Ravens vs. Buccaneers DFS Picks: Will Lamar Jackson or Tom Brady Top 300 Yards Tonight on TNF?

Week 8 gets underway tonight with a pair of former NFL MVPs trying to navigate their teams out of the doldrums. This matchup is a borderline pick’em, which hopefully will facilitate a back and forth contest with above average fantasy production. Let’s take a look at our best Ravens – Buccaneers DFS picks for TNF including key plays in Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson.

Heading into NFL Week 8 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 8 Thursday Night Football slate featuring the Baltimore Ravens at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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NFL DFS Picks: Week 8 Thursday Night Football – Ravens-Bucs

Baltimore will be without DE Calais Campbell (illness) and J.K. Dobbins (knee) is on the injured reserve. Guard Ben Cleveland (foot) was a full participant in practice and expected to play tonight. Tight End Mark Andrews (knee) did not practice at all on the short week and he looked well below 100% on Sunday. Running back Gus Edwards (knee) was a limited participant and will be a game time decision for tonight. Wide Receiver Rashod Bateman (foot) did not practice Monday or Tuesday, but was a full participant on Wednesday. Still there is a chance he is unable to play tonight.

Tampa Bay is missing WR Russell Gage (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee) was a limited practice participant, but he has not played since Week 4 and has appeared in just two tilts this season for 50 total plays. Other players who have been ruled out include TE Cameron Brate (neck), OL Luke Goedeke (foot), DBs Carlton Davis (hip) Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad) and Antoine Winfield Jr. (concussion). Rounding things out, wide receiver Mike Evans (ankle) was limited in practice but has indicated he will play tonight.

Baltimore Ravens: 22.0 Points

Quarterback

The Stokastic fantasy projections have bestowed the QB6 ranking upon Lamar Jackson for both DraftKings and FanDuel when looking at all of the Week 8 options. While Tampa Bay does have the sixth best passing DVOA per Football Outsiders, they have ceded multiple passing touchdowns in four of their last five matchups.

While Jackson has topped 218 passing yards only once this season, back in Week 2 in a wild game against Miami, he does have 13 aerials scores on the season, which is the fourth  most in the league. Jackson already has 510 yards on 66 carries and there is a strong chance he records his third rushing touchdown of the season tonight. Tampa Bay is missing several members of their defensive backfield, which bodes well for Jackson, if he can find a healthy pass-catcher.

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Running Back

Gus Edwards looked good in his first appearance this season rolling up 66 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries against Cleveland. He is dealing with a sore knee, but if he suits up he should be expected to see a similar workload to last week. Of course the one downside with Edwards is that he is rarely targeted in the passing game with only 24 opportunities in 44 career games. It is important to note that Edwards does not see the field on passing downs and his work on Sunday came on just 23 plays.

Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill split the rest of the plays, with Drake getting the only target. Drake did have 11 carries, but only managed five yards compared to Hill who had five carries for 26 yards. Fullback Patrick Ricard and his 300 pound frame were on the field for a season high 88% of the snaps, but he had just one carry and two receptions for 20 combined yards.

Wide Receiver

Rashod Bateman (foot) saw his first action in three weeks on Sunday with a 56% snap share. Most of this came at the expense of Demarcus Robinson who would be the biggest beneficiary if Bateman is unable to go tonight. Devin Duvernay has been the most consistent wideout, though he would be the third receiver at best on most teams. If Bateman is out, Tylan Wallace will be active, but he has just half a dozen targets on the year.

Tight End

Mark Andrews (knee) was visibly limited on Sunday and it would not be a shock if he sits out this game with the short turnaround time. Regardless of his status, rookie Isaiah Likely is a strong play on DraftKings ($1,600) and to a lesser extent on FanDuel ($7,000). If Andrews is out, The Masses will be flocking to Likely. Backups Josh Oliver and Nick Boyle only have utility if Andrews is out.

Defense/Special Teams

Tampa Bay has allowed only four sacks in their last four games with no turnovers. Baltimore does have three or more sacks in four of their last five games and they are tied for the league lead with 14 takeaways.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 23.5 Points

Quarterback

Tom Brady has been the subject of countless disparaging remarks in the fantasy community, though over his last five games he is averaging 308 passing yards with a robust 47 attempts and a 68.9% completion rate. The main knock is that he has just six touchdowns in this timeframe, but he also has been sacked only seven times with no interceptions.

Baltimore has the sixth best passing DVOA according to Football Outsiders, however, other than Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and a Week 2 career best 469 passing yards from Tua Tagovailoa, they have faced off against a passel of replacement level signal-callers.

