This article is part of our DraftKings NFL series.
These are my favorite DraftKings plays for the primary Week 8 slate, picking from the 10 Sunday games that kick-off at 1:00 p.m. ET or later. At the end of the page, I'll briefly touch on the Sunday morning (Redskins-Bengals) and Monday night (Vikings-Bears) matchups, which aren't included on the primary slate. I previously posted a blog discussing the Thursday night game (Jags-Titans), as I wasn't able to finish this article prior to its commencement. With six teams on bye, this could be a bit of a thin week, and yet value still shouldn't be too hard to identify -- especially if we know which injury situations are worth watching
With that in mind, there are still some crucial players whose availability may not be known until Sunday. Remember that this isn't a comprehensive list of fantasy-relevant injuries, but rather the key ones I'm watching as pertains to DraftKings in Week 8.…
LeSean McCoy (hamstring) looks highly questionable for a second straight week after aggravating his injury in last week's disastrous showing against Miami. If the Bills wisely elect to sit McCoy in a game they probably won't win anyway, Mike Gillislee ($3,800) could take on a three-down role. The Bills will likely be trailing and forced to throw, but Gillislee would still make for a strong option due to his combination of price and pass-catching potential.
The Bills may also be missing WRs Marquise Goodwin (concussion) and Robert Woods (foot), which would leave dirt-cheap Justin Hunter ($3,100) as the unquestioned No. 1 receiver. Even if Woods or Goodwin is able to play, Hunter figures to occupy the other starting spot in a matchup that should force the team to throw much more often than usual.
Jets RB Bilal Powell (toe) is trending in the right direction after Thursday's partial practice, but if he ends up limited or absent, Matt Forte ($6,400) would be primed for a three-down role akin to the one he held for many years in Chicago. Forte gets to face the hapless Browns, following last week's 34-touch, 33.4 DK point performance against the Ravens. The massive workload was largely a result of Powell's limitation (nine snaps).
Bucs RB Doug Martin (ankle) is seemingly headed for yet another absence, leaving Jacquizz Rodgers ($5,800) with a legitimate shot to get 25-plus carries for a third straight game. Rodgers gets a favorable home matchup against Oakland, after topping 20 DK points in back-to-back games despite failing to reach the end zone.
Cardinals WRs Michael Floyd (hamstring) is looking shaky for Sunday in Carolina, whereas WR John Brown (hamstring, $4,700) seems to be on track for a return. Should Floyd end up sitting, both Brown and Larry Fitzgerald ($7,500) would be in line for serious volume against the Panthers' leaky pass defense. Deep threat J.J. Nelson ($3,000) would also warrant consideration, though Brown and Fitzgerald are solid options even if Floyd is able to play.
Anyway, here are my favorite non-injury-dependent options for Week 8 on DraftKings:
Quarterback
Drew Brees, NO (vs. SEA), $6,900 – Though a matchup with Seattle is always somewhat worrisome, the combination of price and homefield advantage should outweigh that concern. Everyone knows Brees is nearly unstoppable at the Superdome, where he's put up 35.4, 29.9 and 36.6 DK points in three appearances this season. The matchup does make it a bit tough to identify a stacking partner, but each of Brandin Cooks ($7,300), Willie Snead ($5,800) and Michael Thomas ($5,000) makes for a perfectly reasonable choice. I'd also recommend throwing Seattle's Doug Baldwin ($6,900) or Jimmy Graham ($6,100) into such a stack, as the Saints reliably yield points as easily as they score them.
Andrew Luck, IND (vs. KC), $6,800 – Luck enjoyed one of the season's more impressive performances last week, leading a short-handed Indy offense to a road shredding of the underrated Tennessee defense. He finished the day with 353 passing yards and a trio of touchdowns despite playing without WRs Donte Moncrief (shoulder) and Phillip Dorsett (hamstring), in addition to TE Dwayne Allen (ankle). Moncrief and Dorsett appear poised to return, giving Luck his best supporting cast since the first couple weeks of the season. The Chiefs do have a solid defense, but they've struggled against top quarterbacks, surrendering huge games to Brees and Ben Roethlisberger, along with an efficient Week 1 performance by Philip Rivers. The KC defense padded its stats via dominant showings against Ryan Fitzpatrick and Derek Carr -- with both of those games occurring at home.
