The NFL DFS Grind Down: Monday Night Football - Cowboys vs. Eagles
For this Week 7 Monday Night Football matchup on 10/26 featuring the Cowboys vs. Eagles, Notorious will take a look at the top NFL DFS plays on DraftKings and FanDuel. As always, you can visit our NFL lineup optimizer, LineupHQ, to help you with your lineup-building process.
NFL DFS Showdown Picks – Cowboys vs. Eagles
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Welcome back to another edition of the NFL Grind Down. I didn’t have a great main slate in Week 7, but I did have a nice Showdown slate last night. I’m hoping to do that again in this Monday Night Football game. The Cowboys are coming off two bad losses. They were beaten by the Buccaneers at home and then didn’t put up much of a fight against the Packers in Green Bay. They are now 2-4, matching the Eagles’ record, who will be without Jalen Hurts for the rest of the season. Both teams are still in contention to win the division, as the Giants are 4-2-1 at the top of the NFC East.
The Cowboys are 4.5-point favorites, while the game features a 44-point total.
Key Injuries (as of Monday, 12:00 PM ET)
▪️ QB Jalen Hurts (PHI) — Out (blood clot)
▪️ WR DeVonta Smith (PHI) — Out (hamstring)
▪️ WR Dontayvion Wicks (PHI) — Out (ankle)
▪️ OLB Nolan Smith (PHI) — Out (concussion)
▪️ DB Michael Carter (PHI) — Out (abdomen)
▪️ RB Saquon Barkley (PHI) — Questionable (hamstring)
▪️ G Landon Dickerson (PHI) — Questionable (knee/pectoral)
▪️ OLB Jonathan Greenard (PHI) — Questionable (ankle)
▪️ OLB Jalyx Hunt (PHI) — Questionable (knee/ankle)
▪️ CB Jakorian Bennett (PHI) — Questionable (knee)
▪️ TE Grant Calcaterra (PHI) — Questionable (back)
▪️ TE Eli Stowers (PHI) — Questionable (quad)
▪️ WR KaVontae Turpin (DAL) — Out (ribs)
▪️ T Drew Shelton (DAL) — Out (hamstring)
▪️ LB Dee Winters (DAL) — Out (calf)
▪️ LB Marist Liufau (DAL) — Questionable (forearm)
▪️ S P.J. Locke (DAL) — Questionable (foot)
Dallas Cowboys Preview
Dak Prescott currently has one of the best recipes for fantasy production of any quarterback in the NFL. The Cowboys defense is dead last in EPA allowed per play, and the offense is 5th in pass rate over expectation (PROE) and 1st in dropback rate (70%). There’s potentially some positive regression in store for Prescott too, as his expected fantasy points per game (XFPPG) is 3.5 points higher than his actual fantasy points per game. He’s close to a must tonight against the Eagles, who are 23rd in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks this season.
Cowboys’ 2026 WR/TE usage:
🔹 George Pickens: 82% route part., 20% target share, 32% air-yards share, 13.6 XFPPG
🔹 CeeDee Lamb: 81% route part., 28% target share, 39% air-yards share, 21.3 XFPPG
🔹 Ryan Flournoy: 74% route part., 14% target share, 13% air-yards share, 8.4 XFPPG
🔹 Jake Ferguson (TE): 63% route part., 10% target share, 7% air-yards share, 8.8 XFPPG
🔹 Brevyn Spann-Ford (TE): 18% route part., 4% target share, 2% air-yards share, 2.2 XFPPG
CeeDee Lamb has been the clear WR1 in this offense, racking up a 28% target share, a 39% air yards share, and a 30% red-zone share. Over the last 3 games alone, he has 44 targets. He’s hard not to love against the Eagles, who have allowed the most fantasy points to receivers in the slot this season. George Pickens isn’t as much of a priority as Lamb, but he’s capable of topping 100 yards and scoring a touchdown each week. The matchup isn’t quite as appealing since he doesn’t run many routes from the slot, but the Eagles aren’t that much better at defending outside receivers. I’m going to make a rule in LineupHQ to include at least one of Lamb and Pickens in every lineup.
Ryan Flournoy has a bigger role than you might expect. He has run a route on 74% of dropbacks and has a 14% target share this season. I like using him in double stacks with Prescott and either Lamb or Pickens. Jake Ferguson has low target and air yards shares this season. He also has a tougher matchup than the receivers, as the Eagles are 13th in fantasy points allowed to tight ends. Jonathan Mingo and Brevyn Spann-Ford can be added to your large-field tournament player pools.
