It is always important to survey the DFS landscape each week and determine potential building blocks, which are the core plays and the foundation for most lineup types. The popular options are rising to the top for good reason more often than not, but there also are overlooked plays at every position, usually only a couple names down the rankings list. In this post, we’ll be making our best NFL DFS Week 9 picks on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Stokastic provides a variety of tools for all DFS sports that can help sort through the large NFL feature slate player pool. These were utilized in coming up with the recommendations in this article and include, but are far from limited to the NFL DFS Top Stacks tool, player projections, the Boom/Bust tool, and of course the proprietary Lineup Generator which incorporates all the tools and data, including tournament field popularity and of course simulations of the slate and how that impacts the potential ROI for your lineups and those of the field.
All tools are available for the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates each week. Additionally, multiple tools are also at your disposal for the sub-slates as well as the primetime “island games” which have turned into one of the most popular DFS offerings on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Take a look at the Stokastic Discounts and Coupon Code page as well as the Subscription page to see what packages best suit your needs.
NFL DFS Week 9 Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel
This week the NFL adventure resumes in Europe, with Miami and Kansas City playing in Germany. Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville and San Francisco are on byes, which leaves us with a 10-game featured slate.
Best NFL DFS Week 9 Picks and Building Blocks: Quarterbacks
Jalen Hurts (Eagles-Cowboys): DraftKings ($8,400, 22.1% ownership), FanDuel ($9,000, 21.3% ownership)
Between the byes, primetime matchups and the game in Germany, there are not many marquee quarterbacks on the main slate. That means gamers will be flocking to Jalen Hurts at home against the rival Dallas Cowboys. This is just the second home game in the last six appearances for Philadelphia. Week 10 is the Eagles’ bye and then they resume the season in Week 11 on Monday Night Football, in Kansas City.
The hope here is that Dak Prescott and the Cowboys can put some points on the board, so Hurts has to throw north of 30 times, rather than hand the ball off to the running backs, while salting away a lead. The Dallas defense is stout, with the third best rushing DVOA and the ninth best passing DVOA, but Hurts is matchup proof.
For those looking to follow along with the popular Philadelphia stack, A.J. Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert appear to be the most popular pass-catchers to pair with Hurts.
Lamar Jackson (Ravens-Seahawks): DraftKings ($8,200, 13.3% ownership), FanDuel ($8,600, 18.4% ownership)
This will be the third consecutive week that Lamar Jackson has been recommended in this article. Two weeks ago, he was outstanding, last week – well it was a dud, but at least it helped keep his salary at a status quo level for Sunday’s matchup against the visiting Seahawks. Though he has only one rushing score in the last month, Jackson has reached pay dirt five times in eight games. He also has three multi-touchdown games, including a season high two weeks again against Detroit.
Seattle has a top-10 rushing DVOA, but they are a below-average unit against the pass, which should help entice the Ravens to air things out more than they typically would like. That is going to be the key to having Jackson pay off his high, though appropriate salary.
Best NFL DFS Week 9 Picks and Building Blocks: Running Backs
Alvin Kamara (Saints-Bears): DraftKings ($8,100, 22.6%), FanDuel ($9,200, 20.2%)
Even with his salary increasing by nearly a grand on both sites when compared to last week, Alvin Kamara is also projecting to be slightly popular. He has a cherry matchup against the Bears, and while he dipped back to five targets last week, he still had 17 carries in a 38-27 track meet against the Colts. It is clear that Kamara is the king of the backfield for New Orleans and he projects well in all formats on Sunday.
Josh Jacobs (Raiders-Giants): DraftKings ($6,900, 22.6%), FanDuel ($7,500, 26.2%)
Had I been asked if these two teams had played each other already this season, before I looked at the Week 9 schedule, I would have said absolutely. I believe that is due to this duo each having multiple appearances on the primetime games, because outside of the Super Bowl, NFC and AFC teams will never face more than once per season.
