Yahoo fantasy football is running a $1,000,000 contest with a $20 entry fee and 40,000 entries, which means they are adding $200,000 to the prize pool. Let’s get into some Yahoo Daily Fantasy Picks for NFL Week 8, including Joe Burrows, Alvin Kamara and more.
Week 8 NFL Yahoo Daily Fantasy Strategy & Picks
The critical thing to remember is that this is a half-PPR site, and the minimum salary is $10, with an average salary per player of $22. This week, Josh Allen and Derrick Henry are at the top of the salary list at $29. The complete scoring parameters can be found here.
One of the most valuable features of the Awesemo.com premium content is the personal player rankings from Alex Baker, for all of the main sports. The players grade out separately for each DFS site with ratings for both “projected points” and “value,” receiving an A through E report card-style grade. This week, as a special treat, Awesemo is also adding in the “Roster%,” which is the projected percentage a player will be used in the large-field tournaments.
Quarterback
If you have played daily fantasy football on Yahoo or Yahoo fantasy baseball, you know that the strategy is to look for the cheapest quarterback or pitcher that is tolerable so you can look for more secure points and upside elsewhere. In the recommendations below, I will be highlighting several discount options at the other positions so you can build a framework that will allow lineup construction for a top-shelf quarterback, along with his favorite target and still have enough salary cap to run it back with the top option on the opposing team.
Joe Burrow: Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets – $30 | Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value C, Roster% 4.7%
While the Awesemo projections are not exactly doing cartwheels over Joe Burrow this week, he gets a great matchup against the Jets. New York has the fourth worst passing DVOA and they allowed 307 passing yards to rookie Mac Jones. On average, over the last three weeks, the Jets have ceded 342 aerial yards per game along with five scores. Burrow has multiple touchdowns in every game this season, and it’s hard to contain the second-year signal-caller with his bevvy of pass catchers. The salary for Burrow is a favorable one and he is worthy of our attention on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts: Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions – $33 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A, Roster% 26.5%
Why, yes, dear reader, Jalen Hurts is, once again, being recommended as a foundational play on Yahoo. In all seven games this season he has surpassed 21.8 Yahoo Fantasy points with multiple touchdowns in six games. He has four rushing touchdowns in his last three games and the team is clearly not afraid to use him in the red zone. This bodes well for Hurts’ fantasy prospects as running back Miles Sanders (ankle) has been placed on the injured reserve. Heck, he even has had a hand in a two-point conversion in each of the last three games, which just adds to his potential upside. The Eagles are only favored by a field goal in Detroit and they have a way of keeping games much closer than they should. Be sure to have a healthy representation of Hurts in your fantasy lineups this weekend.
Running Back
We want to keep in mind that while running backs are very important, Yahoo fantasy uses half-PPR, which will not penalize running backs that are not as active in the passing game.
Alvin Kamara: New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $33 | Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value D, Roster% 21.8%
After seeing no targets in a Week 4 loss, Alvin Kamara has had 19 for 15/178/2 in the last two weeks leading the Saints to road wins in Seattle and Washington. Finally, coach Sean Payton has remembered that Kamara is a dynamic playmaker when he can get the ball in space. Not to fear, he was still slammed into the line 20 times for a pedestrian 51 yards, but by now every coach should know that the best chance against the Buccaneers’ fourth-best rushing DVOA is to utilize a high-percentage passing scheme. Payton is stubborn enough to wait until he is down by two scores before going this route, so fingers crossed he skips “feeling out of the defense” with the first half dozen drives on Sunday. Update: it sounds like there is a strong possibility that Mark Ingram II who was acquired this week from Houston will be active, this actually helps Kamara end up in more of a passing role rather than burning touches smashing into the line.
D’Andre Swift: Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles – $22 | Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value B, Roster% 40.8%
Currently it looks like the snap count is securely in D’Andre Swift’s favor 70/30 with Jamaal Williams picking up the short end of the workload. Williams is still getting 10-12 looks per game, though they mostly have been rushing attempts. Swift has logged 12.3 carries over the last three games and has a dramatic 23-4 advantage in targets during this timeframe. Philadelphia has a bottom-five rushing DVOA and they are not particularly stout against the pass. This is a winnable game and the Lions are likely to leverage Swift as much as possible in order to secure their first victory of the season.
