NFL DFS: Week 8 FanDuel Cash Plays (1PM Only)

Got your main slate NFL DFS lineups all set and looking for a good reason to avoid tinkering with them? Make some more lineups on some smaller slates!! This article will focus on the top cash game plays for the 1PM only slate on Fanduel.

Welcome to the week eight edition of NFL DFS Fanduel Cash Plays for the early slate from FantasyCPR. This piece will give us a solid look at how to attack our cash games for the seven-game, 1PM only slate on Fanduel.

For the newbies, cash games are simply the games in the lobby that are 50/50 or close to that to win. These are basically all of the games other than the tournaments and guaranteed prize pool tournaments (GPP’s). Head-to-Head’s (H2H), 50/50, and double-ups would best summarize cash games.

Let’s continue by saying this, if you don’t like chalk, these slates are not for you. This article highlights who the top options are in my opinion, and whether they are popular plays or not is not any of my concern. I am just trying to give you a good starting point and a few plays to build around. With that said, let’s move along and see how the week seven sample lineup played out.

Week 7 Recap:

I am a big fan of transparency, and I will be the first to admit I do not always get them right. But I think if you appreciate the conclusions I come to by you doing further research yourself, then I know you will be back for another read. Again, I am always here to help so reach out to me on Twitter, and that sample lineup is just a SAMPLE cash lineup. Regardless, I will play it every week, and we will track it right here!

QB – Kirk Cousins – 17.54

RB – LeSean McCoy – 0.1

RB – Nick Chubb – 14

WR – Adam Thielen – 21.5

WR – Stefon Diggs – 6.6

WR – Jarvis Landry – 20.7

TE – David Njoku – 13.2

FLEX – Christian McCaffrey – 11

DEF – Jacksonville Jaguars – 2

Above is last week’s sample lineup. After two weeks of the sample lineup easily cashing in the 100-man 50/50’s, I am sad to say the last two weeks were just the opposite. This lineup was only good for 106.64 and missed cashing anywhere. In my 100-man 50/50’s, I finished on average somewhere in the 80’s. I look at this lineup and think, wow I played three Browns, they all scored touchdowns, and I was still nowhere close to sniffing cash. Unfortunately it was my Vikings that let me down once again, as Latavius Murray turned out to be the correct play along with Thielen of course. The other heartbreaker was McCoy going down early with just one rushing yard. He was around 20% owned, so not quite chalk. An injury like that to your lineup can pretty much derail your day immediately.

NFL DFS: Week 8 FanDuel Cash Plays (1PM Only)

QB – Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – $7,800

Everyone always says that you should pay down at quarterback in cash games. I used to follow this pretty religiously, but we have a new exception in Chiefs young phenom Patrick Mahomes. I’ll be honest, I am 90% sure that I personally am playing Mahomes in cash this week, at least on this slate. However, math, match-up, and other factors like a possible floor game make Dalton the right play.

The Bengals will host the 3-3 Buccaneers, and they are looking to snap a two game losing skid. The Bucs have been stout against the run, so I think RB Joe Mixon has a tough time getting anything going once again this week. It will be a lot closer than last weeks 45-10 throttling they took from the Chiefs, and it will be on Dalton’s shoulders to right the ship. I think Dalton ends up around 250 yards with three TD’s. Three of his receiving threats are viable as well, so keep an eye out for those later in the article.

***Also Consider – Patrick Mahomes – $9,200***

RB – Kareem Hunt – Kansas City Chiefs – $8,100

Running back is absolutely stacked on this slate, so let’s start by saying let’s first be thankful we don’t have to decide to do with Todd Gurley and his $11,000 salary. I honestly still do not know what I am doing yet with the main slate, but that is neither here nor there. With the way Hunt has been playing, and with how leaky the Broncos run defense has been as of late, at a mere $8,100, Hunt seems like the lock of slate.

James Conner is right behind Hunt, and he should also be locked in your lineups, as the Steelers will face the struggling Browns defense. Conner took 31 carries 135 yards in the first meeting week one, and racked up 31.7 FDP. The main reason I am not writing up more reasons to play Conner and Hunt, is that they should be as obvious to start, as Saquon Barkley is to fade on this slate. That reason, and the fact that our next target is now also a lock at the flex position, should make the choices fairly obvious to the DFS veteran. I expect all three backs to be chalk in cash games, but I guess you never know.

Phillip Lindsay – Denver Broncos – $6,500

That is correct. Royce Freeman has been ruled out for this weeks tilt against the Chiefs in Kansas City, and the Denver offense will likely be relying heavily on Lindsay to carry the load, and keep the Broncos in the game. Lindsay has flashed some greatness in a limited role sharing time with Freeman. The “other” rookie in the Broncos backfield, Lindsay has certainly proven himself an asset both rushing the football, and receiving out of the backfield as well. He ran 12 times for 69 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting, and is coming off of a 90 yard, one touchdown performance at Arizona. The Chiefs rank in the bottom third in the league in rushing allowed, and the hope is that the Broncos can stay in the game, and Lindsay gets some serious run. The fact that Freeman will not suit up, despite anything else, makes him a lock for me at this price.