The Raiders certainly put the fun in dysfunction as they have fired their coach, general manager and benched quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as well. Former NFL player and linebackers coach Antonio Pierce has been named as the interim head coach and Bo Hardegree has been elevated from quarterbacks coach to interim-offensive coordinator.
What hasn’t changed is Josh Jacobs being a focal point of the offense, along with two-time All-Pro wideout, Davante Adams. Back in Week 4, when rookie Aidan O’Connell drew a spot-start for an injured Garoppolo, he targeted Jacobs 11 times, Adams 13 and the rest of the team had 14 combined. While that volume may not be at the same level, it should not be too far off either. Plus with Jacobs also getting 133 of 147 (90.4%) of the running back carries, he should easily crest over 20 total touches.
New York has the 27th rushing DVOA and Eight different running backs have posted 70-plus combined yards on the Giants this season. Anything less than 100 combined yards and a touchdown will be considered a disappointment for Jacobs.
Saquon Barkley (Giants-Raiders): DraftKings ($7,900, 21.0%), FanDuel ($7,500, 20.2%)
Finally Saquon Barkley looks healthy, though the same cannot be said for his quarterbacks. Daniel Jones is expected to draw the start, but both he and backup Tyrod Taylor are banged up. In his last three games, Barkley has had 24, 21 and 36 carries. That is a ridiculous workload, but since he is on a one-year deal and a fungible asset in the eyes of the New York front office, he will continue to get as many carries as he can handle until he inevitably breaks down again. The Raiders allowed 130 combined yards and a trio of touchdowns to D’Onta Foreman two weeks ago and last week Jahmyr Gibbs rolled up 189 total yards and a touchdown. Enjoy!
Devin Singletary (Texans-Buccaneers): DraftKings ($4,300, 23.5%), FanDuel ($5,300, 29.4%)
Welcome to the chalk of the week, with Devin Singletary suddenly having the whole Houston backfield to himself with Dameon Pierce sidelined by ankle injury. There is not much to add to this analysis, other than be cognizant of tournament lineups where Singletary could approach 30% popularity by kickoff.
Best NFL DFS Week 9 Picks and Building Blocks: Wide Receivers
CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys-Eagles): DraftKings ($8,200, 23.1%), FanDuel ($8,800, 22.8%)
CeeDee Lamb is coming off a career game, drawing 14 targets for a dozen catches, 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns, along with a 12-yard carry. He is not going to be overlooked by the Eagles. but considering in Week 6, the budding superstar had seven targets, bringing in all of them for 117 yards, it looks like he is the focal point of the offense, particularly with running back Tony Pollard not being as efficient with an elevated workload and offseason surgery to repair ligament damage suffered with a high ankle sprain in the playoff loss.
Last week the Eagles gave up touchdowns to three different Washington wideouts, as well as a tuddie to tight end Logan Thomas. Two weeks ago, Philadelphia acquired safety Kevin Byard for fifth and sixth rounders next year, plus safety Terrel Edmunds. The 30-year-old is a two-time All-Pro so he is likely to help tighten up this suddenly leaky secondary. Of course, that may not be this Sunday.
Demario Douglas (Patriots-Commanders): DraftKings ($4,000, 15.6%), FanDuel ($5,400, 17.6%)
Looking at the Stokastic Lineup Generator, Demario Douglas is popping at the top of the player portfolio, when running a 20-lineup set on both DraftKings and FanDuel, using all lineup types, with a QB+1 pass catcher, with one player from the opposite side.
Last week it was Kendrick Bourne in this featured section, though he was injured in the game which opened up the door for Douglas. JuJu Smith-Schuster is available as well, though the salary for Douglas has him as the far more appealing option. The sixth-round rookie has 13 targets over the last two games and while he has not broken off any big gains, that is only a matter of time. The team has also given him a rushing opportunity in each game, which resulted in four yards last week and 20 in the preceding performance.
