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FanDuel: $2,000,000 Week 8 Fantasy Football League
Many of you play in season-long fantasy football leagues, while more and more of you are playing one day fantasy leagues. If you like the action of the one day leagues, make sure you join the FanDuel/SB Nation one day fantasy football leagues. All you need to do is click on the link below and join a league.
Enter the $2,000,000 Week 8 Fantasy Football League
- Starts Sunday 1pm ET, ends Monday
- $2,000,000 cash prize pool
- First place wins $150,000
- Top 90,800 teams paid, only $5 entry
- Pick anyone you want - stay under the salary cap
FanDuel/SB Nation $2,000,000 Fantasy Football League: Week 8
We are starting to hit a groove here with the picks, as after another week, we saw the players listed perform real well. Again look for the matchups, and find guys who are the most consistent out of those guys. Another big factor is volume. You want to start the guys you know will have plenty of targets, pass attempts, or rush attempts and targets. When you keep on cutting your list down after all of this, I have come up with the guys listed below who you can fit into all of your cash game lineups.
I will give you a few options at positions, and then at the end say who I am going with for my main cash game lineup. Now let us jump into the picks. Players are listed by position, and then ordered by the ones I like most.
Quarterbacks:
Philip Rivers ($8,500) - What happens when you take the QB leading the league in passing yards, and the defense worst at defending the pass? That is the situation we are looking at here, and seems almost too good to pass up for cash games. I seriously considered only recommending Rivers here, as I don't think I will have a cash game lineup where he isn't my QB. The Chargers have given up on trying to run the ball with Melvin Gordon, making Rivers the ideal target here.
Andy Dalton ($8,100) - Since I felt I needed to recommend a second guy, Dalton seems like an ideal guy. While the Steelers are middle of the road at defending the pass, I am saying roster Dalton for a couple reasons. First is that the Steelers are not as good at defending the pass as the stats say. The Rams are bringing that average down, as well as the Ravens who played the Steelers on a Thursday night game, and unless you are Tom Brady, you are usually worse on Thursday night games. When looking at Dalton's stats, he really hasn't had a week where he was a bad play. He always goes out an doubles his salary in points, making him a safe play every week. If for some reason you don't trust Rivers, Dalton should be your guy.
Running Backs:
Todd Gurley ($8,100) - Gurley has been a monster so far this season. If he had played at the start of the season, his salary would be that of Devonta Freeman's. The difference between Gurley and Freeman is that Gurley is $1,000 less, but overs the same upside and floor. The 49ers have been a mess all year long. Last week Gurley had a great matchup and we saw what he did. Expect something similar this week. He could feasibly end the year as the top back at this point.
Chris Johnson ($7,300) - So Chris Johnson has had quite the comeback this year. It took me awhile to believe in what Johnson is doing, but count me in. Not only do I think he has found the fountain of youth, but his salary acts as if this is the same Chris Johnson we saw in New York. Even looking past what he has done this year, anybody can run on the Cleveland Browns. Johnson will join the long list of backs who have put up great weeks against the Browns.
Justin Forsett ($6,900) - I know he hasn't been all that good the last two weeks, but this price is far too low for the matchup he has. The Ravens face a Chargers defense that has been getting gashed by RB's. The Chargers have allowed over 100 rushing yards to every opponent save for week 1 where they allowed 70, but also got torched by the Lions backs catching the ball. Forsett can do it all, and has to for this Ravens offense. Forsett has scored two TD's in the last three weeks and should find himself in the endzone at least once on Sunday. 100+ total yards and a TD should be a given for him this week.
Danny Woodhead ($6,100) - Want to know who is benefiting from the Chargers air it out offense? That is right Danny Woodhead has been getting his targets whether it is him out of the backfield or split wide. Woodhead is the perfect cash game option if you need to cut some costs. You can always count on him getting his targets and yards, the question just becomes will he score. I think the yardage and receptions should carry enough value for him, and a TD would just be bonus.
