It's Week 8 of the National Football League season, and everyone is available.
Everyone except the injured players that is, but with no byes, all of the healthy players on your full-season fantasy rosters are available. And everyone who suits up for an NFL team Sunday is eligible for your DFS contests.
Unfortunately, while we lament bye weeks from Hell such as weeks 5, 6, 9 and 14, having so many options available doesn't always make it easier. For example, on one of our full-season teams we have to choose two running backs out of De'Von Achane, Brian Robinson, Breece Hall and Jordan Mason.
In DFS, with so many injuries to key players, the public and the "experts" all are high ion unproven plug-and-play guys such as Cedric Tillman of the Browns, Ricky Pearsall of the 49ers, Denver's Troy Franklin and Tampa Bay's Jalen McMillan. We all know how it usually goes when EVERYONE is touting relatively unknown players as lineup "locks," and hopefully you heeded our warning a few weeks back about just inserting plug-and-play options. While often talented and sometimes successful, they usually are backups for reasons.
Add in traditional support players such as Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy and Tyler Boyd stepping into larger roles, players with new teams such as Davante Adams, Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins and every healthy Superstar Tier 1 stud player, and all the choices can be overwhelming. Game-time decisions for key players such as Jayden Daniels, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Zay Flowers, Tee Higgins, Travis Etienne and Tyreek Hill don't make it easier.
Of course, we also have the return of Tua Tagovailoa from a concussion-related stint on the injured list. We all know that Tua makes the Dolphins' offense go, which means that players such as Achane, Hill, Jaylen Waddle and even Raheem Mostert are way undervalued on many DFS platforms. It doesn't necessarily help that the Dolphins have a great matchup against the Cardinals, so EVERYONE is touting Tua's return as a fantasy boon for all of those players.
When EVERYONE says something in fantasy football or sports gambling is when at least some skepticism should surface, and if EVERYONE is right, which of those guys should be play? All of them? Or should we go contrarian and play none of them? Or maybe we should just try one or spread them all out among many lineups? (We like the latter strategy most weeks when it's too hard to decide).
As you can see, options are great, but they don't necessarily make our lives any easier. So with that in mind, here are some things to remember that may help.
Beware the Plug and Play
We've addressed this before here, but because one player goes out and a new, talented players steps in doesn't mean that he will produce like the injured veteran or see the same type of volume. Do your homework. Do they even play the same position? Maybe one receiver will move to the outside or to the slot to make room for the new guy. What type of player his he? Fast? Great hands? Good size? Possession receiver? Scatback? Bruiser? Sometimes injuries force teams to play guys in roles they aren't used to out of necessity, so it's important to understand the full dynamic of the situation. And maybe those moves actually benefit another player who usually plays a lot in more of a supporting role.
The bottom line is that we can't expect Jalen McMillan to step in and be Chris Godwin, but at his low price he still may be worth using in a DFS lineup or two so we. can pay up elsewhere. Maybe a savvy veteran like Tim Patrick moving up in the pecking order for Detroit will benefit him a little more, but he's not a deep-threat burner like suspended Jameson Williams. Does Amon-Ra St. Brown step into that role while Williams assumes ARSB's high-volume slot? Instead of just putting in the new guys, look around and see which other players in the lineup who are more proven might benefit and are a good value.
Stars Will be Stars
We only need to look as far as Thursday night for proof of this. NFL teams rarely let their injured superstar players back into the lineup this early in the season if they aren't able to perform at or near 100 percent. Only desperate teams will do this. Despite all of Sean McVay's smoke and mirrors, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp clearly were ready to be impact players Thursday, and the Rams were a different team with them in the lineup. Nacua was targeted multiple times on the first drive. was thrown contested balls down the field and even carried the ball as a runner. Kupp caught a key touchdown pass among his five receptions.
Tua has been ready for a few weeks, but the Dolphins for many reasons had to be overly cautious in bringing him back. He's a smart guy playing in a system that seems to have been designed perfectly for hjis skillset. He is surrounded by elite talent. Play the Dolphins this week with confidence; the hard part is figuring out how to utilize them all. Those highly skilled athletes didn't forget how to play football in a month.
