Daily fantasy (DFS) brings a breath of fresh air to the industry, with an emphasis on the excitement of drafting a new team every week. We all know that the late summer drafts and the thrill of analyzing the weekly matchups are the best part of playing fantasy football. The daily game merges those two together to form the newest wave rocking the fantasy world.
Here in the weekly daily fantasy roundup column, we'll break down everything you need to know to pick the best plays on the Week 8 slate. If any of the terminology goes over your head. Please refer to the "what you need to know" preview of the roundup.
Top quarterback plays
Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints- Despite their matchup with the incoming Seattle Seahawks, it feels impossible to fade Drew Brees when he's playing in the Superdome. Picking between Breeas' weapons is going to be the tricky task, as they all move around a decent amount. Willie Snead should run most of his routes in the slot, but the Seahawks have limited both slot and tight end production, allowing league-low yardage to tight ends lined up in the traditional spot and in the slot. The easiest answer here is just to play Brees without a partner from his team and try to hoard the scoring chances.
Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders - The young quarterback has not eclipsed 230 yards in either of his last two games and has combined for just two scores. Week 8 holds a great opportunity for him to get back on track, however. On paper the Bucs pass defense looks like a league average unit, but forget not that they've played Case Keenum, Paxton Lynch, Derek Anderson and Colin Kaepernick over the last month. Even still, Tampa Bay remains tied with the Panthers for the highest yards per completion allowed. They can be beat on the outside, and Oakland certainly has the wideouts in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree to exploit that weakness.
Top running back plays
Spencer Ware, RB, Kansas City Chiefs - The Colts give up 109 yards per game to running backs on the ground and ranked dead last in Football Outsiders' run defense DVOA. Jamaal Charles handled just one carry last week and will miss Week 8. Spencer Ware is the feature back of the Kansas City Chiefs until we see otherwise. Look for him to barrel through this cupcake defense.
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Buccaneers new starter handled 62 touches over his last two games. That's far and away the most the 5-foot-7, 190-pound back has ever handled in that sort of stretch, so let's not rule out that we start to see Peyton Barber get some burn sooner than later. However, don't get off the gravy train just yet. The Bucs should engage in a competitive back and forth with the Raiders, who allow over five yards per carry to opposing running backs.
Mike Gillislee, RB, Buffalo Bills - LeSean McCoy is currently labeled as doubtful, and it would be the correct decision to sit him based off last week's debacle. While nothing about the matchup with New England is particularly enticing, it's impossible to say no to a running back at this diminished value who likely walks into a 17-plus touch workload.
Top wide receiver plays
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts - Hilton averages 110.7 yards per game in his home games played with Andrew Luck since the start of 2015. The Colts play the Chiefs in Indianapolis this week. Hilton has played 48 percent of his snaps in the slot this season, the 15th highest rate of any receiver. That should put him in a position to avoid Marcus Peters for much of the day, as he primarily sticks at left corner and rarely travels into the slot. The Chiefs slot corner Stephen Nelson got worked over by Drew Brees and the Saints in Week 7, with their top three receivers racking up 103 yards when aligned in the slot. Hilton could toast him in this spot.
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints - The rookie wideout leads the team with a 21 percent share of the team targets since Week 3. He also leads the team in red-zone targets and has three red-zone scores to his name. Thomas lines up on the left side on 55 percent of his snaps, so that should take him away from running routes at Richard Sherman. Both of these offenses are primed to engage in a shootout in the Superdome.
Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers - It feels weird, but Adams is without a doubt in consideration this week after his 13-catch eruption last Thursday. Adams was quietly putting some solid play on the field even before that, and looks like more of a focal point outside the numbers than Jordy Nelson right now. Additionally, Adams takes 54 percent of his snaps at left wide receiver, which should help him avoid Desmond Trufant who primarily sticks at left corner.
Top tight end plays
Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks - Not only do we have a revenge game on the docket here, but Graham is set to take on a generous defense in his former team. Graham has eight to 10 targets in each of his last four games. He's taken over as the top receiver on this offense, and they are moving him around the formation to take advantage of matchups.
Gary Barnidge, TE, Cleveland Browns - We know that Barnidge has been far more productive with Josh McCown in the lineup in his time in Cleveland. He averages 75.3 yards and 0.67 touchdowns per game with McCown and 51.9 and 0.2 without. The veteran quarterback is set to retake the reigns in Cleveland this week. The Jets give up the 10th-most yards per game to the tight end positon through seven weeks.
