Eagles at Texans DFS Picks: Will Jalen Hurts Keep the Eagles Undefeated Against The Texans on TNF?

Week 9 Thursday Night Football features the same two cities squaring off in the World Series. Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and the Eagles are the last undefeated team in the league while Houston is looking for their second victory on the season.

Heading into NFL Week 9 Thursday Night Football, Stokastic is bringing plenty of NFL DFS tools and information for all of the different slates, game formats and sites.

This column will provide a free analysis of the single-slate action on DraftKings and FanDuel. It includes team capsules, player rankings, comments and NFL DFS picks. There is loads of information and NFL DFS Showdown analysis to get into for both DraftKings and FanDuel on this Week 9 Thursday Night Football slate featuring the Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans.

NFL DFS Picks: Week 9 Thursday Night Football | Eagles-Texans

Philadelphia is relatively healthy with only DL Jordan Davis (ankle) and DB Josiah Scott (ankle) listed as out.

Houston is dealing with a ton of injuries with the following players already out for tonight: DL Maliek Collins, LB Neville Hewitt, DB Grayland Arnold, OL Justin McCray and WR Nico Collins. LB Christian Harris (thigh) did practice in full on Wednesday as did DB Desmond King (knee), while Brandin Cooks (wrist/personal) was annoyed by not being traded, so we will have to wait and see if he suits up tonight.

Philadelphia Eagles: 29.5 Points

Quarterback

The Stokastic fantasy projections have Jalen Hurts ranked as the second best quarterback for the full Week 9 player pool, behind only Josh Allen. Houston ranks in the middle of the pack against the pass, but at this point that is only a minor inconvenience for Hurts. The main challenge this season has been that most opposing teams have fallen behind on the scoreboard by enough of a margin, that Philadelphia is able to coast in the second half of games while turning to the run.

Hurts is averaging a career best 257 passing yards per game while also adding just over 40 on the ground. In five of seven games this year, Hurts has multiple touchdowns and while his rushing may be limited by the coaching staff if the Eagles are out to a commanding lead, he does have six aerial strikes in his last two outings, which still bodes well for his fantasy floor.

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Running Back

Miles Sanders has been the unquestioned lead back this season, though he is of course competing with his quarterback for red zone rushing attempts. Sanders is averaging a career best 80.4 rushing yards per game, but like most of the secondary pass catchers, he has seen his target opportunities limited by large second half leads. The third year back has 64 or more combined yards in every game this season along with five rushing scores.

Kenneth Gainwell has worked in as the clear backup to Sanders and he would be a capable replacement if he is needed to step in as the main option. Boston Scott is always lurking, though at this time his best path towards fantasy relevance would be getting a couple drives to himself late in the game in a mop up capacity.

Wide Receiver

A.J. Brown is the clear top option with 64 targets and at least seven in every game this season. DeVonta Smith leads all receivers in playing time and his 51 targets rank second on the squad. Quez Watkins and Zach Pascal will at least be on the field, but they are afterthoughts in all formats aside from single-game contests with 10 and nine targets respectively.

Tight End

Dallas Goedert has been stellar since Zach Ertz was dealt to Arizona in the middle of last year and he ranks third on the team with 40 targets. The rest of the tight ends have combined for just six looks, which is not even a minor inconvenience. Goedert has at least five targets in five of his last six outings and he should be in line for a similar workload tonight.

Defense/Special Teams

Houston is allowing just over two sacks per game ceding only five in the last three tilts and only the Raiders and Eagles have less turnovers than the Texans. Philadelphia is averaging just over three sacks per game and they lead the league with 16 takeaways. Clearly this unit is in play, however both DraftKings ($7,000) and FanDuel ($10,000) have applied an appropriate premium.

Houston Texans: 16.0 Points

Quarterback

Philadelphia has the second best passing DVOA per Football Outsiders and Kyler Murray (250) is the only opposing signal-caller to surpass 225 yards. Davis Mills has just one game with more than 250 passing yards himself and if Brandin Cooks is out tonight, this is going to be a long row to hoe. Mills is not much of a runner and he has only 10 rushing yards this season.

