Slate Breaker: FD NFL DFS Week 8

Quarterbacks

Play of the Day: Kyler Murray, Cardinals (vs Ravens) OUT

Obviously there are a lot of question marks here, but if Kyler Murray plays this week how do you not put him in your lineup with a price tag of just $6K. If he does play he will likely not have the freedom to run at will, but he is still a decent passer and should be able to pick up a couple yards with his feet. The Cardinals backfield is still missing James Conner and relying on a couple of lackluster backs so if Murray plays, his passing usage will be high to counteract the RB ineptitude. Murray will not top 30 points this week, but he needs just 15 FD points to deliver solid value for DFS players. Make sure you confirm Murray is playing before you lock him into your lineup, but if he is, get on him because he will be chalky and you will be left behind. As of Friday, it has been stated that Murray is fully healthy, but he is unofficially listed as doubtful so who knows what is going to happen before Sunday. 

Obvious Plays: Jalen Hurts, Eagles (@ Commanders); Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (@ Broncos) & Lamar Jackson, Ravens (@ Cardinals)

Solid Plays: Kirk Cousins, Vikings (@ Packers) & Derek Carr, Saints (@ Colts)

How can we not roll with Kirk after he torched the 49ers defense for 378 yards and 2 TDs. Kirk had been struggling a bit before beating the 49ers, scoring less than 12 FD points in 2 of his previous 3 games. But Kirk has still been one of the more consistent fantasy QBs this year. He has more than 17 FD points in every game besides those 2 disappointing outings. He is not going to blow up for a 30+ point game, but he will not leave you empty handed making him a solid cash game play. I still cannot tell if Carr and this Saints offense is bad or decent, but Carr has been producing regardless. Carr has passed for 300+ yards in back to back games. He plays a Colts team who may look like a tough fantasy matchup for opposing QBs, but those numbers are a bit misleading since Trevor Lawrence is the best QB they have faced this year. Carr and this Saints offense should move the ball fairly easily against this Colts defense and with a price of just $6,600, he will not need to do too much to deliver solid value.

Other Plays: Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins (vs Patriots) & CJ Stroud, Texans (@ Rams)

Fade of the Day: PJ Walker, (@ Seattle)

The Browns scored 39 points as a team last week. Normally, that kind of point total would translate into great production for the team's QB. PJ Walker scored just 6.42 FD points. Stefanski does not trust Walker and will run the ball as much as possible to shorten the game and limit the amount of damage Walker can do to this team.

Other Fades: Titans QBs (vs Falcons); Mathew Stafford, Rams (@ Cowboys) & Geno Smith, Seahawks (vs Browns)

Bust Alert: Jordan Love, Packers (vs Vikings)

Love has not scored more than 20 FD points in 3 straight games and has only passed for more than 250 yards once all year. The sledding does not get any easier as he takes on a revamped Vikings defense that looks to be rounding into form. The Vikings held Jalen Hurts under 200 passing yards. They held Patrick Mahomes under 20 FD points. And they allowed the least amount of points that the 49ers offense has scored all year. The Packers running game has struggled so Love will still have plenty of usage, but he still will likely leave you disappointed.

Running Backs

Play of the Day: Breece Hall, Jets (@ Giants)

Breece Hall has officially taken over as the bell cow for this Jets team. He's had 15+ opportunities in back to back weeks now and with Dalvin Cook trying to work his way out of New York that number is only going up. Hall has a golden opportunity to put his talents on full display this week. He is playing a Giants team who has struggled against the run all year long. They have allowed the second most rushing yards to RBs and the third most rushing TDs to RBs so Hall should be able to roast these guys and put together a strong line. 

Obvious Plays: Cristian McCaffrey. 49ers (vs Bengals); Raheem Mostert, Dolphins (vs Patriots) & Travis Etienne, Jaguars (@ Steelers)

Solid Plays: Jonathan Taylor, Colts (vs Saints); Dameon Pierce & Devin Singletary, Texans (@ Panthers) & Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs (@ Broncos)

