FanDuel Defenses to Target in Week 8
This is a tough week with a lot of the top options priced expensively. Seattle and Arizona have great matchups this week and will surely put up solid points, but they are more expensive than some of the defenses that we like better, so they were left off this list.
Green Bay is cheaper but comes in at the same price as our favorite defense of the week, so they will also be left off as they take on Denver coming off of their bye week.
We have some higher priced options in great spots and also feature an almost minimum priced sleeper pick that could help you build a winning lineup.
Here are three defenses to consider for your Week 8 FanDuel lineups.
Carolina Panthers (vs. Indianapolis)
FanDuel Price: $4,800
numberFire Projected Points: 10.2
A seven-point favorite at home, Carolina is our highest projected fantasy defense on FanDuel this week.
They are undefeated this year and are playing at home on Monday night against Andrew Luck who has thrown the most interceptions per game this year (1.8). He has thrown at least two interceptions in every game, except for Week 6 when New England failed to pick him off.
The Panthers defense has at least one interception in five of their six games, and four interceptions in Week 4.
Some of the blame for Luck’s interceptions could be attributed to the offensive line that has allowed the Colts’ quarterbacks to be sacked two or more times in five of their games, including seven sacks over their past two games. The matchup will not get any easier for the offensive line this week against the Panthers defense that has nine sacks over the past two games, and already two five sack performances on the year.
At $4,800, Carolina is $600 cheaper than the most expensive defense this week and is a great play in any lineup you can fit them into.
St. Louis Rams (vs. San Francisco)
FanDuel Price: $5,100
numberFire Projected Points: 9.97
At only $4,500, the Rams were the chalk play in Week 7. Although they were owned in 27.9% of lineups in FanDuel’s Sunday Million contest, their 25 point performance made them key part of the million dollar winning lineup.
St. Louis has another great matchup this week, but it costs $600 more to roster them.
They are the biggest favorite on the board in Week 8 at home with an eight-point spread against the 49ers who have the lowest projected point total of any team, and are allowing the third most fantasy points per game to opposing defenses this season. St. Louis currently has the fifth most fantasy points among defenses and is in a great spot to build on that total this week.
In Week 7, San Francisco gave up 6 sacks for the second time this year, and they are allowing a whopping 3.6 sacks per game. Colin Kaepernick will be in for another long day as his struggling offensive line will have to deal with the Rams defense that is averaging the fourth most sacks per game (3.29) in the NFL.
Carolina is cheaper and projected to put up slightly more points, but if you have salary left over and want to mix a different defense into some of your lineups, St. Louis is a great choice.
Oakland Raiders (vs. New York Jets)
FanDuel Price: $4,100
numberFire Projected Points: 7.32
This is our low priced sleeper pick of the week.
Oakland is at home favored by three and only $100 more than the cheapest defense on the board this week.
The Raiders have at least one interception in all but one of their games this season and had two interceptions in each of their last two games. This week they’re up against Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has thrown an interception in five of six games so far.
The Jets' offensive line is coming off of their worst game in terms of pass protection, as they gave up two sacks last game. Now they will have to figure out how to stop the Raiders defense that has 11 sacks over their last four games.
Don’t expect Oakland to be the top scoring defense of the week, but at only $4,100 they are a great option to fit into your lineup if you want to spend up elsewhere.