Other options:Tom Brady, NE (at BUF), $7,600; Cam Newton, CAR (vs. ARI), $7,400; Matt Ryan, ATL (vs. GB), $7,000; Derek Carr, OAK (at TB), $5,900; Jameis Winston, TB (vs. OAK), $5,700; Josh McCown, CLE (vs. NYJ), $5,200; Tyrod Taylor, BUF (vs. NE), $5,200
Running Back
Devonta Freeman, ATL (vs. GB), $6,500 – With Tevin Coleman (hamstring) expected to miss at least one game, Freeman is likely headed for the type of massive workload that became his norm for much of last season. Even in a sub-par matchup which favors the Atlanta passing game, Freeman should manage 15-plus carries and a handful of catches, with a much better than 50-50 shot to reach the end zone at least once. It's worth noting that the much-hyped Green Bay run defense softened the past two weeks -- first getting gouged by Ezekiel Elliott for 157 yards, and then allowing 70 yards on only 17 carries (4.1 YPC) to the unimpressive Chicago running backs. While it's probably still fair to view the Packers as a bottom-half matchup for RBs, we can safely do away with the notion that they're in elite Minnesota-Seattle-Arizona territory. Freeman won't fly under the radar, but his ownership should partially be kept in check by the popularity of uber-expensive teammate Julio Jones ($9,600). Freeman also carries more favorable price tags on other DFS sites, which means a lot of multi-site players will limit their exposure on DraftKings.
Devontae Booker, DEN (vs. SD), $3,700 – Here's your Week 8 freebie -- worthy of a spot in all tournament and cash-game lineups. Booker has already been splitting carries with C.J. Anderson, who's now set to miss at least one game (and likely more) while recovering from a torn meniscus. This is the same Booker who inspired the Broncos to release Ronnie Hillman a few months after signing the veteran to a one-year, $2 million contract including a reported $600,000 in guarantees. The team was thrilled to pick up Booker in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, with GM John Elway later suggesting he was the No. 2 running back on Denver's board, carrying a second-round grade. Booker is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and boasts solid passing-game skills, with his Week 8 appeal further bolstered by a matchup against a Chargers team that allows the third most DK points per game to RBs. The rookie will be in all of my lineups.
Other options:David Johnson, ARI (at CAR), $7,700; Ezekiel Elliott, DAL (vs. PHI), $7,200; LeGarrette Blount, NE (at BUF), $5,300; Frank Gore, IND (vs. KC), $4,700; Latavius Murray, OAK (at TB), $4,500
Wide Receiver
Mike Evans, TB (vs. PIT), $8,100 – Evans has been the most consistent of the elite wide receivers this season, recording at least 19 DraftKings points in each of the six games he's played that wasn't against the dominant Broncos defense. He leads the NFL with a whopping average of 12.5 targets, which has resulted in 6.7 catches for 90.8 yards and a touchdown per game. And most of that production came with Vincent Jackson (knee) in the lineup, providing at least a shred of competition for Jameis Winston's attention. Don't be surprised if Evans reaches 15 targets in a possible shootout against the Raiders and their leaky defense. He accounted for 13 of Tampa's 29 targets last week in San Francisco, catching eight passes for 96 yards and a pair of scores. Evans is now an every-week top five WR.
Ty Montgomery, GB (at ATL), $5,300 – The Packers have talked about increasing the involvement of their nominal running backs -- Don Jackson and Knile Davis -- but I won't believe it until I actually see it. There's really not much incentive to move away from Montgomery, who has been fantastic as a pass-catcher and solid as a runner. Unless the team is nursing a lead and wants to pound the rock -- which seems rather unlikely in this matchup -- it's fair to expect another heavy dose of Montgomery from the backfield. He had 12 and 13 targets the past two weeks, also taking 12 combined carries for 66 yards. It's fair to expect a third straight performance in the range of 20 DK points, especially when considering he reached or approached that mark the past two weeks without the benefit of a touchdown.