Wide Receivers:
Antonio Brown ($8,400) - This pick is predicated on the fact Roethlisberger gives it a go this week. If he doesn't, safely ignore this advice. Brown was the top receiver last year, and was this year before Roethlisberger got hurt. His salary doesn't reflect his however do to the time Vick and Jones played QB for the Steelers. This salary is low enough to feel good about starting him in Big Ben's first game back. Brown last week had over 100 yards with Jones, and should be able to put up a vintage Brown 100+ yards and a TD with Ben at QB.
Keenan Allen ($8,000) - With Rivers constantly throwing the ball, Allen has been swimming in all of the targets he is getting. Three different weeks this year Allen has had over 12 receptions, and had 9 last week. While Allen hasn't scored since week 4, going up against the Ravens defense will fix that for him. A line of 125 yards on 9 receptions and a TD is what I think he ends with, and that still leaves room for upside. The floor is around 7 receptions for 90 yards and a good chance at a TD against the Ravens.
Alshon Jeffery ($7,700) - It is about time Alshon Jeffery is healthy. I thought the Bears might give him week 6 off with the bye week in week 7, but I am glad they didn't do that. Because he played in week 6, I am confident in playing him in cash games this Sunday. The Vikings have done a decent job so far this year locking down on receivers, but for a team with only one receiver Jay Cutler trusts, he is going to see a lot of targets. The Vikings have allowed enough to opposing teams number one receivers that Jeffery could easily see 100 yards and a TD here.
Stefon Diggs ($6,700) - On the flip side of that game, Stefon Diggs comes in at a bargain yet again here. If you have watched any of Diggs play you would be in love with his game. This salary doesn't come close to reflecting how good he is. Bridgewater is locked in on trying to get him the ball. The Bears are one of the worst teams at stopping opposing WR's, and we will see them continue to struggle here. In every game that Diggs has played in this year, he has had at least 6 receptions and at least 87 yards. He scored his first TD last week, and looks like he may become a deep threat for the Vikings as well, proving more upside for this pick.
Tight Ends:
Jason Witten ($5,500) - Pretty much the only TE I am considering for cash games this week. For some reason the Seahawks have been awful at defending the TE, almost as bad as the Raiders. While I would have loved to recommend a TE against the Raiders again this week, the Jets don't use one so that was out of the question. This is why Witten is here. For the first half of last weeks game, Witten was about the only guy the Cowboys trusted when passing the ball. This will be the case again here, as he will never have to go up against Richard Sherman.
Tyler Eifert ($6,000) - I had a hard time thinking of a second TE to recommend here, so Eifert is my pick. I am not at all confident in this one, and strongly recommend you go with Witten instead. With that being said, the Bengals have a great matchup against the Steelers. I mentioned with Dalton how they have been weaker then the stats say at defending the pass, and Eifert can surely capitalize on that. He needs to score a TD to provide value for you in cash games, but I think there is about a 75% chance he does just that.
Kicker:
Josh Lambo ($4,500) - Not much to say here. I have recommended him more than any other kicker this year. I really don't know why his salary is at the minimum, as you can trust him to give you around 10 points each week.
Defense:
Minnesota Vikings ($4,700) - When in doubt, go with the team playing against Jay Cutler. You know Cutler will get sacked a few times, and a good chance he will also throw two picks as well. While the Vikings aren't a high scoring defense, the Bears provide the right opportunity for them to get a high score here. I think a score near 10 points is reasonable, and if they can return an interception for a TD, there score can go up quickly.
My Cash Lineup:
QB: Philip Rivers ($8,500)
RB: Chris Johnson ($7,300)
RB: Justin Forsett ($6,900)
WR: Keenan Allen ($8,000)
WR: Alshon Jeffery ($7,700)
WR: Stefon Diggs ($6,700)
TE: Jason Witten ($5,500)
Kicker: Josh Lambo ($4,500)
Defense: Minnesota Vikings ($4,700)