Running Back

Rookie Dameon Pierce leads the running backs in snaps, carries, rushing yards and touchdowns. However, veteran Rex Burkhead is still the preferred passing down back and if needed, the former Nebraska Cornhusker could handle the ground game responsibilities as well.

Troy Hairston and Dare Ogunbowale are each likely to be on the field for 8-to-10 plays, with a target or two for each. Ogunbowale has the edge here, but it is not by much.

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Wide Receiver

Nico Collins (groin) is out tonight and Brandin Cooks is questionable to suit up. If Cooks decides to play, he has been the clear top read this season with at least five targets in every game. Journeymen Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett will be the next men up and both are viable and probably better plays if Cooks takes the field as he will draw the focus of the defense.

Tight End

Brevin Jordan and Jordan Akins lead the team with 14 targets apiece, with O.J. Howard just one behind. This is a three-headed monster with Howard getting three targets in the last game, though none in Week 7. Jordan has four in each of the last two games while Akins has two and four. This position is sponsored tonight by Power Ball, good luck!

Defense/Special Teams

In their last six games, the Eagles have allowed multiple sacks, though only two interceptions. The Texans have just 15 sacks on the season and a mere seven takeaways.

Thursday Night Football Single-Game NFL DFS Strategy For Eagles-Texans

The rankings below are best utilized for building out single-entry and three-max lineups, and for head-to-head and three-man formats. They provide a nice barometer for player value. However, those taking the MME approach should remember that correlation is key. This means matching a receiver or two with a quarterback in the Captain/MVP slot. That also works conversely, pairing a Captain/MVP pass catcher with their quarterback.

Week 9 Thursday Night Football NFL DFS Rankings For Eagles-Texans

Top 10 NFL DFS Showdown Picks

1. Jalen Hurts: It will not be a surprise if he is on 90% of all rosters tonight.
2. A.J. Brown: Needs at least 80 yards and a score to breakeven, but that seems all but preordained in this matchup.
3. Dameon Pierce: The rookie will get most of the early down work and he has 20 targets as well in his last four games.
4. Miles Sanders: Could roll up big numbers if the Eagles were ever in competitive contests.
5. DeVonta Smith: Solid wingman for Brown, he does have to compete with Goedert for looks as well.
6. Dallas Goedert: Better floor than Smith, but not quite the same ceiling outside of a multi-touchdown game.
7. Davis Mills: Could be a long night for the second-year quarterback.
8. Brandin Cooks: If he plays, he will be double-teamed at a minimum.
9. Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett: Moore is the preferred option on FanDuel with a significant discount, it is a tossup on DraftKings.
10. Jake Elliott: Reigning NFC Pro Bowler has attempted just seven field goals this season.

Secondary NFL DFS Showdown Picks For Eagles-Texans

1. Ka’imi Fairbairn: This is his sixth season with the Texans and he is averaging two field goal attempts per tilt.
2. Quez Watkins: Decent discount on both sites, stellar play on DraftKings ($1,600) even if he only see a couple of looks.
3. Kenneth Gainwell: Above average chance for a dozen or more opportunities.
4. Rex Burkhead: Will get some looks, but first crack at the volume will go to his rookie counterpart.
5. Philadelphia D/ST: Lofty salary has made the selection of this unit an interesting thought exercise.

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Lottery Ticket NFL DFS Showdown Picks For Eagles-Texans

1. Brevin Jordan, Jordan Akins and O.J. Howard: Let personal preference or blind luck be your guide.
2. Boston Scott: Relies entirely on mop up duty.
3. Zach Pascal and Jack Stoll: Just enough upside for the fourth wideout and backup tight end to get a personal mention.
4. Houston D/ST: Philadelphia has two turnovers on the season. While a pick-six, kick return or scoop and score is always in play, do we really want to pin our hopes on that outlier?
5. Britain Covey, Dare Ogunbowale, Tyron Johnson, Troy Hairston, Grant Calcaterra, Noah Togiai, Mason Schreck, Gardner Minshew and Kyle Allen: Covey returns punts and kickoffs for the Eagles and Ogunbowale should at least be on the field. Skip the rest of this motley crew.

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