FanDuel NFL: Quarterbacks Week 8

Oct 23, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) points to the Kansas City Chiefs defense during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

FanDuel NFL: Quarterbacks Week 8 is a column highlighting the best player, most affordable, and best value options for your FanDuel NFL lineups focusing on salary versus expected points. The intention of this article is to help you build your FanDuel NFL lineup for the most likely big payday each week.

I like to lean on FantasyPros for weekly point projections, the information is a result of consensus from many fantasy football experts. I check the point projection results, which update daily, with the salary set by FanDuel for players each week.

Entering week 8, we have six teams on a ‘bye week,’ the Ravens, Rams, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers, and 49ers. So, you can cross the following quarterbacks off your list of FanDuel NFL lineup options:

To help you optimize your FanDuel NFL lineups each week, we’re focusing on the Most Points, Best Affordable, and Most Value options. This article will focus on the Quarterback position. Here’s a brief description of each category:

Now, let’s take a look at the players everyone’s targeting:

Oct 23, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) leads the Patriots onto the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Most Projected Points – QB

Tom Brady ($8,700 / 21.0) and Matt Ryan ($8,500 / 20.9) are once again our top two projected FanDuel NFL quarterbacks, this time for week 8. Each are a little cheaper this week, which isn’t surprising considering their match-ups. Brady is in Buffalo facing a Bills defense progressively getting better throughout the season. The Bills are 15th in the NFL defending the pass, in the middle of the pack. Still, Tom is on a roll and is again worth a lineup spot if you can afford him.

Ryan has a tougher task. The Falcons are playing at home this week, which is typically a good thing for anyone wanting to plug Ryan into their lineup. However, the Green Bay Packers will be in town, and they’re 9th in the NFL defending the pass, just outside of the top seven elite pass defenders in the NFL. This will be a tougher match-up for Ryan. If you’re going to spend this much on a QB for the top two projected points, pick Brady.

However, Aaron Rodgers ($8,800 / 20.6) is actually the most expensive this week, for good reason. Rodgers is 8th, this year, among all quarterbacks with 20.57 FanDuel NFL points per game. Comparing his average to his match-up and there’s good reason to get excited about playing Rodgers. As discussed with Ryan, Aaron and the Packers will be in Atlanta against the Falcons. The Falcons are 31st defending the pass, only the Oakland Raiders are worse. This should be a huge week for the Rodgers and the Packers passing offense.

Rounding out the top five are Andrew Luck ($7,900 / 20.0) and Russell Wilson ($8,200 / 19.8). While Luck looked great last week, leading all QB’s with 27.8 FanDuel NFL points, he’s got a tougher match-up this week. The Colts are welcoming the Kansas City Chiefs and their 11th ranked pass defense. The Chiefs will make it difficult for Luck to stay atop the Quarterbacks in points.

If you’re going to spend around $8K at QB, spend $300 more for Wilson. Russell is facing the 21st ranked pass defense in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints. The only risk is the game is at New Orleans, where the Saints typically play better. Also, the Saints passing defense has climbed up the rankings in the last couple of weeks, and could find ways to improve. Still, Wilson should bounce back from a miserable Sunday Night 6-6 tie with the Cardinals, and is more affordable than Rodgers or Brady.

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) after a handoff against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi

Best Affordable – QB

Jameis Winston ($7,400 / 19.1) is quietly 9th among all quarterbacks with an average of 18.6 FanDuel NFL points per game. If you haven’t looked at Winston much this year, he has a point floor of 10 in Arizona against the Cardinals and a ceiling of 28 points against the L.A.Rams. The game against a very good Cardinals pass defense isn’t too surprising. In fact, Winston also had 13 points against the Denver Broncos, also very good defending the pass. However, when the Buccaneers and Jameis take on a lesser defense they’ve had great success.

So who are the Buccaneers looking at this week? Oh, just the worst passing defense all season, the Oakland Raiders. In fact, Oakland is traveling to Tampa Bay to play the Bucs. As we know, west coast teams often have a tough time adjusting to the time change, when going west to east. So this week, on a very affordable $7,400 salary, Jameis Winston is ‘tee’d up’ for you to deliver a top 5 QB performance for FanDuel NFL players.

Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) prepares to throw the ball against the Oakland Raiders during the first quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Best Affordable – QB

I’ve noticed FanDuel NFL players typically like to avoid Alex Smith ($6,800 / 17.6). But they’re missing out on a great value pick at Quarterback. Smith has had a few really good games this year, and his salary continues to hover at or below $7,000. Last week Smith had 17.3 FanDuel NFL points, just below Matthew Stafford (17.8) and ahead of Marcus Mariota (16.7). This week, Alex and the Chiefs should continue to roll in Indianapolis, against the Colts. The Colts are only 27th in the NFL against the pass. Quarterbacks have the 4th best QB rating against the Colts. So Alex should land somewhere near 18+ points this week, a great return for only $6,800 salary.

Wrapping up, if you can afford Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, play them. Jameis Winston should have another great weekend on an affordable salary. And Alex Smith continues to be overlooked as a top value option at QB in week 8. Good luck FanDuelers!