Daily Fantasy Football Picks and Helper: Week 8

The Week 8 main slate is a full one because no teams are on bye. That leaves a few extra teams to dig into -- and leads to some added value, as a result.

Let's take a look at some of the best daily fantasy football plays at each position -- accounting for salary -- on the Week 8 FanDuel main slate.

Slate Overview

Here is a snapshot of each team's outlook, including opponent, implied team total, over/under, and spread based on FanDuel Sportsbook odds, and opponent defensive ranks for overall defense, pass defense, and rush defense, based on numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP) model.

Quarterbacks

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $8,800
Matchup: at Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are one of the best possible matchups for any opposing quarterback in football. They rank 31st in adjusted pass defense, via numberFire's metrics. They're also 32nd in pressure rate and yards per target allowed on passes traveling at least 10 yards downfield.

Basically, everything sets up for Lamar Jackson to post another big game this week.

He's in a controlled environment, so he'll avoid wind concerns. Additionally, the has two natural stacking candidates in Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews.

Jackson has the best floor/ceiling projection in my model this week among quarterbacks.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

FanDuel Salary: $7,300
Matchup: vs. Los Angeles Rams

We haven't seen Dak Prescott on the main slate on FanDuel since Week 4, so he's definitely a bit of an afterthought for those who focus primarily on main slate DFS week after week.

Prescott has just average opponent-adjusted EPA per drop back numbers, but he hasn't really had a lot of drop backs in competitive game environments. He has 57 pass attempts and 65 total drop backs in games with Brandin Cooks active and when the game was within 7 points.

His efficiency in those situations have been pretty great. The low salary makes him appealing for the lineups where we move away from the studs: Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts.

Others to Consider

Jalen Hurts ($9,200 at Washington Commanders) - Second-time-around matchup but 20-plus FDP in five straight.

Tua Tagovailoa ($8,200 vs. New England Patriots) - Under 15 FDP versus NE earlier this year in rush-heavy game so easy to overlook this week.

Joe Burrow ($7,100 at San Francisco 49ers) - Missing at QB could be hard to overcome with the studs on the board; Burrow's matchup keeps the salary low, but his ceiling is tangible.

Running Backs

Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys

FanDuel Salary: $7,600
Matchup: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Tony Pollard's salary is really appealing in this matchup against the Rams.

Pollard has averaged 91.0 scrimmage yards per game and a 69.6% snap rate. He also has a 15.3% target share (4.8 targets per game), thus making him game-script proof.

Additionally, Pollard has a 58.0% red zone rushing share and has accounted for 39.8% of the team's red zone carries and targets. He's my favorite RB of the week.

Breece Hall, New York Jets

FanDuel Salary: $7,200
Matchup: at New York Giants

Breece Hall should be as freed up as ever this week to rack up production.

His snap count was limited early in the season, and only in his past two games did he clear a 50% snap rate (51.6% and 67.8% in Weeks 5 and 6, respectively).

In those two games, he has averaged 143.5 yards from scrimmage and has maintained an 84.6% red zone rushing share.

He also has a 45.6% route rate in that split.

The Giants are bottom five in rushing yards over expectation per carry allowed to RBs, so the wheels are up on the Jets' top back.

Darrell Henderson, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Salary: $5,900
Matchup: at Dallas Cowboys

Darrell Henderson had a 58.1% snap rate in Week 7 while the Rams worked to find a running back solution with Kyren Williams injured.

Henderson saw both red zone carries and ultimately ended with 18 carries and 2 targets in that matchup.

Notably, he ran twice as many routes (12) as Royce Freeman (6). The salary accounts for the potential for him to carry on in a timeshare as the 1A back.

Others to Consider

Christian McCaffrey ($10,200 vs. Cincinnati Bengals) - High salary but 50% of SF's red zone plays go to him; played every snap in Week 7.

Alvin Kamara ($8,300 at Indianapolis Colts) - Great workload and indoor game environment.

Joe Mixon ($6,500 at San Francisco 49ers) - Mixon's sitting at around a 70% snap share with an elite red zone role; yardage is low and matchup is bad, though.