Jonathan Taylor only played 50% of snaps a week ago, but the Colts made it obvious they want to get him the ball. He had 22 opportunities over the 35 snaps he played, that is elite usage. Now Zack Moss is injured and practicing in a limited capacity so Taylor's opportunities are about to shoot up. The Saints are a tough run defense, but a RB of Taylor's talents will not need to worry about it especially with a giant workload. Dameon Pierce has just been bad this year. He has less than 40 rushing yards in 4 of his 6 games so his floor is nonexistent, but this matchup is too juicy for the young back to fail. The Panthers have now allowed 9 opposing backs to score double digit fantasy points and they have played just 6 games. Basically anyone can succeed against this Panthers front so even a slumping Pierce will find success this week. The only way Pierce falters is if he continues to lose work to Singletary. For the first time all season, Pierce did not lead the backfield in snaps or work as Singletary finished with a 54% snap share in week 6. I personally think this was more of a fluke as Pierce still finished with one more carry than Singletary in that game. Isiah Pacheco gets another juicy matchup in what has been a string of them. The Broncos have struggled to stop RBs all year long including allowing 98 total yards to Pacheco two weeks ago. Pacheco has been a bit inefficient averaging more than 5 yards a carry in just two games this year, but his recent uptick in passing game involvement should negate any of those worries.

Other Plays: D'Andre Swift, Eagles (@ Commanders); Kareem Hunt, Browns (@ Seahawks) & Darrell Henderson, Rams (@ Cowboys)

Fade of the Day: Packers RBs (vs Vikings)

The Vikings are just a good run defense. They held CMC to just 96 yards a week ago and a lot of that yardage came on a busted play. The Vikings have only allowed one opposing RB to rush for more than 70 yards this year. The Packers have struggled to run the ball all year so with a tough matchup against the Vikings, it is best to avoid these backs.

Other Fades: Joe Mixon, Bengals (@ 49ers) & Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders (vs Eagles)

Bust Alert: Derrick Henry, Titans (vs Falcons)

If all the trade rumors whirling around are to be believed, I am very worried about Henry's potential usage this week. With Henry likely to be traded before the trade deadline, I doubt the Titans will be willing to give Henry a full workload in order to keep him healthy so they can trade him for solid capital to speed up the rebuilding process. I imagine there will be some news regarding Henry's potential limitations before kickoff, heck he could even be inactive; but there is also a chance the Titans want to send Henry out with a bang and give him 100 carries especially with the shaky QB situation this week.

Wide Receivers

Play of the Day: AJ Brown, Eagles (@ Commanders)

Brown is an obvious play, but he is becoming more than that. He continues to climb the fantasy receiver ranks and seems to be pushing Tyreek Hill for the number 1 spot. He has been wildly consistent and productive producing 125+ receiving yards in 5 straight games, a feat that even Hill has not even achieved. The only thing still separating Hill from Brown is Hill's TD scoring, but Brown is a big play machine too so it is only a matter of time until that starts to even out. Hill still does have the highest ceiling of any receiver in the NFL, but Brown is not far behind and the price gap between the two is too large for Brown to not be the better option this week.

Obvious Plays: Tyreek Hill, Dolphins (vs Patriots); Cooper Kupp, Rams (@ Cowboys) & Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals (@ 49ers)

Solid Plays: Christian Kirk, Jaguars (@ Steelers); Chris Olave, Saints (@ Colts) & Jauan Jennings, 49ers (@ Bengals)

After the acquisition of Calvin Ridley, it looked like Kirk's days as the Jags WR1 were limited, but it turns out that they only trust Ridley to run one route. Kirk has received at least 6 targets in 6 straight games and he has turned that opportunity into fruitful fantasy production. He has scored more than 11 FD points in all of those games. He will surely continue that streak against a Steelers defense who has been vulnerable to receivers. The Steelers have allowed their opponent's lead receiver to average 131 yards this season so fire up Kirk with confidence. Chris Olave continues to disappoint, but this a matchup he has to succeed in. The Colts simply do not have the personnel to match up with Olave. The Colts have gotten burned by Calvin Ridley, Nico Collins, Puka Nacua and DeAndre Hopkins so the floor for Olave should be safe. Jauan Jennings continues to play a prominent role in this offense with Deebo Samuel out. Jennings led the team in targets a week ago which is an insanely valuable role so getting a player who could be in that same role again for just $5,500 is the steal of the slate.