***Also Consider (or flex) – James Conner – $8,000, Kerryon Johnson – $6,900,***

NFL DFS: Week 8 FanDuel Cash Plays (1PM Only)

WR – Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers – $8,800

Much like Conner had a big game in the season opener against the Browns, AB84 was plenty active as well, but much quieter. Brown only had nine catches for 93 yards and a touchdown, but he was targeted 16 times in that game. The Steelers will be looking to avenge that opening day tie, but the Browns are much different now with rookie QB Baker Mayfield at the helm, rather than now injured opening day starter Tyrod Taylor.

On this slate, if you want to pay up for receiver, I think the obvious debate is between Brown and AJ Green. While Green is another Bengal I like this week, my guess would be that he will be the number one focus of the Bucs Defense, With Brown however, JuJu Smith-Schuster is proving himself a threat, and James Conner is also proving to be a beast on the ground, so defenses are becoming forced to spread out that attention. Brown has amassed 40 catches for 478 yards with six touchdowns through six games. He ranks first among wide receivers in touchdowns per game, and is second in targets per game with 12. With the big stud running backs not on the slate, this could be a spot to pay up for a top receiver.

WR – Tyler Boyd – Cincinnati Bengals – $6,800

Back to the Bengals. They aren’t huge favorites against the Bucs at home, but the Vegas total of 54.5 suggests a high scoring game at the very least. When you break down the Buccaneers defense, this team stops the run for the most part. Against the pass however, it is a much different story, where the Bucs rank dead last. I look for Boyd to bounce back from a quiet game last week, when the Bengals were just dominated for four quarters by the Chiefs, and never got anything going.

Believe it or not, Boyd actually has very similar stats to Antonio Brown to this point, with 40 catches for 482 yards, and four touchdowns. For a guy who is clearly the 2nd threat in a decent offense, who has already had a couple nice games, under $7K is a solid value, especially in a top flight match-up like this one with Tampa Bay.

WR – Jarvis Landry – Cleveland Browns – $6,700

Another receiver in a great spot, who is also among the league leaders in targets is Landry. He has been targeted 82 times this season through seven games, but has just 41 catches for 489 yards and two touchdowns. The opportunity has been there for Landry, and he should have another similar workload in this rematch of the week one tie with the Steelers. That was Landry’s first game as a Brown and Tyrod Taylor was under center, but Landry was targeted 15 times in that game, and caught seven balls for 106 yards. He has had double-digit targets for five straight weeks, and the Browns will likely be airing it out in Pittsburgh against the Steelers 27th ranked pass defense. Boyd and Landry are both likely chalk in these cash games, because their salaries fit the correct balanced lineup build perfectly. Both should see significant volume, giving them a higher projection than the others in this price range.

***Also Consider (or flex) – AJ Green – $8,800, Chris Godwin – $6,300, Marvin Jones Jr. – $6,000***

TE – CJ Uzomah – Cincinnati Bengals – $5,400

It seems like every week so far this year, there is that obvious chalk, semi-cheap to dirt cheap chalk tight end. I remember Vance McDonald week. I believe there was Ricky Seals-Jones week but that might have been last year. Cameron Brate week happened, David Njoku week just happened. Welp, welcome to CJ Uzomah week.

Injuries to starter Tyler Eifert and back-up Tyler Kroft have left Uzomah the last man standing in Cincinnati, and like Eifert and Kroft, he has another athletic, pass-catching tight end. He was only targeted twice last week in the blowout loss the Chiefs, but he did catch both passes, and one was for a touchdown. Again, with most of the attention from the Bucs defense on AJ Green, things should open up for Boyd and Uzomah, and I expect solid games from both.

***Also Consider – Travis Kelce – $7,300***

NFL DFS: Week 8 FanDuel Cash Plays (1PM Only)

DEF – Chicago Bears – $5,000

This is quite expensive for a defense, but there are a couple of factors that at least have me considering paying up for them in cash games on this slate. I’ll start by saying, all of these factors need to come to fruition for this to happen, and it is already looking like the Ravens at $1,300 cheaper are just a smarter play. But hear me out anyways.

Khalil Mack is nursing an ankle injury, and his status is still in doubt for this one. If he does not play the Bears defense instantly becomes way too expensive. Since the opponent is the New York Jets and this game is in the Windy City, I would bet Mack is held out of this one. If he plays, this defense can pop for almost 15+ FDP, like they did almost every week the first four weeks of the season. Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold was just awful last week, so the Bears will likely generate some fantasy points regardless, but it all depends on the status of Mack for me to even consider paying up this high.

***Also Consider – Baltimore Ravens $3,700***

NFL DFS: Week 8 Fanduel (1PM Only!) Slate Sample Lineup:

The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.”

QB – Patrick Mahomes $9,200

RB – Kareem Hunt $8,100

RB – James Conner – $8,000

WR – Tyler Boyd – $6,800

WR – Chris Godwin – $6,300

WR – Marvin Jones Jr – $6,000

TE – CJ Uzomah – $5,400

FLEX – Phillip Lindsay – $6,500

DEF – Baltimore Ravens – $3,700

I hope you enjoyed some slate specific coverage today. You can find me on Twitter with the link at the top of the page. Reach out to me if you would like to see more of this! We have TONS of FREE content here from many incredibly talented writers at FantasyCPR, and new stuff to check out constantly. As we try to cover more and more angles of fantasy sports, you will see more articles focusing on the smaller slates among the different NFL DFS sites. Good luck on the early slate!