There are a few critical game-time decisions we’ll need to pay close attention to:

*Jayden Daniels: It’ll be a “collaborative" decision” on whether Daniels goes today with his rib injury. If Daniels is active, you play him. It’s as simple as that. If not, I’d look to stream someone like Bo Nix or Jameis Winston. You can check our ranks for other ideas.

*Tee Higgins: Tee popped up on the injury report late this week with a quad injury. Considering he has a history of “decoy” status when playing through injury, I’d prefer to avoid this situation. Andre Iosivas is a sneaky start today.

*Zay Flowers: There’s mixed reporting on this one, but Schefter says he’s expected to play. I’m starting him if he’s active.

Other quick hitters: DK Metcalf and Travis Etienne are unlikely to play and Tyjae Spears has been ruled out. Seattle WR Jake Bobo is another good desperation flier at WR if you need it.

For more NFL news, and Week 8 DFS advice, keep on reading …

What else is in today’s newsletter?

1. James McCool’s Week 8 DFS Advice: His top stack, values, and GPP gem

2. Watercooler: A Running Back to stash before SNF

WEEK 8 NFL DFS

Week 8 NFL DFS Plays

by James McCool

Week 8 has arrived, and as team strengths and weaknesses become clearer, leveraging matchups is critical to crafting effective daily fantasy strategies.

I'm looking at all of them and scouring data to help you make good DFS choices with my Week 8 DraftKings NFL DFS plays, featuring my top stack, value plays, GPP plays, and fades. 

Our NFL DFS Projections and DFS Pick'em Tool are also great resources.

Top Stack — Cincinnati Bengals

Things are well-clustered toward the top this week. We have a nice spread of a couple of high-octane teams and Miami making an appearance among the top teams to stack with Tua Tagovailoa back from injury. With that said, it feels pretty easy to lay your hat on the Bengals this week.

They have a strong implied team total at 25.75 points along with a median expectation of 51.89, and the highest ceiling for any QB+2 at 90.81. Likewise, their top finish rate is the highest on the slate at 11.70%, which is sure to be higher than their combined ownership in GPPs. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins—keen an eye on Inactives to see if Higgins will play through a quadriceps injury— have one of the highest duo-oriented market shares in the league, combining for 53% of the targets and nearly 70% of the air yards.

All of this in a game that should be close and high-scoring against a quality opponent makes the Bengals a strong place to start your builds.

Value Plays

RB: De’Von Achane

There is going to be a lot of speculation with the Dolphins this week as Tua returns from injury. They have looked like an abject disaster without him, and there are a lot of assumptions that they will get right back on track with his return. Achane is at what we should consider the floor of his price range and should have considerable benefit. 

In 2023, Achane averaged 16.6 PPR points per game (12-game sample) and that was on relatively lackluster usage as evidenced by his Utilization Score of 6.3. His utilization has ramped up this year (currently at 7.2) and that was in a bad offense, so we should expect him to improve. Even if he gets back only to that 16 PPR per game average, he is too cheap at $6,200. He will be popular, but he’s a great play.

WR: Cedric Tillman

The projections for Tillman are relatively low, but that doesn’t matter when he is min-priced. His Median/Ceiling combination is 8.79/19.00, which gives him a 4x rate of 17.50% in the Paydirt simulations. In the first game with no Amari Cooper, he ended up with a Utilization Score of 8.2 on the back of 24% of the targets, 34% of the air yards, and 33% of the end-zone targets for the team.

He is also in line to get a boost from a QB change, as Jameis Winston has a considerably higher ceiling in terms of passing upside than Watson did. He’s a cash game staple this week and a great play in GPPs assuming his ownership stays low.

GPP Gem

RB: Kenneth Walker III

There are a lot of reasons to love Walker this week. First off, he has one of the best roles in the league. He holds only 43% of the total rushing attempts, but his 14% target share and 80% of the inside-the-5 rushing attempts trump any drop in his volume there. He is averaging 22.3 PPR points per game, and while that is boosted by touchdown upside, his equity there is very strong.

On top of this awesome role, you get a matchup with the Bills, who are giving up the second-most fantasy points to RBs and the fourth-most PPR points above average. It’s a smash spot if you have the money to afford Walker this week.

🧢 New Era's Crucial Catch Collection 

The Official Cap of the NFL! 

This fantasy football season, let’s make a game-changing play in the fight against cancer with the Crucial Catch Collection from New Era Cap. Each hat you wear isn’t just a colorful statement of team pride, it’s a pledge of support toward the prevention and early detection of cancer.

Support the fight against cancer with New Era Cap, the Official Cap of the NFL. Charitable contributions are awarded by the NFL Foundation to the American Cancer Society. 

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds:

📊 Projections for every player on the Sunday slate … great tool to help with lineup decisions.

✍️ Injuries have made Week 8 a bit trickier. Your start-sit recommendations.

👀 The Sunday Morning Q&A is a must-see starting at 9 a.m. ET.

📓 Behind the Panthers QB switch. Rooting for him.

👀 A RB worth stashing if you are desperate. He could do a Kareem Hunt impression.

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