Week 8 Daily Fantasy Football: Building the Optimal Lineup at DraftKings

If you followed last week’s daily fantasy football optimal lineup even slightly, you probably enjoyed a nice week seven. We did get burned a bit by Matt Jones and the Patriots defense and Odell Beckham Jr. was just okay, but we absolutely nailed big days across the board.

Andy Dalton, Jay Ajayi, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Ty Montgomery and even Jack Doyle were all monsters and helped us place in the green. Hopefully our favorite roster helped you cash out, too, but either way, we’re back at it again for week eight.

We get a smaller main slate due to a TNF, MNF and a London game, so we’re dealing with just 10 games for our week 8 NFL DFS optimal lineup. Let’s dive in:

QB: Jameis Winston – Buccaneers ($5.7k)

I’m a big fan of Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson this week – just like everyone else – but with such little value, it may pay to go contrarian in week eight.

Why not start at quarterback? Winston is dirt cheap and has proven to be plenty capable of carrying an NFL DFS squad, posting 21+ fantasy points three different times in 2016.

It’s true he can implode in a sea of turnovers at times, but this week we get Winston at home (21 fantasy points per game on his own field) and against Oakland (26th versus quarterbacks). The value, matchup and ability all add up and while it’s not a slam dunk on paper, Jameis Winston feels like a terrific try in big GPPs.

RB: Spencer Ware – Chiefs ($6.8k)

Ware is a little more expensive than I’d prefer and there are certainly other running backs to consider, but he’s still a decent price for a guy who has busted off 20+ fantasy points in back to back outings.

It’s more than price or production for Ware this week, though, as he gets a bad Indy defense that ranks 29th against the running back position. Jamaal Charles still isn’t right, either, so Ware should get plenty of work against a team that doesn’t stop RBs. Fire him up.

RB: Latavius Murray – Raiders ($4.5k)

I’m a fan of Murray this week, who returned to the starting lineup after injury in week seven and proceeded to pile on 20 fantasy points.

Oakland fed him the rock in all forms last week, seemingly realizing that he is by far their most complete rusher. That should remain the case going into week eight, where Murray draws a favorable matchup with a Buccaneers run defense that ranks just 25th against running backs this year.

The key here is Murray doesn’t even need to be lights out. At this price, we’d take just passable form (10-15 fantasy points).

WR: Doug Baldwin – Seahawks ($6.9k)

Baldwin didn’t light it up last week like many (including myself) felt he would, but perhaps he was saving it for week eight.

Anytime a guy with speed matches up with the Saints on turf, you need to pay attention. There is downside with Baldwin, but there is also loads of upside. I’ll give him a shot versus the Saints.

WR: Davante Adams – Packers ($4.9k)

I’d like to see Adams a tad cheaper, but it’s tough to scoff at his still solid price tag after he went nuts a week ago (41 fantasy points).

He’s not going that crazy again anytime soon, but for this price I’d be thrilled with half of that. Against a weak Falcons defense in what Vegas thinks will be the highest scoring shootout of the week, he should have a good chance at meeting expectations.

WR: Quincy Enunwa – Jets ($4.8k)

Brandon Marshall has been a little disappointing and is way more expensive, so this could be a good time to drop down to New York’s #2 receiver, Enunwa.

Not only did Enunwa break a long touchdown last week, but he’s actually been fairly stable as Eric Decker’s replacement (12+ fantasy points four times in 2016). A date with a bad Browns pass defense (30th against wide receivers) feels like a good spot to deploy him.

TE: Jimmy Graham – Seahawks ($6.1k)

The revenge narrative is alive an well this week, as Jimmy Graham returns to New Orleans to pay them back for trading him away two years ago.

Graham will undoubtedly be fired up for this game, but he already was getting it done as a DFS fiend. He’s poured in 10+ fantasy points in four straight contests and on such a weak slate for reliable TEs, he’s probably the next guy in line behind Rob Gronkowski.

FLEX: DeAndre Hopkins – Texans ($7.4k)

Nuk is having a tough time these days due to the struggles of Brock Osweiler, but let’s note the obvious: he faced a pretty good Denver defense last week.

Hopkins is still getting by (16+ fantasy points in four games this year) and week eight could come to the rescue with a sweet matchup against the Lions at home. Detroit’s defense has been true trash all year and rank just 25th against wide receivers.

The targets (15 and 12 the past two games) are there. Hopkins just needs to find a way to reel the ball in and make more plays. Recency bias could draw people away, while we could get an elite talent at a severe discount. Sign me up.

DEF: Arizona Cardinals ($2.7k)

It’s awfully tough to feel amazing about going against the Panthers in Carolina, but the reality is Arizona’s defense has been pretty great and this price is too cheap to pass up.

That’s especially the case on a slate where there is just not that much value to go around. Carolina can put up points, but they definitely give up sacks and also tend to turn the ball over.

Arizona has been fairly reliable, too, posting 5+ fantasy points in every game this year and 10+ fantasy points three different times. If they can hang tight and get me 7-10 this week, I’ll chalk it up as a win.