Strangely, we have no bye weeks in Week 8 this season. That combined with no international series games gives us the maximum 13 games to pick from in the main DFS slate. It’s one where we can expect a lot of passing based on how the player prices have been set. There are far more high priced options in the wide receiver pool compared to the running back pool. So it may be a week we need to find the value at RB to let us get some of the stud receivers in the line-up.

This week the Sunday Redzone competitions covers both the 1pm and 4pm kick-offs and entries start from £2. There is the standard 9-man line-up to fill consisting of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex and 1 D/ST with full PPR scoring and no yardage bonuses. The budget has been bumped up slightly to 120M, so 13.3M per player on average.

Quarterbacks

• Bryce Young (16.3M) – It’s not been the start to the season Panthers fans were hoping for from Bryce Young. The 1st overall pick has yet to reach 250 passing yards in a game and only has multiple TDs in one game. This week against the Texans is a good a spot as any left for Young to really let loose. The Texans are giving up the 9th most fantasy points to the position and are certainly a spot to target. I expect the Houston offence to put up points up as well, so Young will most likely need to throw to keep up in the game.

Running Backs

• Gus Edwards (9.4M) – Assuming the Ravens don’t trade for Derrick Henry before Sunday afternoon, Edwards will be the leader in the backfield rotation. Edwards get’s a fair bit of work in the redzone where opposing defences can’t key on him thanks to Lamar Jacksons’ rushing threat. The Ravens travel to Arizona this week and should have no issues on offence against the Cardinals. We can expect a lot of red zone opportunities for the offence. The Ravens should have success on the ground all over the pitch against a defence allowing 130 rushing yards per game.
• Aaron Jones (6.5M) – Aaron Jones was worked in slowly last week on his return from injury with 13 combined carries and targets. He did miss practice on Wednesday but was back on Thursday and looks on track to play this week. As he gets healthier we should see his opportunities increase in an offence desperate for someone to give it a spark. Keep an eye on his status on Sunday, but if he plays Jones is an obvious steal at 6.5M.

Wide Receivers

• Jaylen Waddle (12.5M) – We talked about taking WR2s against the Patriots last week, although it unfortunately didn’t work for Gabe Davis. I’m going back to the same well this weekend with Jaylen Waddle. Tyreek Hill looks set to play despite a hip injury and will undoubtedly see the majority of the defensive attention. How much that matters for his production is debatable, but it should leave Waddle with plenty of single coverage he can take advantage of.
• Tank Dell (11.8M) – Tank Dell looks on track to return from a concussion that kept him out last week. Fellow receiver, Robert Woods, is not expected to play which should help ensure Dell returns to a strong role in the offence. The Panthers is a fantastic match for the Houston pass attack. CJ Stroud has been excellent at getting the ball to his top receivers when he isn’t pressured. The Panthers happen to be the worst team in the league at pressuring opposing Quarterbacks.

Tight Ends

• Jake Ferguson (9.5M) – Ferguson is one of my favourite TEs of the week coming off a bye. Despite a one target game in week 6 he does have a strong role in the Cowboys offence. Facing the Rams is a good spot to be in! Before facing the Steelers injury hit Tight Ends they’d given up 80+ yards to the position in three straight weeks. Coming off the bye, the Cowboys offence should be sharp in a potential shoot-out.

Defence/Special Teams

The Jacksonville Jaguars (7.8M) could be a value pick among the lower priced defences. They are averaging two turnovers a game and face the Steelers this week. Kenny Pickett has looked very suspect a large part of the season including in the first half last week. However, he has been relatively safe with the ball having only turned it over once since week 2. Over that stretch he’s relied on the ground game for the most part and kept his attempts under 30. But against an opportunistic defence that doesn’t give up much on the ground and a potent offence he’ll likely have to throw more this week.

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