Darrell Henderson Jr.: Los Angeles Rams at Houston Texans – $23 | Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C, Roster% 34.4%
This week Darrell Henderson Jr. saw his salary drop by almost 20% after a disappointing performance against Detroit. However, while the fantasy production was not there, he did have 15 carries and half a dozen targets. That is right in line with his regular workload and this weekend the Rams are facing a Houston team that is in shambles. There is a good chance that the Rams turn to the run in the second half as they favored by just over two touchdowns. The Texans have the second-worst rushing and passing DVOA marks in the league. Enjoy!
Wide Receiver
The top-shelf Yahoo fantasy options are typically priced in the low-to-mid-$30 range. Often, they are best paired with their quarterbacks for tournament upside rather than risking downside as solo plays.
D.J. Moore: Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons – $23 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B, Roster% 11.7%
The Sam Darnold experience has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least. Last week, he was benched for P.J. Walker, who was awful and of course there are rumors about a potential trade for Deshaun Watson. On tap is a matchup against the dismal Falcons defense and once against D.J. Moore should be peppered with targets. Though the results have not been exciting, he has seen 23 targets over the last two games for 11/146/0. Sunday is shaping up to be an excellent opportunity for him to end his three-game touchdown drought at a very cap-friendly salary on Yahoo.
Ja’Marr Chase: Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets – $31 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value D, Roster% 10.2%
Coming off an amazing 201-yard performance, rookie Ja’Marr Chase saw a 25% increase in his Yahoo salary. Over the last three games he is averaging 8.7 targets with 6 receptions and 152.3 yards accompanied by a pair of touchdowns. The Jets have one of the worst pass defenses in the league and Chase makes for an excellent stand-alone play or paired with his quarterback.
Chris Godwin: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints – $25 | Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value D, Roster% 13.2%
This is a nice situation for Chris Godwin, even going against the stout New Orleans defense, which has the second-best rushing DVOA and the sixth-ranked passing DVOA. For starters, defensive back Marshon Lattimore and receiver Mike Evans are likely to continue their personal one-on-one battle for most of the game. Antonio Brown (ankle) is out and Rob Gronkowski is slated to return. That means the linebackers are going to have their hands full and Godwin should be able to work the short and intermediate routes with coach Bruce Arians trying to get him into mismatched coverage. In tournaments, pairing Godwin with Tom Brady ($35) with Kamara on the other side will gain some synergy without breaking the bank.
Tight Ends
Mike Gesicki: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills – $18 | Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value E, Roster% 8.0%
There could be some rain and wind in Buffalo on Sunday and we know that will be an issue there in November and December. Mike Gesicki essentially is operating as a wide receiver with a tight end designation. He has been split out or put in the slot more than most tight ends as the Dolphins are desperate to find someone to help take the pressure off of rookie Jaylen Waddle with Will Fuller and DeVante Parker sidelined with injuries. While this is far from a discounted salary, most gamers are going to look to Kyle Pitts ($21) or T.J. Hockenson ($20) for a couple dollars more before they get to Gesicki. This is already bearing out in the early rostership projections with Gesicki coming in at less than half the popularity of his positional counterparts. Update: DeVante Parker (hamstring) may return, but is listed as a game time decision and the team as been very cautious with him in the past.
Ricky Seals-Jones: Washington Football Team at Denver Broncos – $11 | Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value A, Roster% 7.6%
It needs to be pointed out that Ricky Seals-Jones is dealing with a sore quad, but he was a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday. Since Logan Thomas was lost to injury early in Week 4, Seals-Jones has played nearly 100% of the snaps and he has played every snap in each of the last two games. In the last three games he is averaging 7 targets with 5 receptions for right around 50 yards. He is live for a touchdown every week, which makes him a tremendous discount dandy on Yahoo for Sunday’s NFL DFS action.
Defense/Special Teams
This week, there is one top-tier unit and a familiar bargain option.
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears – $14 | Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value C, Roster% 12.0%
If you have the extra $4, by all means treat yourself to the Rams at Texans or Bengals at Jets. Otherwise, the 49ers are in a nice matchup against rookie Justin Fields, who has struggled since replacing the injured Andy Dalton. In his last four outings, skipping his abysmal starting debut against Cleveland where he was sacked nine times, he is averaging 15.3 completions on 24 attempts for 169.5 yards with two passing touchdowns and five interceptions. While he has scrambled five times per game for 23.5 yards while being sacked 11 times.
Washington Football Team at Denver Broncos – $13 | Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value D, Roster% 4.4%
Washington is the other discount defense we can consider on Sunday against the Broncos who are coming off a bye week. Teddy Bridgewater has multiple touchdowns in four of six games, however, he has nine sacks and five interceptions in his last three. Denver is on a four-game losing streak and looking to change its luck, but this is not going to be an easy matchup for them on offense.
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