Javonte Williams is the embodiment of the “he can’t keep getting away with it” meme. He has averaged 53 rushing yards per game with a paltry 3.7 yards per carry. However, he has averaged 18 fantasy points per game thanks to scoring 8 touchdowns already this season. This could be a nice game script if the Cowboys build a lead, but I plan to be underweight on him tonight. The Eagles are 6th in EPA against the run and 3rd in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to running backs.
The Cowboys defense is facing Tanner McKee and a DeVonta Smith-less Eagles offense, yet I’m still not willing to waste a roster spot on them. Kicker Brandon Aubrey is a strong value in all formats. He’s one of the best kickers in football, and the Eagles are tough against the run. I could see a few Dallas drives stalling out in the red zone.
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Philadelphia Eagles Preview
Jalen Hurts is set to miss the rest of the season, which means Tanner McKee is tasked with leading the Eagles to a playoff appearance. He’s a traditional pocket-passer that stands at 6’6” and 230 pounds. He’s known for his accuracy rather than his mobility, so the offense will look much different with him under center. The Eagles might focus more on the run with Saquon Barkley back from injury, but McKee did have 45 pass attempts in his first start of the season. He’s viable on this Showdown slate, but I don’t love using him at CPT and MVP.
Eagles’ 2026 WR/TE usage:
🔹 Makai Lemon: 83% route part., 13% target share, 10% air-yards share, 5.4 XFPPG
🔹 Dallas Goedert (TE): 59% route part., 16% target share, 13% air-yards share, 9.3 XFPPG
🔹 Darius Cooper: 44% route part., 8% target share, 14% air-yards share, 5.2 XFPPG
🔹 Johnny Mundt (TE): 27% route part., 3% target share, 0% air-yards share, 1.4 XFPPG
DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks have been ruled out of tonight’s game, which means Makai Lemon and Darius Cooper will be the top two receivers in this offense. Lemon has a low aDOT, but the Eagles have been giving him more routes downfield in recent weeks. He’s a talented rookie in a potential breakout matchup. We’ve already seen the upside from Cooper, as he’s caught 4 touchdowns in the last 5 games. Both are viable tonight. I’d lean toward Lemon in cash games and small-field tournaments, and I’d lean toward Cooper in large-field tournaments.
We can expect a lot of 12 personnel from the Eagles tonight. Dallas Goedert could lead the team in targets here, and his route participation is slowly going up each week. If you are looking for a punt in this passing game, Johnny Mundt, Eli Stowers, Elijah Moore, and Britain Covey are all priced under $2,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel. They should all see increased snaps this week. The Cowboys are a great matchup for opposing passing attacks, especially for opposing wide receivers.
Saquon Barkley is expected back this week. He has not looked good this season (or last season), so I’m hesitant to say he’s going to make a huge impact on the offense moving forward. However, he could have some success in this matchup. The Cowboys are 24th in EPA against the run and 30th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to running backs. Dameon Pierce would have more appeal if he wasn’t priced as if Barkley was out.
The Eagles haven’t been great defensively and are 5-point underdogs tonight. A fluke play could always turn into a defensive score, but I’m not prioritizing either of these defenses. I prefer Aubrey over Jake Elliott, but I could see this being a two-kicker type of slate.
DraftKings Ownership Angle & CPT Picks
We don’t have a single player projected for more than 20% ownership at CPT tonight, so we don’t have to worry about extreme chalk at the multiplier spot. I love the idea of using someone from the Cowboys’ passing attack here. The matchup sets up well, and all of these players have 25+ fantasy point upside.
FanDuel Ownership Angle & MVP Picks
We have spread out ownership at MVP tonight, as six players have an ownership projection of at least 10%. Javonte Williams leads the way, and he’s one of my favorite fades on the slate. If he doesn’t score touchdowns this week, the field might be making a big mistake by using him in the multiplier spot.
Prop Pick – Cowboys vs. Eagles
Season Record: 9-7
✅ Makai Lemon o3.5 receptions
For a full stat preview of every game in Week 7, head to the NFL First Look.
Image Credit: Imagn
Stats credit: Fantasy Points Data