DFS Week 8 Lineup: Best Plays, Value Picks For Daily Fantasy Football

We’ve reached the heart of the bye weeks in the NFL schedule. Fortunately for you, daily fantasy sports player, those matters don’t concern you.

There still are plenty of juicy matchups to exploit this weekend in a busy slate of games that kicks off early in London when the Minnesota Vikings battle the Cleveland Browns. So, which players will put up points in bunches this week?

Here are our top plays and value picks at every position for the Week 8 weekend slate.

QUARTERBACK
Best play: Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles. The injury to starting left tackle Jason Peters is a concern, but Wentz’s volume is not: He’s attempted at least 30 passes in every game except Week 7, when he threw four touchdown passes. Expect him to chuck it all over the yard at home against the woeful San Francisco 49ers.

Value pick: Case Keenum, Minnesota Vikings. Keenum has been underwhelming save for one game, but the stars appear to be aligning in Week 8. Top wideout Stefon Diggs is hoping to return for Sunday’s London tilt against the Browns, who have allowed multiple TD passes in all but two games this season.

RUNNING BACK
Best play: Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers. Bell essentially is immune to matchups at this point, but while we’re at it, this is a great matchup. The Detroit Lions allowed 189 combined rushing yards and two touchdowns to Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara last week and should offer little resistance to Bell in Week 8.

Value pick: Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals. Mixon wants more touches, and he finally might get his wish Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts have allowed 340 total rushing yards and four touchdowns to running backs over the last two weeks, so Cincinnati should feed its rookie early and often.

WIDE RECEIVER
Best play: Antonio Brown, Steelers. Brown’s four catches for 65 yards and a score constituted a down week for him, but he still saw 10 targets. The Lions have allowed three touchdowns to receivers in their last two contests, making Brown a strong bet for heavy volume and at least one score.

Value pick: Devin Funchess, Carolina Panthers. It’s been an underwhelming past two weeks for Funchess and the Panthers’ offense, but now is a perfect time to buy low against a Swiss cheese Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary that’s surrendered the most fantasy points to opposing wideouts this season.

TIGHT END
Best play: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs. Kelce should love this matchup: He’s averaging 5.8 catches and 78.6 yards per game in six career contests against the Denver Broncos, who are one of the worst defenses against tight ends again this year.

Value pick: Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders. Cook hauled in a season-high six catches for 107 yards last week, and Derek Carr might have to look his way more often with Marshawn Lynch suspended. The Buffalo Bills also have allowed 67.7 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends this year, seventh-most in the NFL.

DEFENSE
Best play: Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings didn’t blow doors as our top defense play in Week 7, but we’re rolling them right back out there in London against the dumpster fire that is the Cleveland Browns and whoever they decide to play at QB (DeShone Kizer this week).

Value pick: Pittsburgh Steelers. The Lions are coming off a bye and typically have a solid offense, but they’ll be without top wideout Golden Tate and have had serious issues protecting the quarterback, allowing 3.8 sacks per game. Pittsburgh has an active front seven that should put up solid numbers for a bargain price.