Emari Demercado ($5,600 vs. Baltimore Ravens) - 79.0% snap rate last week and a bring-back candidate in Ravens stacks.

Wide Receivers

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

Hill FanDuel Salary: $9,500
Waddle FanDuel Salary: $7,100
Matchup: vs. New England Patriots

This is a second matchup against the Patriots for the Dolphins, and the first time around didn't lead to a surplus of production for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Hill had 5 catches on 9 targets for 40 yards and a score despite 119 air yards and 4 targets that were 10-plus yards downfield. It easily could've been a much bigger game.

As for Waddle, he had 6 targets (3 downfield) for 86 yards and no touchdowns.

The Patriots are letting up a top-10 CROE to opposing receivers, so this could be a spot where the Dolphins' pass-catchers build on their opening game.

Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings

FanDuel Salary: $7,300
Matchup: at Green Bay Packers

Because Jordan Addison played on Monday Night Football in Week 7, his salary was locked in by the time he put on a show.

Addison drew 10 targets against the 49ers and caught 7 of them for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Of his 10 targets, 6 were downfield, and 3 were in the red zone. Giving all the targets proper weight, he had roughly 16.0 targets' worth of volume.

The matchup is middling, so Addison is a great play at this salary.

Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $6,500
Matchup: at Arizona Cardinals

Zay Flowers has a 23.4% target share (7.5 targets per game) in four contests with both Odell Beckham and Mark Andrews. He's getting good leverage, too: 3.5 downfield targets and 1.3 red zone targets.

His catch rate over expectation in those games is -9.6%, though, so better days are ahead.

The Cardinals are letting up a league-high catch rate over expectation (+10.3%) to receivers.

Others to Consider

Cooper Kupp ($9,100) and Puka Nacua ($8,000 at Dallas Cowboys) - 34.1% and 36.6% target shares, respectively, in three games together.

Josh Downs ($6,100 vs. New Orleans Saints) - 22.2% target share from Gardner Minshew with great efficiency.

Tank Dell ($6,000 at Carolina Panthers) - 27.1% air yards share in three games after breakout and before injury.

Tight Ends

T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

FanDuel Salary: $6,500
Matchup: at Green Bay Packers

T.J. Hockenson has averaged 10.0 targets and 68.0 yards per game without Justin Jefferson over the past two weeks.

He hasn't scored yet but holds a 27.4% target share in that span.

There are a lot of upside tight ends on the slate (relatively speaking), so we likely want to avoid punting the position in too many lineups.

For Hockenson, he trails only Travis Kelce in my weekly floor/ceiling simulations and faces the 23rd-ranked adjusted pass defense in football.

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

FanDuel Salary: $4,700
Matchup: vs. Baltimore Ravens

With Zach Ertz on injured reserve, opportunity awaits Trey McBride.

McBride's route rates have jumped up to 46.5% and 48.6% the past two games even with Ertz, so this is less of an assumption he'll play more and more of an extension for him to do so.

McBride has already managed an okay 9.5% target share while barely playing, and Ertz vacates a 19.5% target share of his own.

Others to Consider

Dallas Goedert ($6,200 at Washington Commanders) - Washington is a top-four matchup by CROE allowed to TEs; averaging 6.7 targets since Week 2.

George Kittle ($6,100 vs. Cincinnati Bengals) - Will see passes from Sam Darnold but a great workload without Deebo Samuel.

Defenses

Atlanta Falcons

FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Matchup: at Tennessee Titans

The Falcons are facing some combination of Will Levis and Malik Willis under center on Sunday, and though they're on the road, that's a hard spot to ignore.

Atlanta is the second-ranked adjusted rush defense in football, and that could help put pressure on the Titans' passing game.

Others to Consider

Seattle Seahawks ($4,300 vs. Cleveland Browns)

New York Giants ($3,900 vs. New York Jets)

Minnesota Vikings ($3,700 at Green Bay Packers)

Be sure to check out all of the Week 8 daily fantasy football contests on FanDuel.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.