Running Back

The Ravens have allowed six different running backs to rush for 50 or more yards this season with seven players posting 75 or more combined yards. Leonard Fournette is still the lead back and rookie Rachaad White is the only other running back to see action on offense.

Fournette should find success against the 23rd rushing DVOA and anything less than 20 combined carries and targets is going to be a disappointment. White should see whatever remains and in the event this game ends up as a lopsided affair, he has a strong path to 12 opportunities, regardless of whether or not his team is winning or losing.

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Wide Receiver

Mike Evans is the second most expensive option in the player pool on DraftKings ($11,000) and on FanDuel ($14,000) he ranks third. This season he has more then seven targets in just three of his six games, but he did get a season high 15 on Sunday in the loss to Carolina.

By comparison Chris Godwin has double-digit targets in three of his last four games and while he is still looking for his first touchdown, he has a far more palatable salary when compared to Evans. Scotty Miller should factor in as the third wideout with Russell Gage (hamstring) out and Julio Jones (knee) likely to be on a snap count if he is even active. If Jones does remain out, then veteran Breshad Perriman would be a viable discount dandy.

Tight End

Rookie Cade Otton is likely to benefit with Cameron Brate (neck) out once again. The former University of Washington star has yet to find pay dirt, though he does have 16 receptions for 163 yards on 21 targets. Even with an elevated salary, he is a core play on both DraftKings ($5,000) and FanDuel ($8,000).

Ko Kieft will serve as the TE2 and mostly be used as a blocker, but he has caught both of his targets this season for a solid 37 combined yards. Veteran Kyle Rudolph has been disappointing and in his four active games, he has been on the field for 26 total snaps, seeing three targets.

Defense/Special Teams

Baltimore has allowed multiple sacks in five of seven games and they are in the middle of the pack with nine turnovers. Tampa Bay

Thursday Night Football Single-Game NFL DFS Strategy For Ravens-Buccaneers

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 8 Thursday Night Football NFL DFS Rankings For Ravens-Buccaneers

Top 10 NFL DFS Showdown Picks

1. Lamar Jackson: Even with his two best pass catchers ailing, Jackson rates out as the best fantasy play.
2. Tom Brady: Has the best point per dollar ratios among all starters on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
3. Leonard Fournette: Active in all facets of the game, one of the few remaining “bell cow” backs.
4. Chris Godwin: 91% snap share over the last two games, double-digit targets in three of the last four.
5. Mike Evans: Slightly behind Godwin, but a threat to score on any play.
6. James Proche: DraftKings only, but at $600 he unlocks plenty of lineup combinations, hard to expect more than a couple touches and a zero fantasy point performance is in play.
7. Justin Tucker: On of the greatest kickers in NFL history.
8. Rashod Bateman: Should know by warmups how he is looking.
9. Gus Edwards: If he is healthy, the Gus Bus could be rolling for a second-straight week.
10. Ryan Succop: Just five attempts from more than 50 yards over his last 46 games, 22 for 37 from 40-to-49 yards over the last three seasons including making all eight attempts this year.

Secondary NFL DFS Showdown Picks For Bears-Patriots

1. Mark Andrews: Hard to trust that balky knee and the injury reporting, lofty salary even if he was 100% healthy.
2. Isaiah Likely: Personally I would leave Andrews out of my player pool and use Likely instead, even if Andrews is active. Obviously this situation self resolves if Andrews is out.
3. Devin Duvernay: More than five targets only once this season, does return punts and kickoffs.
4. Tampa Bay D/ST: Not as formidable as in prior seasons, but still can get it done in the right matchup.
5. Scotty Miller and Julio Jones: If Jones is active, skip Miller. If Jones is out again, Miller is a nice discount dandy.

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Lottery Ticket NFL DFS Showdown Picks

1. Baltimore D/ST: Brady does not give up many sacks or turnovers.
2. Rachaad White: Only other Tampa Bay running back to step on the field, besides Fournette. Also returns kickoffs.
3. Kenyan Drake and Justice Hill: Seem to be the odd men out, both would move to the top of the second section if Edwards is inactive.
4. Patrick Ricard, Ko Kieft, Josh Oliver, Breshad Perriman and Demarcus Robinson: Legitimate dart throws.
5. DeSean Jackson: Oh wouldn’t it be fun if he was active!
6. Kyle Rudolph and Jaelon Darden: Desperation plays, Darden also returns punts.
7. Nick Boyle: Just say no!

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