Daniels also seems to be trending toward playing, which means he will be physically ready to do what he always does. However, keep in mind that he faces a Chicago team that is difficult to pass against and not so challenging to run against. We might see a heavy dose of Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler today, while Daniels is likely to be getting the ball out quickly and maybe not taking on as many designed runs as usual. His numbers may be muted a bit, but competitors compete, and he still should be played in most full-season situations. His situation and the resulting game plan is likely to affect players like Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz more than Daniels, who probably won't put up the 25-30 points we are used to but still should be able to get close to or above 20. One of our most difficult decisions is whether to play Tua or Daniels.
Likewise, we can expect that if Samuel and Kittle are on the field for San Francisco they are ready to contribute at close to full strength. San Francisco's situation may be a little more dire, however, as the Niners need to start stacking some wins and may be a little more apt to bring guys back who may not be as close to 100 percent as other top players returning from injuries. Still, it is well-documented how much better the 49ers offense performs with Samuel in the lineup, and Kittle has been their go-to guy - and the NFL's top tight end - this year. San Francisco also will be without super-sub Jauan Jennings, so that might make a super-cheap Pearsall attractive as a super-value or punt play, but don't expect him to step in and be Brandon Aiyuk.
Narrow the Field
Sometimes for weeks when there are so many options it can make our lives easier if we just completely eliminate some teams from our thought process for DFS and only use their players if absolutely necessary in full-season lineups. This week we would eliminate Carolina, New England, Indianapolis and potentially Tennessee. Jonathan Taylor is intriguing in a tough running matchup against Houston because he is likely to be owned by only a very small percentage of DFS players. He tends to run better with Anthony Richardson at QB, too.
Here is our breakdown of DFS lineup options for Week 8 of the NFL season. Keep in mind that all salaries are based on the FanDuel Sunday Main Slate, which now includes the Sunday night game:
Pay-up Tier 1 Quarterback
Lamar Jackson - $8,800
Joran Love - $8,900
Pay-up Core Dual Threat QB
Jalen Hurts - $8.600
Top Value Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins - $7,100
Joe Burrow - $7,700
Caleb Williams - $7,400
Brock Purdy - $7,700
Super Value Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa - $7,000
Jameis Winston - $6,500
Bo Nix - $6,900
Pay-Up Core Running Backs
Derrick Henry - $9,200
Saquon Barkly - $9,100
Joe Mixon - $9,000
Value Volume Running Backs
JK Dobbins - $7,300
Kareem Hunt - $8,100
Brian Robinson - $7,600
James Conner - $8,300
Breece Hall - $7,900
Kenneth Walker - $7,800
James Cook - $7,700
Value Core Running Back
De'Von Achane - $6,800
Javonte Williams - $6,000
Value RB2/Flex
D'Andre Swift - $6,500
Rachaad White -$6,200
Raheem Mostert - $5,900
Austin Ekeler - $5,900
Tyler Allgeier - $5,700
Pay-Up Tier 1 Wide Receivers
AJ Brown - $9,000
Ja'Marr Chase - $9,200
Amon-Ra St. Brown - $8,900
Core Top Value Wide Receivers
Tyreek Hill - $7,600
Best Value Wide Receivers
DJ Moore - $6,600
Tank Dell - $6,900
Darnell Mooney. - $6,300
Chris Olave - $6,700
Brian Thomas Jr. - $6,600
Value Volume Wide Receivers
Davante Adams - $7,800
Drake London - $7,900
Jayden Reed - $8,100
Garrett Wilson - $7,500
Jaxon Smith-Njigba - $6,400
Keenan Allen - $6,400
Super Value WR/Flex
Jaylen Waddle - $5,900
Romeo Doubs - $6,100
Jerry Jeudy - $6,000
Rashod Bateman - $5,700
Rome Odunze - $5,500
Jakobi Meyers - $5,800
Christian Watson - $5,800
Punt to Pay Up WR
Trey Palmer. -$4,000
Jalen McMillan - $4,900
Tyler Boyd - $4,900
Cedric Tillman - $5,100
Tim Franklin - $5,300
Ricky Pearsall - $5,200
Pay-Up Tight End
Brock Bowers - $7,400
Core Top Value Tight End
Dalton Kincaid - $4,000 (mispriced)
Top Value Core Volume Tight Ends
Cade Otton - $5,200
David Njoku - $5,500
Value Tight Ends
Dalton Schultz - $5,100
Noah Fant - $5,000
Luke Krull - $4,600
Kyle Pitts - $5,700
Tucker Kraft $5,900
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