Trusting Mac Jones is never a fun experience, but the Commanders passing defense is atrocious and they have allowed four different receivers to have multi-touchdown games, with 11 wideouts topping 65 yards as well. Terry McLaurin is popping up higher than expected in the simulations, which are also incorporated into the Lineup Generator. This is some added in-game synergy, even though neither of the quarterbacks in this game is on more than two lineups in this set of 20 lineups.
The Lineup Generator is a tool that combines all of the other proprietary Stokastic NFL DFS offerings such as player projections, pOWN%, boom/bust (aka leverage and ceiling) as well as using similar foundational functionality as the Stokastic Simulations.
On FanDuel, there are similar names, albeit in a slightly different order, other than Douglas who is at the top once again.
Stokastic also has the NBA Lineup Generator and there is currently a 50% off promotion with code NBATREAT, click here to access.
Premium Members can check out all the other wide receiver options here.
Best NFL DFS Week 9 Picks and Building Blocks: Tight Ends
T.J. Hockenson (Vikings-Falcons): DraftKings ($5,200, 12.9%), FanDuel ($6,700, 10.5%)
The loss of Kirk Cousins certainly hurts, but there is still a volume-based opportunity here with Justin Jefferson still on the shelf. This is a winnable game for the Vikings, who are heading into Atlanta as 3.0 point road dogs. It sounds like Jaren Hall will draw the start, but Minnesota may have a quick hook if he stumbles out of the gate.
Mark Andrews (Ravens-Seahawks): DraftKings ($6,800, 12.6%), FanDuel ($7,500, 15.6%)
Travis Kelce is in Germany this week, so that leaves Mark Andrews battling Hockenson for top honors. It really is a coinflip between this duo as Hockenson has the cheaper salary and we know that rookie quarterbacks tend to scramble under pressure and look to the tight end position. Heck, that just played out for Cole Kmet on Sunday Night Football, when he saw 10 targets from his rookie field general.
Andrews of course has a former NFL MVP leading his offense and this duo has years of playing together, which is the impetus for the premium salary. That and the Seattle defense going into bend but don’t break mode to try and eliminate big plays.
Trey McBride (Cardinals-Browns): DraftKings ($3,700, 9.3%), FanDuel ($9,000, 11.2%)
Though Trey McBride hooked up everyone last weekend, we need to keep in mind that he has a rookie quarterback in Clayton Tune under center this week after the Cardinals dealt Josh Dobbs to the Vikings and this is a road matchup against one of the best defenses in the league. So your mileage may vary.
Best NFL DFS Week 9 Picks and Building Blocks: Defense/Special Teams
New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears: DraftKings ($4,100, 8.9%), FanDuel ($4,600, 9.6%)
Cleveland Browns vs. Arizona Cardinals: DraftKings ($4,200, 5.9%), FanDuel ($4,700, 8.7%)
There are a pair of bucks-deluxe DSTs this week with both the Saints and Browns hosting rookie quarterbacks, who will be playing behind dinged up offensive lines and without the primary running back. In the Cardinals’ case, they are actually without their two leading rushers.
Defenses can be fickle, since a random team seems to get a double-return touchdown performance every third week. Both of these units provide an excellent baseline of sacks and takeaways, so let your personal preference be your guide.
New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders: DraftKings ($2,900, 10.3%), FanDuel ($3,700, 11.1%)
You can’t spell comical, without the Commanders and the chaos continues in Washington, despite a new leader – who already has a decade-plus of experience with an NBA franchise. The New York Giants and the Commanders are tied for a league-worst 41 sacks through eight games, which is 12 more than the next most feeble franchise.
Though the Patriots have managed only five sacks over the last three weeks, that is what their target is for Sunday.
As you get your best NFL DFS Week 9 picks and lineups prepped on DraftKings and FanDuel, Stokastic can help. We have more free DFS content on the NFL DFS homepage, premium DFS software including NFL Sims and the Lineup Generator, and the best live shows and videos from your favorite analysts on our YouTube channel.
You can also talk NFL DFS picks and strategy with the team and the rest of our sharp community on the Stokastic Discord!