Cameron Brate, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Brate is second on the team in red-zone targets with six, which only trails Mike Evans' nine. Brate has just two touchdowns on those targets, both of which came in one game. So we can expect his conversion rate to start to even out soon enough. Week 8 presents another prime opportunity for Brate to get into the end zone and potentially rack up some yardage. The Raiders give up the fifth-most yards to the tight end position at a 13.4 per reception average.
C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Houston Texans - The Lions rank 27th in Football Outsiders' DVOA at defending the tight end position and their 12.8 touchdown rate allowed is the second-highest in the NFL. Fiedorowicz played 70 percent of the team snaps over the last three weeks and has seven or eight targets in each.
Stack(s) of the week
Russell Wilson/Christine Michael, Seattle Seahawks - Wilson has not performed well as an improvisational player this season. His numbers outside of the pocket and with more time to throw are down across the board this season compared to last. However, he did play good football against the Falcons and Jets, even if only one of them made much of a dent for fantasy. A matchup with the Saints, who allow 297 passing yards per game, in the Superdome is just what the doctor ordered. The Seahawks offense has good personnel and should get over on this inferior New Orleans secondary. They also allow a league-high 10 rushing touchdowns so Christine Michael is also in a prime spot to get back on track after facing two top-five run defenses in DVOA in the last three weeks.
Jameis Winston/Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders - The Raiders' cross-country trip to take on the Buccaneers in Tampa should feature a ton of points. Both offenses are filled with young talent and neither defense can hold up their end of the bargain. Mike Evans is the best offensive player in this game, and leads the NFL in targets per game with 12. He makes the best pair with Jameis Winston and should be able to take advantage of the outside Oakland corners. If push comes to shove, I'd recommend Michael Crabtree for the game stack here. His red-zone usage and the likelihood the talented route-runner squares off with Brent Grimes on the majority of passing plays helps break the tie between him and Cooper.
Best contrarian play
Brock Osweiler/DeAndre Hopkins stack, Houston Texans - This duo certainly is far from our good graces, but there's certainly a strong chance it pays off in Week 8 when Detroit travels to Houston. The Lions pass defense ranks 31st in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. Their 18 pass touchdowns allowed are tied with Cleveland for the most in the NFL. Quarterbacks complete an eye-popping 74.2 percent of the passes they attempt against Detroit. No other NFL team has allowed a completion rate over 68.7 percent. DeAndre Hopkins has just 167 yards and a single touchdown in his last four games. This is a perfect get-right spot for Hopkins, with the Lions top corner Darius Slay in danger of missing this matchup after pulling up with a hamstring injury in Week 7.
Best obvious play
Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons - The Packers are the only team in the NFL to allow over 100 yards per game on average to opposing No. 1 receivers. Much of that is due to both of their starting quarterbacks being on IR now. Jones leads the NFL in receiving yards and should rip through this secondary. If you're shooting for high-value receivers, Jones is the play. Luckily, there is enough value elsewhere on the slate at running back you can make it work.
The near 100 percent exposure player
Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons - Last year, Freeman already averaged over 20 touches per games. In the four games Tevin Coleman missed, however, Freeman averaged 26.3 touches per game, 132 total yards and two total touchdowns. The Packers aren't a plus matchup on paper, but the last time they played a true rushing team with a strong starting back, Ezekiel Elliott stung them for 157 rushing yards at a 5.6 per carry average. Freeman is impossible to ignore playing at home in a high-scoring game where Tevin Coleman won't play, and carrying 25-touch upside.
Cheat code of the week
Devontae Booker, RB, Denver Broncos - With C.J. Anderson on IR now, the ultra-value of Booker makes him a must-play and essentially a DFS free space. San Diego's defense looks like it is starting to get better, especially when it comes to rushing the passer with the full integration of top draft pick Joey Bosa. However, they still have some question marks when it comes to slowing down running backs. The Chargers rank 21st in Football Outsiders' run defense DVOA and have allowed 563 yards on the ground at a 4.08 per carry average. They also lead the NFL with 61 receptions allowed to running backs, which could bring Booker into play. Booker was already starting to knife away passing down work weeks ago. He should push 20 touches in this spot with ease.
Matt Harmon is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter _@MattHarmonBYB_ or like on Facebook.
