The NFL heads into Week 9. Once again the NFL will NOT have any International Games. There will only be one Monday Night Football game too. Four teams are on their bye this week (Cleveland, New York Jets, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay). We nearly have a full slate of games this week, so there should be plenty of choices for us to build some strong DraftKings lineups in Week 9.
Here are my picks for the NFL Week 9….
DRAFTKINGS NFL CASH CONTEST
QUARTERBACK: There are some good options to pay up for at the QB Position in Week 9 (Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert are my two favorites, but I am going to save some salary and play JAXSON DART. The 49ers Defense has numerous injuries and it is not what it was earlier in the season. C.J. Stroud struggled all season and then he went out and scored 25.7 DK Points vs. the 49ers last week. Now it is Dart’s turn to shine. The lost of Cam Skattebo should cause Dart to run a lot more. That will raise his floor and make him the perfect pick at the QB Position for your Cash Contest lineup.
RUNNINGBACKS: CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY will be may top RB in my Cash Contest lineup. McCaffrey scored 20+ DK Points in every game until he ran into the Texans Defense last week. The matchup vs. the Giants is much easier. The G-Men rank No. 26 vs. the run. I expect CMC to get back on track and score 25+ DK Points Sunday…. D’Andre Swift was ruled out by the Bears so that means KYLE MONANGAI is the “free square” this week. He has been getting more carries in the Bears’ Offense every week. Now he gets the show to himself vs. the worst run defense in the NFL. I expect a big game from Monangai Sunday.
WIDE RECEIVERS: I paid up at the RB Position last week and it worked out well. This week I will use two of the top WRs on the slate. PUKA NACUA is back for the Rams. He has been a beast this year. Puka is averaging 24.6 DK Points this year. He should score 25+ DK Points in an easy matchup vs. the Saints… JA’MARR CHASE was the No. 1 overall pick in most Fantasy Football drafts this year, but he hasn’t played like it until Joe Flacco showed up in Cincy. Chase has averaged 29.8 DK Points with Flacco at the QB Position for the Bengals. Chase should score 25+DK points vs. the Bears Defense…. I will punt the last WR position and take a chance with CHIMERE DIKE. He has really come to life over the last two weeks with Calvin Ridley out of the Titans’ lineup. Dike has averaged 16.6 DK Points over the last two weeks. The Titans are huge underdogs, so they will be passing the ball a lot. That means a lot of targets and a lot of DK Points for Dike Sunday.
TIGHT END: Am I messing with fire by playing to Chicago Bears in my Cash Contest lineup? I do not think so. Both Kyle Monangai and COLSTON LOVELAND have great matchups this week vs. the Bengals Defense. The Bengals are giving up an average of 16 DK Points to the TE Position this year and that ranks dead last in the NFL. The Bears vs. Bengals game has a great chance to be the highest-scoring game on the slate, so I will take a chance with Loveland Sunday.
FLEX POSITION: The other game on the slate that is likely to be a shoot-out is the Chiefs vs. Bills game. I want a piece of that game in my lineup and I will do it with KAREEM HUNT. Isiah Pacheco has been ruled out so that means Hunt will get a lot of carries and all of the goal-line work Sunday. Hunt scored 17.2 DK Points on Monday Night Football vs. the Commanders. He should do the same in the Game of the Week vs. the Bills.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS: I know you are probably wondering why I have the FALCONS DEFENSE/ST in my Cash Contest lineup. They just got lit up by the Dolphins last week. The Falcons are a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde defense. One week they look great and the other they look terrible. I do not mind taking a chance with a cheap defense, so I will play the Falcons and hope they show up this week with their good defense.
DRAFTKINGS NFL TOURNAMENT CONTEST
TOURNAMENT STACK: The Colts vs. Steelers has a good chance to be the best stack on the slate. The Colts have an implied total of 27 Points and the Steelers have an implied total of 24 Points. The Colts Defense has allowed 300+ yards passing to Justin Herbert, Jacoby Brissett and Matthew Stafford over the last four weeks. The Steelers Defense has allowed 300+ yards passing to Jordan Love, Joe Flacco and Carson Wentz over the last for weeks. Both offenses are good and both defense poorly against the pass. I will stack DANIEL JONES + TYLER WARREN on the Colts side and run it back with JAYLEN WARREN + D.K. METCALF on the Steelers side. Each of these players has great matchups and they are the key parts of their team’s offense. This is my favorite stack on the slate.
RUNNINGBACKS: I know KYLE MONANGAI is going to be one of the highest owned RBs on the slate, but I just cannot fade him vs. the Bengals Defense. Sometimes you just have to eat the chalk and take the points. This is one of those times.
WIDE RECEIVERS: I need a piece of the Chiefs vs. Bills game in my lineup so I will pay up for RASHEE RICE. He is averaging 24.4 DK Points in his two games back from his suspension. He really hasn’t even been the focus of the offense. The Chiefs are going to air it out Sunday and this should be a huge game for Rice…. I may be playing with fire by using CHIMERE DIKE in both lineups, but he is almost a lock to return value and I doubt that Dike is going to have much ownership this week. I do not need Dike to do much. If he can score 16 DK Points like he has the last two weeks, this pick will be a smash play.
FLEX POSITION: JAHMYR GIBBS could get overlooked this week and that could be a mistake. He just scored 39.8 DK Points vs. the Buccaneers. Now he gets to play a Vikings Defense that just gave up 22.7 DK Points to Kimani Vidal. I expect Gibbs to have a big game vs. the Vikings this weekend, so he gets a spot in my Tournament Contest lineup.
DEFENSE/ST: The BRONCOS DEFENSE/ST seems to be a bit underpriced this week. I know they will be without All-Pro CB Patrick Surtain, but this pick is more about the Broncos pass-rush vs. the Texans Offensive-Line. The Broncos lead the NFL with 36 sacks this year. Pro Football Focus ranks the Texans Offensive Line as the third worst in the NFL. The Broncos just create enough pass-rush to give the Texans a lot of problems Sunday.
GAME OF THE WEEK SHOWDOWN PICKS
Most of you know I am a member of Chiefs Kingdom. The Chiefs vs. the Bills is the “Game of the Week” and I know I will get asked for a Showdown lineup for this game, so here it is….
* If you hate the Chiefs (I know many of you do), you can play a heavy Bills Stack that should score well too in this game.
DRAFTKINGS SNF SHOWDOWN PICKS
DRAFTKINGS MNF SHOWDOWN
Good luck this week!
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