Episode #296 coming up later today.
Quarterbacks
It looks like this coming weekend, some of the top names once again have extremely juicy matchups as they face opponents that have struggled against the pass offense in the first 7 weeks. Let’s talk about a few of these passers and who can optimize your lineup the best in Week 8.
Aaron Rodgers @ ATL, $8,800
A-Rod is the most expensive price tag for a quarterback this week, but he may be worth every single penny of that. Recently critics have been rough on how Rodgers likes to run and gun now more than staying back in the pocket and launching passes to his multiple weapons at wide receiver. But this week he faces the Falcons that have given up the second largest amount of touchdowns to opposing teams, ranking 31st overall. Aaron has a great offensive line and should have more time in that pocket to find some of that long yardage. Although the first half of the last Thursday Night Football was rough, Rodgers found his groove putting up 23.7 FanDuel points, the best he’s done in four weeks. I think the trend should continue as well this week.
Jameis Winston vs OAK, $7,400
Famous Jameis makes the list this week going against the Oakland Raiders 32nd ranked passing defense. Jameis has shown flashes of greatness, but has also been a bit careless with the football committing 12 turnovers. However, Jameis ranks 10th overall in passing touchdowns for the season with 12. He also is getting more into a groove with his stud wideout in Mike Evans who found the end zone twice just last week. With the Raiders struggling, we could see a replay of last week unfold in Week 8.
Josh McCown vs NYJ, $6,400
The returning Josh McCown is set to start this week and comes back to a tasty matchup against the New York Jets that have had setbacks with injury and poor performance in their secondary. They are currently ranked 26th as a passing defense. He’s a great cheap option to take a chance on if you want to load up on studs at other positions. McCown could also make for a great GPP play.
Running Backs
We have some pretty awesome inexpensive matchups this weekend to snag a very productive running back. This also means you can pay up for a QB or even go for a couple elite WRs to stack with these discounted runners. Let’s take a look at the bargains this week.
Christine Michael @ NO, $7,800
Week 8 poses another great opportunity for “The Woke One” as he is the lead back for a couple more games with Thomas Rawls still not ready to return. Even better is they face New Orleans inside the dome, and even though they have improved slightly, still rank 22nd against the run. Currently, Michael ranks 11th in rushing TDs with 4 for the season. I expect him to add to that number against the Saints this weekend.
LeGarrette Blount @ BUF, $6,600
Last week, Blount put on a clinic as he gashed the Pittsburgh Steelers in running for 127 yards, and 2 rushing touchdowns. He gets a division rival again this week that also struggles to contain the run game in the Buffalo Bills that currently rank 27th overall. With such a big production from LeGarrette these past few weeks, why not take a great discount price like this and watch him pile up some more fantasy points for you and secure you some money for Week 8?
Devontae Booker vs SD, $5,600
Things just got a whole heck of a lot interesting for Devontae Booker. Last week with news that Gary Kubiak wanted to get Booker more involved, Devontae saw his first rushing TD of the season and his NFL career on Monday night against the Houston Texans. Still productive even in a backup role, now Booker sees the starting job as it was reported yesterday that C.J. Anderson is likely to be out anywhere between 8-12 weeks. Devontae now is a must own in all formats as he gets a chance to get a lion share of work and chance to secure a spot as the lead back in Denver if he succeeds. Please put this option in your lineups this weekend and don’t look back!
Wide Receivers
The wide receiver options we got for this weekend is definitely considered the most spread across prices than the rest of the positions. If you can use the strategy of paying low for those RBs that will give you big production, you should be able to play a couple of these studs. I also have a sneaky play this week that should be effective for the cost and value you will put into him for Week 8.
Julio Jones vs GB, $9,200
Of course, Julio is the priciest option that’s out there this week, but the Atlanta Falcons are playing lights out football, especially in the passing game this year. They play at home against the Green Bay Packers who still have no Sam Shields or veteran leader in the secondary, which has seen them drop to 15th overall against the passing game. Jones went for over 100 yards just in the first half last week against the Chargers; I see him being a huge mismatch against the Packers. If you got the budget, he is an outstanding play this week.
Mike Evans vs OAK, $7,900
Mike Evans has been on a tear the past two games he has played and now leads all wideouts with 6 touchdowns on the year. He got two of those last week against a putrid 31st ranked 49ers pass defense. Even better is, he faces the Raiders who are actually dead last against the pass. This should be a high-scoring affair as Oakland has still found ways to win even with their defense not giving them much help, so the stack for Winston and Evans is a very good play in GPP as well as 50/50 and Head to Head formats for this week. He also is a slight discount compared to Julio listed above as well.
Cole Beasley vs PHI, $6,100
It looks as though I have gotten a case of the “Beasles” as the “Heart Ring” himself has made an appearance on The Daily Dose this week. Cole Beasley just refuses to go away in the Dallas passing game. Even with a returning Dez Bryant, Cole will still likely see a great deal of short receptions versus a very strong Philadelphia defense who ranks 5th. Still, Beasley might be the go-to if the run game can’t get going right away. Look for Beasley to collect enough receptions to give a consistent fantasy number each week he plays. He is also an awesome contrarian pick this week as well.
Tight Ends
This week as we sludge through the mud of the tight end position yet again, we are going to see a big name pop up that hasn’t made it to The Daily Dose yet. We also have a couple of other names that are familiar to help you win your week.
Jimmy Graham @ NO, $6,700
Welcome to The Daily Dose Mr. Graham! Jimmy is the man you should target more than ever this weekend as he travels to his old stomping grounds- the Superdome in New Orleans where he made a household name for himself. There’s the revenge game narrative as the Saints traded him away. Add that storyline with the putridness of New Orleans passing defense, and Jimmy could explode this weekend with fantasy points and production. Monitor Russell Wilson and his injury, but if he plays, Jimmy Graham is going to go ham. Yes, I made that rhyme on purpose.
Travis Kelce @ IND, $5,700
At a $1,000 cheaper than Graham, “Zeus” has a very favorable matchup as he plays against the ghost town of the secondary known as the Indianapolis Colts, who currently rank 25th against the passing game. Kelce ranks 9th overall in receptions for Tight Ends with 27 of them. This is great for the FanDuel scoring system which awards a half-point per catch. With the mismatch that he gives most defenses on a weekly basis, he could really pick on the Colts this weekend.
Cameron Brate vs OAK, $5,200
This must be “start all Buccaneers against Oakland” weekend. This move is more high risk, high reward as Cameron Brate has been hit or miss this year. Oakland has a history of being the worst against opposing tight ends that dates back several years. This may continue in Week 8, and ultimately equal success for Brate, who’s a cheap option at TE.
Defense
Denver Broncos vs SD, $5,000
It’s no secret here, you have to pay up each week to make sure you can get the best defenses on your roster so you can maximize the points they can dish out. I say play the Denver Broncos this weekend as they play the Chargers, in what I feel will be a payback matchup for what we saw just 2 weeks ago on Thursday night with the Color Rush game. They are the highest this week so make sure you stash away enough budget to get them in your lineups.
Be sure to stop by next week as we’ll have brand new picks for you in Week 9. Don’t forget to catch all of Episode #296 of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast. See you cool DFS fans next week!
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