NFL

Week 8 NFL FanDuel Late Afternoon Slate Breakdown

The Week 8 late afternoon slate on FanDuel features three games (lock at 4:05pm ET), including two that are projected to be high scoring.

The marquee game of the week features the Green Bay Packers traveling west to take on the 7-0 Los Angeles Rams. Coming off the bye week, Aaron Rodgers hasn't been limited in practice in preparation for a game in which he'll have to keep pace with a Rams team that averages 33.6 points per game.

Matchup (Implied Team Total) Game Total
Green Bay Packers (23.50) at Los Angeles Rams (33.00) 56.5
Indianapolis Colts (26.75) at Oakland Raiders (23.75) 50.5
San Francisco 49ers (21.75) at Arizona Cardinals (20.75) 42.5


Meanwhile, Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts take on the Oakland Raiders in a game with a 50.5-point over/under. But with the Raiders' trade of Amari Cooper and negative reports out of the locker room, this is a team that could just go into the tank.

As usual, the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals are on the late afternoon slate, but they play in a game projected to be the lowest scoring of the three. Byron Leftwich will take over as offensive coordinator for the Cardinals this week, so perhaps this is the time we see some improvement from an Arizona offense that has ranked as the league's second-worst through seven weeks, per numberFire metrics.

Heading into the weekend, there are some notable injuries to keep in mind as they could significantly impact how rosters are constructed. Matt Breida, who left last week's game early, has already missed practice time early in the week, and Marlon Mack has also missed some practice after his Week 7 breakout performance. Should either of both of these players miss Sunday's game, that will open up a lot of opportunity in their respective backfields and some salary savings for fantasy.

For tournaments this week, FanDuel is offering the $300,000 NFL Rush, which costs $9.99 to play and pays out $100,000 to first place. The $40,000 NFL costs $33 to enter and rewards the winner with $8,000. And the $35,000 NFL Spike Single Entry tournament is $5 to enter and pays out $4,000 to first place.

Now, let's break down the top plays and fades at each position.

Quarterbacks

Lock: Aaron Rodgers ($8,600) - The most expensive quarterback on the slate, Rodgers will face off with Jared Goff in what is expected to be the highest scoring game with a 56.5-point over/under. Rodgers had been hobbled by a knee injury earlier in the year, but he's practicing in full this week and is coming off two consecutive 400 yard passing games. Prior to last week's rout of the 49ers, the Rams' pass defense had been one to attack. From Weeks 4-6 -- after the Rams lost Aqib Talib -- they allowed 8 touchdown passes and an average of 314 passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. As healthy as he's been all season, Rodgers is the top quarterback on the afternoon slate.

Fade: Josh Rosen ($6,400) - There is certainly some hope that the Cardinals' offense will improve with Byron Leftwich as offensive coordinator, but that doesn't make Rosen worth chasing in DFS just yet. The rookie quarterback hasn't topped more than 10 FanDuel points in a game since Week 5 -- when he put up 10.5 against this 49ers team -- and he hasn't thrown for multiple touchdowns in a game over his five starts. He's coming off a disastrous Week 7 where he threw three interceptions, lost two fumbles, and took six sacks. He was also injured on the final play of the game, but the toe injury isn't expected to keep him out of Week 8.

Sleeper: Derek Carr ($6,900) - With the trade of Amari Cooper and reports out of Oakland that players may not have faith in either Carr or head coach Jon Gruden, it's difficult to make sense of how this Raiders team could perform in Week 8 coming off their bye. While there is certainly a chance they just pack it in, they could also put up a lot of points against a suspect Colts defense. The Colts crushed Derek Anderson and the Buffalo Bills last week, but in the three games prior to that, they had given up 7 touchdown passes with opposing quarterbacks averaging 332 passing yards per game. While Carr has thrown just one touchdown over his past two games, he may be forced to throw often in this game, which has a 50.5-point over/under. As the second-cheapest starting quarterback on the slate, Carr is an intriguing option in what could be a high scoring game in Oakland.

Running Backs

Lock: Todd Gurley ($11,000) - Gurley's price just keeps going up, up, and up, but his production hasn't fallen off. Gurley has scored multiple touchdowns in each of his past three games, eclipsing 30 FanDuel points in two of three. Once again playing in the game with highest over/under on the slate, it's difficult not to start building your lineup around Gurley. He's averaging 24 touches per game and his 57.29% red zone market share is second best among all running backs. The engine of one of the league's most prolific offenses, Gurley is always a top play on the afternoon slate.

Fade: Doug Martin ($6,000) - With Marshawn Lynch now on injured reserve, Martin is expected to see a significant bump in usage, but hasn't looked great this year after a number of disappointing seasons in Tampa. Martin has just 27 carries for 99 yards on the season. His 37.04% Success Rate (the percentage of plays that produce positive Net Expected Points) ranks 43rd out of the 66 running backs with at least 20 carries. Martin has also been seldom used in the passing game, drawing just five targets on the season. Jalen Richard, on the other hand, has been targeted 37 times and figures to remain Oakland's primary pass-catching back. As 3.0-point home underdogs, should the Raiders fall behind, it's Richard more likely to benefit than Martin in a negative game script.

