Fantasy Football: The Week Eight Lineup to Play for a Chance to Win

Since my first attempt at fielding a fantasy football lineup that pays failed miserably, I owe it to you to try again. This will be the best week eight lineup I can come up with.

Is it just like riding a bike, right? You fall off a few times after removing the training wheels, but you keep getting back on the two-wheeler until you master it. It’s unlikely I will master this, I mean, it’s fantasy football. You never know who will come out from the woodwork and have a huge week.

This is a lineup I will be playing on Fanduel myself. Our very own Colton Wesley usually uses the salary from DraftKings, and sometimes they vary some. If you notice a difference, that is why. Never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Let’s jump into this, good luck!

QB | Matthew Stafford | vs. Giants | $7,700

For the first time this season, we get to fire up Matt Stafford, and I’m excited to do it. The Detroit Lions, despite losing last week at home against Minnesota torched a very good secondary, and defense in general for 4 touchdowns.

The Giants roll into Detroit with a rookie quarterback in Daniel Jones who, despite a terrific NFL debut, has really regressed this season. It’s a Detroit crowd that will be very loud in a must-win football game for the Lions. Expect the Lions offense to have the football quite a bit today, dominating the time of possession with plenty of opportunities to score. The Giants defense ranks 28th in the league as a whole; they are 23rd against the pass.

Note: The Lions placed lead back Kerryon Johnson on IR earlier this week, signaling even more opportunities for Stafford and the Lions passing game.

RB | Latavius Murray | vs. Cardinals | $6,200

Latavius Murray will once again be the lead back for the New Orleans Saints this week as Alvin Kamara continues to nurse an injury. The buzz in New Orleans this week is the return of Drew Brees from a thumb injury. I don’t expect to see an old Brees stat line right out of the gate. Expect the Saints to get an early lead and lean on Murray and the run game to bleed out the clock, and move the chains.

The Cardinals defense ranks 29th in football; their run defense sits 25th. That leaves an opportunity for Murray to have a big day. Last week as the lead back, he carried it 27 times for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. Murray should see a similar workload today.

RB | Austin Ekeler | at Bears | $6,800

Ekeler continues to be the biggest threat out of the Chargers backfield, even with the return of Melvin Gordon. It describes why the Chargers didn’t rush to give Gordon a colossal contract extention.

Ekeler is a dual-threat back. He’s as dangerous catching the football out of the backfield than he is on the straight run calls. I expect Gordon to continue to get the goal line opportunities, but Ekeler has a better chance to break a long touchdown either through the air or ground.

WR | DeAndre Hopkins | vs. Oakland | $8,200

History shows Hopkins always commands a big price tag, but the star wide-receiver is one of the most consistent plays in the league on a week to week basis. After a couple of mild weeks early in the season, it appears Hopkins is starting to find his groove.

He’s only scored a mere 3 touchdowns to this point, expect the Texans to make an effort to target one of the best receivers in the game in the red zone to get him going at an elite level once again.

WR | Cooper Kupp | vs. Bengals | $7,700

Anytime you have a chance to fire up a quarterback’s favorite target against the Bengals. You should do it. Even though Jarred Goff is struggling this season, he’s found a way to target his go-to guy Kupp.

Kupp has been targeted 17 times in a single game earlier this season. Actually, he’s been targeted double-digits in four of the first seven contests. He’s a lock to find his way over the 20-point plateau once again today – the first time over the last two weeks.

WR | A.J. Brown | vs. Buccaneers | $5,500

It’s a bit of a shot in the dark, but Brown can have one of those 150 yard receiving days against the worst pass defense in the league. Brown has scored a pair of touchdowns in a game earlier this season. He will have an opportunity to duplicate that once again today.

To get the money work, you need to hit on a player like this. I hope it’s Brown’s week.

TE | Austin Hooper | vs. Seattle | $6,600

Although the Atlanta Falcons have been flat out terrible this season, Austin Hooper has been very consistent, averaging over 14 fantasy football points a week.

Quarterback Matt Ryan often targets his tight end. Hooper has scored touchdowns in each of his last two weeks, and four on the year. It’s a beautiful week to fire Hooper up against the Seahawks, who rank 30th in the league against the pass.

Flex | Kenny Golladay | vs. Giants | $6,700

Well, it was all Marvin Jones for the Detroit Lions last week, but Kenny Golladay should bounce back with a huge week. The Giants are 23rd against the pass. Kenny was blanketed last week by pro bowler Xavier Rhodes leaving Stafford to look elsewhere.

After being targeted 9 times in back to back weeks, Golladay was only targeted 2 times last week. Expect Stafford and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to get the touchdown threat going once again this week. For this price, play Kenny this week.

Defense | Los Angeles Chargers | at Chicago | $4,100

Well, the Chargers are playing Mitchell Trubisky, do I need to go on? Ok, this won’t take long. The Bears offense ranks 29th in the NFL. They are 29th in the league passing the football and 28th in the league running the football.

Perhaps they continue to have nightmares about selecting Trubisky over players like Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson.

Next. Detroit Pistons Season Preview. dark

It’s an excellent price to fire up the Chargers defense who can score double-digit fantasy football points with that pass-rush. Expect Bosa and company to get after Mitch early and often on the road, potentially forcing the below-average quarterback into making bad decisions with the football.

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