Other options:Julio Jones, ATL (vs. GB), $9,600; T.Y. Hilton, IND (vs. KC), $7,800; Brandon Marshall, NYJ (at CLE),$7,800; Amari Cooper, OAK (at TB), $7,600; Larry Fitzgerald, ARI (at CAR), $7,500; Doug Baldwin, SEA (at NO), $6,900; Emmanuel Sanders, DEN (vs. SD), $6,500; Randall Cobb, GB (at ATL), $6,400; Willie Snead, NO (vs. SEA), $5,800; Michael Thomas, NO (vs. SEA), $5,000; John Brown, ARI (at CAR), $4,700; Robby Anderson, NYJ (vs. CLE), $3,000
Tight End
Gary Barnidge, CLE (vs. NYJ), $3,300 – I won't try to dissuade you from selecting one of the "big three" tight ends, as I think each of the bunch is a strong option for either a stand-alone play or a game stack. However, there are also some appealing top-dollar options at wide receiver, with not much available on the low end for a slate with only 10 games. Barnidge presents an appealing way to save budget, as he's finally set to reunite with Josh McCown (collarbone), barring unexpected late progress by Cody Kessler (concussion). Even if it's only for one week, I expect the McCown-Barnidge combination will again be prolific.
Other options:Rob Gronkowski, NE (at BUF), $7,000; Greg Olsen, CAR (vs. ARI), $6,500; Jimmy Graham, NO (at SEA), $6,100; Jack Doyle, IND (vs. KC), $3,500; Eric Ebron, DET (at HOU), $3,000
Team D/ST
Indianapolis Colts (vs. KC), $2,300 – As I complained about in my article on streaming, the combination of bye weeks and matchups leaves us with pretty garbage options in the Team D/ST realm for Week 8. I do think a stack of LeGarrette Blount ($5,300) and the Patriots defense ($3,300) is one solid option, but I'm not huge on the Pats as a stand-alone play at that price. While I'm not in any way sold on the Indianapolis defense, there's something to be said for a usable option at a dirt-cheap price. This is a week in which it makes sense to spend up at other spots, though you could also make an argument for Denver or New England. Just keep in mind that the Booker-Broncos stack will be awfully popular -- you aren't alone with that idea by any means.
Other options: Denver Broncos (vs. SD), $3,700; New England Patriots (at BUF), $3,300; Oakland Raiders (at TB), $2,600
Extended Slate
Jaguars at Titans – Here's a link to the blog I posted earlier: http://www.rotowire.com/blog/draftkings-advice-thursday-night-football-jags-titans/
Redskins at Bengals – While highly intriguing from a non-fantasy perspective, this week's London game doesn't do much for me on DraftKings. The only Cincy player I'd consider is TE Tyler Eifert ($4,100), but frankly, I think he may be a week or two away from a full workload -- and there are other strong options at his position. I'm also not fond of the pricing on any of Washington's pass-catchers, though RB Chris Thompson ($3,700) does hold some appeal after severely outplaying, out-touching and out-snapping Matt Jones (knee) last week in Detroit. Depending on reports out of Washington in the coming days, Thompson could either be an elite option or a middling one. Jones appears questionable with a knee injury, but that isn't necessarily a good thing for Thompson, who may now have to compete with early-down replacement Robert Kelley instead of the struggling and fumble-prone Jones. Follow me on Twitter (@RotowireNFL_JD) to stay tuned, though I can't promise there will be any clear answers before Sunday morning.
Vikings at Bears – I'm done with Jordan Howard ($4,400) despite the sinking price, as Ka'Deem Carey has been cutting into the rookie's workload and may now be joined by Jeremy Langford (ankle). Given the nightmare matchup, Alshon Jeffery ($5,900) is the only Bears player worthy of consideration, as he may benefit from the return of Jay Cutler while also carrying his lowest price in recent memory. It still feels like a bit of a stretch, as the Minnesota defense is a flat-out behemoth. On the other side, it's tough to get behind slumping WR Stefon Diggs ($5,600) or similarly ice-cold TE Kyle Rudolph ($3,500) -- and the Minnesota defense ($4,100) is prohibitively expensive. The one player of intrigue is RB Matt Asiata ($3,500), who could be headed for a 20-touch workload at a dirt-cheap price….if Jerick McKinnon (foot) is unable to play. Should McKinnon sit out, Asiata would become an elite play for extended-slate contests. But if McKinnon ends up playing, I'd rather just avoid this game altogether.
