The Week 8 trade deadline came and went this week, and we had a lot of notable deals that could have fantasy implications moving forward.
Golden Tate dealt to the Eagles.
Demaryius Thomas dealt to the Texans.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix dealt to the Redskins.
Ty Montgomery dealt to the Ravens.
In Week 9, we get our first glimpse of the other big trade to happen within the last two weeks when Amari Cooper makes his Cowboys’ debut.
I am eager to dive into Week 9, where we have our first O/U game hitting the 60 mark, but first we gotta talk about my Week 8 cash game lineup on DraftKings.
Let me just say, I didn’t avoid all of the landmines and still somehow managed to get a comfortable win, even though it wasn’t very comfortable most of the day.
And I made what almost turned into a brutal mistake during the slate.
So again, my screen shots aren’t loading to the site properly for whatever reason, so here’s what I had in cash this week. If you doubt it for some reason, you are welcome to hit me up on Twitter @hotdogdaily_DFS and ask for proof. I’ll gladly show you. I just want to be transparent.
QB – Aaron Rodgers
RB 1 – Todd Gurley
RB 2 – James Conner
WR 1 – Doug Baldwin
WR 2 – Courtland Sutton
WR 3 – Martavis Bryant
TE – O.J. Howard
FLEX – Kareem Hunt
D/ST – Pittsburgh Steelers
Total Points – 152.44
Season Record – 5-3
Analysis: My biggest mistake was swapping Jared Goff right before the Packers/Rams game locked and getting to Aaron Rodgers. I had the perfect salary to do it and figured I would get all of the Green Bay passing exposure with Rodgers. Then two rushing touchdowns happened and Jared Goff went bonkers, which I felt confident would happen all week. I got on Sutton to fit in Gurley, Conner and Hunt. I figured the Broncos would try to really showcase Sutton because I felt they were on their way to trading away Demaryius Thomas. More on Sutton later, but Bryant and Baldwin really flat out stung. I had Njoku and Bryant in my lineup at one point, but I am so glad I didn’t have two dinosaur eggs in this lineup. It all worked out in the end at least.
Now let’s take a look at Week 9, where we have lots of stacked options at both QB, RB and WR, especially. A couple of things to keep watch on prior to lock this week is Dalvin Cook and Melvin Gordon’s statuses. Should news come down that Cook plays and Gordon sits, then Austin Ekeler becomes a great cash game play to save money.
Anyway, let’s attack this slate hard and wins some damn money!
WIDE RECEIVERS
DeAndre Hopkins – Houston Texans – $8,300
Analysis: No Will Fuller, Keke Coutee, if he plays, will be locked up with Chris Harris and Demaryius Thomas is learning a new offense. This is a prime position for Hopkins, whose targets increase by an average of nearly 3 per game when Fuller is out. Denver is middle of the road in fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, but they are giving up more than a TD per game to the position. Hopkins is an other-worldly talent who is matchup proof, especially without Will Fuller.
Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings – $8,900
Analysis: It’s starting to get almost out of hand to pay for Adam Thielen. He’s the highest-priced receiver on the slate, meaning you can always fade him to build better security around your team. The Vikings are facing the Lions, who were just shelled by Seattle wideouts last week. Thielen is going for an NFL record 9th straight game with at least 100 yards receiving and should avoid Darius Slay this week.
Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons – $7,900
Analysis: Averaging nearly 20 DK points per game and hasn’t scored a touchdown yet. He will be my highest owned receiver of the week on the road against Washington, who doesn’t use Josh Norman to shadow. Even if he did, I would still trust Julio to make mincemeat in between the 20s.
Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints – $7,600
Analysis: Thomas is egregiously under-priced for a ball hawk in a game with the week’s highest projected total. Thomas moves all over the field and I love him this week against the Rams, that has got flamed by No. 1 receivers all year long.
Brandin Cooks – Los Angeles Rams – $6,700
Analysis: REVENGE GAME! I am so in love with Cooks this week, back in New Orleans and I feel gets aided by the return of Cooper Kupp. Cooks seems boom or bust, but with New Orleans favored in this game, we might end up seeing an increase in passing plays from the Rams. That would bode well for Cooks, who has had tons of success in this stadium and on its playing surface. Cooks should avoid Lattimore at times and he can easily break a big gain for a big game.
Jarvis Landry – Cleveland Browns – $6,500
Analysis: Having any exposure to any Browns in cash sounds insane. But the Browns are going to have opportunities to score with the Chiefs coming into town as big favorites. This Browns coaching staff is gone and Gregg Williams has taken over HC duties. We really don’t know what to expect, but I find it hard-pressed that Landry’s double-digit targets don’t continue this week.
Devin Funchess – Carolina Panthers – $5,600
Analysis: The integration of D.J. Moore could certainly eat into Devin Funchess’ production moving forward, I still like Funchess to command 8-10 targets against one of the worst defensive secondaries in the league, allowing the second-most DK fantasy points per game with 197 yards per game and 1.86 TDs allowed per game.
Marvin Jones – Detroit Lions – $5,300
Analysis: You might be worried about Jones coming off a big game facing Xavier Rhodes. Well, I am not. Rhodes is nursing an ankle injury and Jones has blasted Rhodes in the past. It remains to be seen if Rhodes actually follows Jones or Kenny Golladay, who clearly is the best receiver on this team, athletically.
TreQuan Smith – New Orleans Saints – $4,200
Analysis: I am merely playing the O/U game here. I like D.J. Moore a lot at a similar price point, but Smith has been getting all kinds of targets downfield and has come into his own as a No. 3 receiving option behind Thomas and Alvin Kamara. I have taken zeros from Martavis Bryant and Jermaine Kearse this year and have cashed, so why not TreQuan?
Courtland Sutton – Denver Broncos – $3,900
Analysis: Cash game lock of the week. Sutton offers increased volume against a poor Texans pass defense and his overall talent level makes Sutton a great play in cash games this week.
