FanDuel NFL 2021: Best lineup for Week 9

Flex: Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens vs. Minnesota Vikings-$7,700

Heading into the Ravens’ Week 8 bye, Brown scored in three of four games with double-digit targets in two of the last three. Rashod Bateman may really eat into some of his target share going forward, but Baltimore is throwing the ball more so the target pie is larger than it’s been in recent years.

In Week 9 Brown gets the Minnesota Vikings, who will down arguably their best cornerback (Patrick Peterson) for the second of three games he’ll have to miss on IR. That lines Brown up to either be covered by Beshaud Breeland or Cameron Dantzler, which are matchups he can win regularly. Overall, Minnesota is a bottom-tier defense against wide receivers.

Team Defense: Carolina Panthers-$4,200

The Panthers’ defense held Atlanta to 13 points in Week 8, while sacking Matt Ryan three times and intercepting him twice. They’ve registered multiple sacks and at least eight fantasy points (Yahoo! scoring) in six of eight games this season.

This week the Panthers are at home facing the New England Patriots and Mac Jones, who’s playing better than most any rookie quarterback but has still thrown six interceptions. Without a 54-point explosion against the Jets in Week 7, and New England has scored more than 21 points three other times this season (17 or less three times).

Carolina’s defense is cheaper than it should be in DFS this week, and they’re an easy pick for my FanDuel defense in Week 9.