NFL DFS Bargain Bin: Week 8 Sunday Slates
NFL DFS Bargain Bin: Week 8 Sunday Slates Running Backs
Myles Gaskin, MIA vs. LAR ($5,200-DK/$5,700-FD)
Gaskin will be refreshed coming off a bye week, and the second-year back could well be leaned on even a bit heavier than usual in what will be Tua Tagovailoa‘s first career start. That would be good news on a couple of fronts. One, Gaskin’s workload has already been steady and relatively robust over the last four games, a span during which he’s logged double-digit carries while also seeing at least four targets in each contest.
Two, the Rams have actually been one of the most generous defenses against the run in the league, allowing 4.3 yards per carry to running backs, along with a 42-326-1 line to the position through the air. Los Angeles has also yielded the fourth-most adjusted line yards per carry (4.9), setting up Gaskin well for a strong game at his salaries if he sees even a slight boost in his current average of 18.5 touches per contest. Coach Brian Flores is likely to give his lead back those extra opportunities in an effort to keep the heat off Tagovailoa, and even though the mobile rookie could well vulture a rushing opportunity or two from Gaskin on designed runs, the latter is still a solid play.
Le’Veon Bell, KC vs. NYJ ($4,600-DK/$6,000-FD)
Bell logged six carries in his Week 7 Chiefs debut, a modest initial workload that will undoubtedly expand with each passing week as the versatile back gets a stronger grasp of coach Andy Reid‘s high-powered offense. Bell is 28 years old at this point, but the tread on his tires is arguably that of a player at least two years younger — he sat out all of 2018 in a contract dispute with the Steelers, averaged a relatively modest 16.3 carries per game last season in New York and had logged just 19 carries in New York this season prior to his trade to KC while missing multiple games with a hamstring injury.
Needless to say, Bell’s motivation should be through the roof in his matchup against the team he just escaped after a protracted stretch of dissatisfaction. Reid is likely to give Bell some extra opportunities based on that fact alone, but the matchup is excellent under any circumstance. New York has yielded a robust 28.1 DK/24.6 FD points per game to running backs, along with an average of 4.6 yards per carry to the position. What’s more, the Jets are tied with several teams for third-most rushing TDs (seven) allowed to RBs and have also given up a 42-299-1 line through the air to backs, making them highly attackable for a player of Bell’s diverse skill set.