4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 8

If you've played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field -- and to find players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership -- can help separate you from your opponents.

The purpose of this article will be to identify some players who will be the chalk at each position and how you can pivot off of them with high-upside options that could go overlooked.

Let's take a look at pivot options for Week 8.

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Denver Broncos ($7,000)

I'm voluntarily writing about rostering Teddy Bridgewater in NFL DFS in the year 2021.

Just stick with me for a second.

The Washington Football Team is bad on defense -- like, really bad. They are allowing 27.2 FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks, the most in the league. They are bad, and quarterbacks going against them this season have routinely posted big games to get back on track. Thus, I'm dubbing the WFT the 'fantasy quarterback slump busters' of the 2021 season.

It's not a shock that Aaron Rodgers (24.66) and Patrick Mahomes (24.98) had big games versus Washington, but when Jameis Winston can go for 26.76 FanDuel points and Matt Ryan can go for 29.02 FanDuel points, you know this is a bad defense.

Carson Wentz ($7,200) has a good matchup and is in a great game environment versus the Tennessee Titans, which could make him the most popular value signal-caller. Pivoting to Bridgewater can help you be different in tournaments.

James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars ($8,200)

James Robinson is shaping up to be one of my favorite options on the entire slate.

At $8,400, we have Alvin Kamara sitting there looking us right in the eyes. Coming off a 28.9 FanDuel-point performance with 30 total touches and 179 total yards in an island game, he's going to be popular this week versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have allowed the third-most (52) receptions to running backs and the seventh-most (352) receiving yards. The Saints should be in a passing game script, opening up plenty of usage for Kamara. This is all clear.

Robinson is sitting right next to Kamara at running back, and if he isn't going to be popular, I want to shove the chips to the middle and go all-in. Robinson is going up against the Seattle Seahawks, who are allowing the second-most (27.5) FanDuel points per game to running backs. Hmmm, who did Kamara play last week when he had that huge game? The Seahawks.

Robinson -- who is playing on 72.5% of the snaps, running a route 57.5% of the time, leads the team in red zone rushes (16) -- gets to take on a Seahawks defense that can't stop running backs. Not to mention, he has out-touched and out-snapped Carlos Hyde in every game this season, so there is no reason to worry about J-Rob's usage.

Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Buffalo Bills ($6,700)

The Buffalo Bills have a slate-high 31.25 implied total, and you want some exposure to their offense.

The mid-tier of wide receivers is loaded with options this week, with Keenan Allen ($6,900), Calvin Ridley ($7,000), and Chris Godwin ($7,200) are all expected to be popular. They are all relatively close to Emmanuel Sanders in salary, and it should make him a nice pivot away from the chalk.

Sanders is carrying a team-high 17.6 average depth of target (aDOT), making him a big-play threat. That upside is perfect for tournaments, and his matchup versus the Miami Dolphins is a good one.

According to SharpFootballStats, the league average for receiving success rate on passes of 15-plus air yards is 41% for deep left, 51% deep middle, and 39% deep right. If we look at the Dolphins' numbers on those types of throws, they are sitting at 46% for deep left, 56% for deep middle, and 61% for deep right.

They are worse than average in each area of the secondary, and this is a matchup Sanders -- and Josh Allen -- should be able to exploit en route to plenty of fantasy points.

Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams ($5,300)

The Los Angeles Rams are going to roll over the Houston Texans this week.

Sorry for the spoiler, but the Rams will win this game -- it's just a matter of by how much. My crystal ball doesn't show the final scores. Believe me -- I wish it did.

The mid-to-lower tier of tight end is always a bit lackluster, but Jared Cook ($5,200) is shaping up to be a popular option due to the 49.5-point over/under between the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots. But at $5,300, we have Tyler Higbee, who makes a great pivot in a soft matchup. The Texans are allowing 15.6 FanDuel points per game to tight ends, which is the third-most in the league.

Higbee is carrying the third-highest (13.8%) target share on the Rams, the second-highest (26.7%) red zone target share, and has picked up at least five targets in five of his last six games. He's a consistent option in the Rams' passing offense and should be able to find the end zone this week.