4 DraftKings Studs to Target in Week 8

Week 8 of the NFL season is here, so let's see which high-priced studs stand out on DraftKings and project to be high-end performers according to our models.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

DraftKings Price: $6,100
Projected Points: 20.1

The Detroit Lions have quietly been a productive passing offense this season, after being on Team Establish-the-Run a season ago. Matthew Stafford has been very effective, and he ranks fourth at the position on the main slate in DraftKings points per game at 21.6 as well as 9th in Total Net Expected Points (NEP). Stafford has been one of the best deep ball passers so far; he has completed 24 of his 51 pass attempts (most among all quarterbacks) of 16 or more air yards this season, and his opponent this week, the New York Giants, has given up 18 completions on deep throws. Now with Kerryon Johnson out due to injury, and inexperience left in the backfield, the Lions might have to lean on Stafford a bit more.

Detroit has a hefty implied team total this week at 28 points. They get to square off against the Giants' secondary, which ranks 24th in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play. Four of the seven quarterbacks whom the Giants have faced have thrown for over 300 yards. Stafford lands in numberFire’s projection model as the third-highest scoring quarterback.

Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

DraftKings Price: $7,800
Projected Points: 22.6

Still supremely underpriced, Leonard Fournette has averaged 24.6 touches per game, leading to an average of 19.1 DraftKings points per game. It’s an impressive feat for Fournette to be averaging that amount of DraftKings points when he has only found the end zone once this season. He is essentially playing a similar role to Christian McCaffrey, playing on 91.3% of the offensive snaps and handling 91.5% of the Jacksonville Jaguars' backfield touches, yet he finds himself $1,400 cheaper because of his lack of touchdowns. He has a solid chance to have a ceiling game this week against the New York Jets.

The Jaguars are 6-point home favorites against the Jets this week as Fournette looks to find the end zone against a defense that has given up the most rushing touchdowns (10) and fifth-most DraftKings points per game (29.1) to opposing running backs. With the other high priced running backs in more difficult matchups, there is a case to be made Fournette could end up being the top scoring back in Week 8.

Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

DraftKings Price: $8,000
Projected Points: 20.6

This guy is just a machine, regardless of who is under center for the New Orleans Saints. Since Teddy Bridgewater became the starter in Week 3, Michael Thomas has seen a 31.5% target share, has averaged 24.2 DraftKings points, and has had 8 or more receptions in four of the five games. He is essentially a one-man show in the Saints' passing attack. He only trails Chris Godwin in Total Net Expected Points amongst all wideouts.

Now in Week 8, Thomas gets to go up against the Arizona Cardinals, who rank 26th in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP. The Saints are implied to score 29 points this week, and Arizona has just recently give up a massive game to slot man Tyler Boyd (10 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown). Thomas projects as numberFire’s top scoring receiver on DraftKings.

Darren Waller, TE, Oakland Raiders

DraftKings Price : $5,900
Projected Points: 14.3

The preseason Darren Waller hype has certainly come to fruition, and he has now scored over 12 DraftKings points in five of his first six games this season. We saw him hit a ceiling game last week, as he finally found the end zone and -- in turn -- ended up as the top scoring tight end of Week 7. Waller owns a 26% target share and has 24 more targets than the next highest skill set player on the Oakland Raiders. Waller has been special after the catch, as he ranks ninth in the NFL amongst all skill position players in yards after the catch.

While this week’s matchup isn’t spectacular, Waller still seems underpriced relative to his role. In a game against the Houston Texans, where Oakland is projected to be playing from behind (a 6.5-point underdog), Waller should be the focal point yet again for Derek Carr. Waller continues to be one of the best tight end plays week in and week out.

Adam Nessel is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Nessel also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ANessel01. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.