Sleeper: Raheem Mostert ($5,600) - Mostert is the ninth-most expensive back on the slate, but he's coming off two consecutive games with 10 or more touches and he may see an uptick in carries again should Matt Breida sit out this week. Breida has missed practice for much of the week, leaving the 49ers most likely to roll with a Mostert and Alfred Morris committee come Sunday. With Mostert being the most explosive of the two, he's a very interesting low-priced play against a Cardinals defense that has allowed the most rushing touchdowns (12) and rushing yards per game (148.3). Over the last two weeks, Mostert has 19 carries for 146 yards and he caught all 4 of his targets in Week 7. Mostert also has posted the best Success Rate (52%) this season among 49ers running backs, better than both Breida (44.78%) and Morris (42.25%).

Wide Receivers

Lock: Davante Adams ($8,600) - Adams ranks second in the league in both receiving touchdowns (6) and red zone targets (15). He's scored at least one touchdown in five of six games this season and in a projected high-scoring game with the Rams, Adams is likely to see a number of more opportunities in the red zone. As mentioned above with Rodgers, the Rams have allowed eight passing touchdowns over the past four games since losing Aqib Talib. With Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison sidelined the past two weeks, Adams has averaged 14 targets a game, going for more than 130 yards in each and scoring 3 touchdowns. But even with all three receivers healthy for the first three weeks of the season, Adams led the Packers in targets (29), receptions (20), and touchdowns (3). Even if Cobb and Allison return this week, Adams is set up for another big game.

Fade: Randall Cobb ($6,100) - Going from locking one Packers receiver into lineups to avoiding another altogether, Cobb is expected to return to the lineup in Week 8 after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury. While Cobb steps into a projected high-scoring game in Los Angeles, his pre-injury production wasn't great and we won't know for sure how much Cobb will be on the field. Prior to his injury, Cobb had seen 27 targets in three games, but most of his production came in Week 1. In Week 1, Cobb went 9-142-1, but over Weeks 2-3, he had just 8 catches for 52 yards and lost 2 fumbles. Cobb's status is one to monitor over the weekend, but even if he returns for Green Bay, he's not an exciting fantasy option.

Sleeper: Christian Kirk ($5,400) - Should Byron Leftwich be able to rejuvenate the Cardinals' offense, Kirk could be a primary beneficiary. The rookie is second on the team in targets (37), trailing only Larry Fitzgerald (43). Over Rosen's four starts, Kirk has had at least 3 receptions in every game and had fewer than 50 receiving yard in just one out of four games. On the other side, the 49ers' pass defense ranks as the league's 18th-best, per numberFire metrics, and they've allowed the 4th-most passing touchdowns (16) on the season.

Tight Ends

Lock: Eric Ebron ($6,400) - On the season, Ebron is Andrew Luck's most-targeted receiver, seeing 59 looks, and 13 more than Chester Rogers. Ebron ranks third among all tight ends in targets, but he's scored six touchdowns, which is the most by any tight end in the league. Ebron hasn't seen fewer than seven targets in a game since Week 2, and he should continue to be in store for a bevy of targets with Jack Doyle questionable to play this week and Erik Swoope missing practice with a knee injury. The Colts have the second-highest implied team total on the slate (26.6 points) and with Luck averaging a league-high 44.4 pass attempts per game, it's another great week to plug Ebron into lineups.

Fade: Gerald Everett ($4,500) and Tyler Higbee ($4,200) - Everett and Higbee are at near-minimum price on FanDuel, but Jared Goff has rarely targeted tight ends through seven weeks. Higbee has been on the field for at least 60% of the snaps in every game this season, but he's only drawn 10 targets, which he's converted into 5 catches for 64 yards and 1 touchdown. Meanwhile, Everett hasn't played more than 42% of the snaps in any game, and he has only 9 catches on 14 targets for 76 yards. Even in yet another high-scoring game for the Rams, their tight ends carry little appeal.

Sleeper: Jared Cook ($5,900) - Cook is the fourth-most expensive tight end on the slate and he's been wildly unpredictable through six games. He has two games of 20 or more FanDuel points, seeing 12 or more targets and going over 110 yards in each. But he also has four games on the schedule in which he's had 6 or fewer targets and fewer than 50 yards. Cook leads the Raiders in targets (43) and his 18.94% target share is sixth-best among all tight ends. Cook is always liable to put up an egg, but if the Raiders are to keep this game close against the Colts, it may come with a big game from Cook.


Blair Ames is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Blair Ames also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Bames31. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.