FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 8 Monday Night (Raiders at Lions)

On Monday night, the Detroit Lions are 7.0-point home favorites over the Las Vegas Raiders, per the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. The game has a decent 45.5 over/under, suggesting we should see a fair bit of scoring.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and numberFire has projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

MVP Candidates

Given the spread, the Lions' top players ought to see the bulk of MVP attention between Amon-Ra St. Brown ($15,500), Jared Goff ($15,000), and Jahmyr Gibbs ($12,000). Goff and Gibbs ought to see especially high MVP roster percentages, which is something to factor in for tournament lineups.

Popularity aside, it's easy to like Gibbs as an elite overall play with David Montgomery sitting out for the second straight week. Despite a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7, the rookie back was leaned on heavily, logging an 85.9% snap rate with 11 carries and 10 targets. It wasn't like those were empty opportunities, either, as Gibbs would go on to rack up 126 scrimmage yards and a touchdown.

The lead back should not only enjoy a positive game script, but the defensive matchup checks out, too. The Raiders rank 31st schedule-adjusted pass defense, per numberFire, and they've coughed up the fifth-most FanDuel points per game to running backs. Gibbs is -155 to score a touchdown on FanDuel Sportsbook.

As a non-rushing QB, I tend to prefer Goff as a flex play, but his best performances seem to always come at home, and both of his three-touchdown games have been at Ford Field this season. The Raiders are just 26th in adjusted pass defense, so they can be beaten through the air, too. Goff leads all players in numberFire's projections.

St. Brown is technically questionable due to an illness, but it would be a bit of a surprise to see him sit out. He's been a target hog all season, coming in with a 32.4% target share, 31.2% air yards share, 38.9% red zone share, and 25.0% end zone share. He has cracked 100 yards and/or scored a touchdown in all six games he's played. His MVP appeal is abundantly clear.

Top Raiders Josh Jacobs ($14,500), Davante Adams ($12,500), and Jimmy Garoppolo ($11,500) should draw less MVP attention compared to the Lions' trio.

As long as this game doesn't get out of hand, Jacobs will see lots of volume, but this is a rough spot against a defense that's allowed the second-fewest FanDuel points per game to running backs. Still, he's averaged 16.9 carries and 5.6 targets per game with a 77.6% snap rate, and while he hasn't been particularly efficient, his 80.3 scrimmage yards per game is respectable for our purposes.

A lot probably has to go Jacobs' way for him to lead in scoring, but he shouldn't be all that popular in the multiplier slot, and he has the second-shortest odds to score behind Gibbs (+110).

This could be a buy-low opportunity for Adams, as he's been held to single-digit FanDuel points over each of the last three games. Despite the lack of exciting recent results, he boasts an elite 30.1% target share, 39.7% air yards share, 39.0% red zone share, and 33.3% end zone share.

Between modest passing volume and far too many interceptions, Garoppolo hasn't exactly lit the fantasy world on fire in his starts, but at least he'll garner a far lower MVP roster percentage, especially compared to Goff. Jimmy G actually ranks eighth in numberFire's Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back, so it hasn't been all bad. A negative game script would drive up his volume as we saw in Week 3 when he logged 44 pass attempts against the Pittsburgh Steelers, helping him to a season-high 20.66 FanDuel points.

Flex Breakdown

Among the other Las Vegas options, Jakobi Meyers ($10,500) is a standout play and can even be considered as a contrarian MVP.

Meyers' usage actually isn't that far behind what see from Davante Adams, as he enters with a 26.3% target share, 36.3% air yards share, 27.5% red zone share, and 41.7% end zone share.

What's even more intriguing is that Meyers gets almost identical volume as Adams when Garoppolo has been under center. In three full games with Jimmy G, Meyers has tallied double-digit targets all three times.

Rookie tight end Michael Mayer ($7,500) has slowly seen his role grow this season, and over his last three games, he's averaged a 73.0% snap rate and 54.0% route rate. While his role isn't quite where we want it to be, he flashed his potential in Week 6 when he caught 5 of 6 targets for 75 yards. A second-round pick, the talent is easy to buy into at this value salary, particularly against a defense that's given up the second-most FanDuel points per game to TEs.

Of the fringe Vegas plays, Hunter Renfrow ($7,000) has seen his snaps dip in recent weeks, and he hasn't scored more than three FanDuel points in any game this season. On the other hand, Tre Tucker ($5,500) played a season-high 48.3% snap rate in Week 7 (Renfrow logged 36.7%), leading to a season-high three targets. He also has four carries this season. It's pure dart-throw territory, but Tucker's salary opens up a lot of possibilities.

On Detroit's side, Sam LaPorta ($10,000) is an easy name to click on. Unlike Mayer, this rookie tight end not only has been a major factor since Week 1, but he's the TE4 in FanDuel points per game. LaPorta has the team's second-best target share (20.0%) and has even seen double-digit targets twice.

Josh Reynolds ($9,000) is the number-two wideout behind St. Brown, but he has a mere 12.5% target share, and much of his production came earlier in the year. The good news is he's seen 75.0% of the end zone targets in his six games with St. Brown, so he can't be written off entirely.

Jameson Williams ($8,000) and Kalif Raymond ($7,500) should be in the mix for targets, particularly with Marvin Jones no longer with the team. Williams saw a season-high six targets last week despite ultimately finishing with zero catches.

Craig Reynolds ($8,500) will be the backup running back, but last week's 9.9% snap rate doesn't inspire confidence. He could get more playing time in a positive game script, though, and numberFire projects him for roughly eight carries and two targets.

Rostering kickers is never super exciting, but Riley Patterson ($8,500) should benefit from both said game script and playing in a dome. The Detroit D/ST ($9,500) has performed well this year, and no one has thrown interceptions at a higher rate than Garoppolo thus far (5.4%).

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

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.