Other Plays: Jordan Addison, Vikings (@ Packers); Terry McLaurin, Commanders (vs Eagles); Demario Douglas, Patriots (@ Dolphins) & Jaxon Smith-Njigba (if Tyler Lockett is out), Seahawks (vs Browns)

Fade of the Day: Calvin Ridley, Jaguars (@ Steelers)

Until the Jaguars start to throw Ridley the ball on more than sideline routes, do not put him anywhere near your lineup. Ridley only has 2 games with more than 40 yards this year so he will just leave you disappointed so do not waste your time.

Other Fades: Tee Higgins, Bengals (@ 49ers) & Amari Cooper, Browns (@ Seattle)

Bust Alert: Michael Pittman Jr., Colts (vs Saints)

After being featured in this offense to begin the year, Pittman's role looks like it is starting to fade. In the Colts first 3 games, Pittman had at least 8 catches in each. Over the Colts last 4 games, Pittman has more than 5 catches in just one game. The emergence of Josh Downs, who has at least 5 catches in 3 straight games, will continue to eat into Pittman's. With a price over $7K, Pittman will likely disappoint you as a result of a dwindling role.

Tight Ends

Play of the Day: Darren Waller, Giants (vs Jets)

What a journey we have been on with Waller. I thought he would be resigned to fade status for the rest of the year, but then Tyrod Taylor entered the fold. Taylor knows to get the Giants' best pass catcher the ball and it has resulted in big numbers for a tight end. After getting more than 4 catches just once with Daniel Jones, Waller has 5 straight games with at least 5 catches with Taylor in at QB. Waller is averaging 12.9 FD points with Taylor so play him with confidence as long as Taylor is under center.

Obvious Plays: Travis Kelce, Chiefs (@ Broncos); Mark Andrews, Ravens (@ Cardinals) & TJ Hockenson, Vikings (@ Packers)

Solid Plays: Dallas Goedert, Eagles (@ Commanders) & George Kittle. 49ers (vs Bengals)

Goedert has put his slow start to his season behind him. He has scored more FD points in each of his last 3 games than he did in any of his first 4 so he is hot right now and should be able to continue to play a big enough role in this offense to be worthy of fantasy consideration. As long as Deebo Samuel is out, get Kittle in your lineup. He had 7 targets a week ago that he turned into 5 catches for 78 yards, respectable. Kittle has always been the 49ers' top redzone target so increased involvement between the 20s make him a must play in my eyes.

Other Plays: Luke Musgrave, Packers (vs Vikings) & Trey McBride, Cardinals (vs Ravens)

Fade of the Day: Jake Ferguson, Cowboys (vs Rams)

Ferguson and the Cowboys fooled us all when he posted back to back 7 target games early in the season. We all thought that Ferguson could play a sizable role in this offense and maybe even become the 2nd option in the passing game. Well, Ferguson has just 4 targets over his last two games so he is nothing more than a tertiary option for the Cowboys and not worthy of fantasy consideration.

Other Fades: Chig Okonkwo, Titans (vs Falcons) & Hayden Hurst, Panthers (vs Texans)

Bust Alert: Logan Thomas, Commanders (vs Eagles)

Thomas has been hit or miss this season. He has 3 games with 6 or more targets, but also 3 games with less than 3. The Eagles had been bad against Tight Ends to start the season, but they have shored things up allowing less than 50 yards to Tight Ends in 5 straight games. There are better options than Thomas this week.

Defense

Play of the Day: Jets D/ST (@ Giants)

The Jets have been one of the NFL's top defenses all year long. They limited the Chiefs to just 23 points and completely shutdown the Eagles and Bills offense so a game against Tyrod Taylor should be a cakewalk. The Jets get back both of their corners this week so with the Jets back to full strength, they are too good to fail.

Other Plays: Eagles D/ST (@ Commanders); Dolphins D/ST (vs Patriots); Seahawks D/ST (vs Browns); 49ers (vs Bengals) & Falcons D/ST (@ Titans)

Dream Team

QB: Lamar Jackson, Ravens (@ Cardinals)

 RB1: Breece Hall, Jets (@ Giants)

RB2: Jonathan Taylor, Colts (vs Saints)

WR1: AJ Brown, Eagles (@ Commanders)

WR2: Jauan Jennings, 49ers (vs Bengals)

WR3: Demario (Pop) Douglas, Patriots (@ Dolphins)

TE: Darren Waller, Giants (vs Jets)

Flex: Dameon Pierce, Texans (@ Panthers)

D/ST: Jets (@ Giants)

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