NFL DFS Projections Preview | DraftKings & FanDuel Lineup Optimizer Values Week 9

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Week 8 had some absolutely monster performances with Kamara, AJ Brown, McCaffrey, and Foreman each putting up 3 total TDS (CMC had to show off and throw for one) and it was actually a pretty clean week as far as new injuries. The trade deadline saw some big-time moves including TJ Hockenson going to Minnesota, Jeff Wilson to Miami, Chase Edmonds to Denver, Nyheim Hines to Buffalo, and Chase Claypool to Chicago. We’ll see who is available for their new teams this week and hopefully learn in what capacity.

This is also one of the biggest bye weeks of the season as the Browns, Cowboys, Broncos, Giants, Steelers, and 49ers will get the week off, leaving us with a smaller pool of players to work with in DFS.

This is a weekly NFL article that can hopefully show you some lineup-building tools on RG as well as provide some picks and analysis based on those tools.

This Week’s FanDuel & DraftKings NFL DFS Projections Preview

There are ways to get edges in DFS NFL, such as stacking a WR or TE with your QB, correlating a RB or WR on the opposing team of your stack, and targeting volume guys with high floors who get goal-line carries and/or endzone targets that can maximize their ceilings with TDs. I will be focusing on the “main slate” for the week, but you can still find plenty of analysis for the Thursday and Monday NFL games on RG, and feel free to leave suggestions in the comments sections for any strategies/tools you’d like to see here!

This article is meant to highlight some of RG’s most helpful tools for NFL, including our industry-leading NFL DFS projections and NFL DFS optimizer, with some picks and analysis along the way. Let’s get to it!

NFL DFS Injury Roundup

Before we take a look at the projected lineups and picks for the week, it’s important to get a feel for any injuries that we’ll need to monitor as the week goes on and how these injuries will affect our builds if a questionable player ends up out. For cash games, I’m looking for safety, volume, and upside. I tend to avoid players who are dealing with an injury, as they are more likely to aggravate it or possibly have their snaps limited compared to someone coming into the week fully healthy with a full week of practice under their belts.

Looking at The Situation Room we can see who is still out for Week 9, how likely guys who missed week 8 are going to play in Week 9, and any new injuries that we’ll need to monitor ahead of Sunday and how it will affect lineups if certain questionable players end up sitting.

Important guys on the main slate who are out for Week 9 include Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Mike Williams, Jonathan Taylor, JaMarr Chase, Chuba Hubbard, Damien Harris, Keenan Allen, Darren Waller, JD McKissic, Corey Davis, Jahan Dotson, Randall Cobb, DeVante Parker, Josh Reynolds, Marquise Goodwin, Russell Gage, Daniel Bellinger, Cameron Brate, Donald Parham, Darrel Williams, and Irv Smith.

NFL Projected Lineups – Analysis & Top Stacks

Let’s take a look at NFL Starting Lineups to see any major lineup news, such as guys missing or interesting depth chart changes (main slate for this article) as well as which teams or games I’m looking to stack. This page is my favorite tool for NFL DFS as we get betting lines, DFS salaries, projected ownership, and updated depth charts that we can refer to as we build our lineups or see what is affected by any news throughout the week. Make sure to take advantage of this page to keep you up to date on a variety of beneficial DFS info.

NFL DraftKings & FanDuel Lineup Optimizer Picks

With a good feel for injuries, projected lineups, and strong stacks to consider, let’s check out LineupHQ, where you can create lineups in seconds with our NFL lineup optimizer tool as well as the “build” tool where you can create up to 300 lineups at once based on your custom settings.

If we click on the “P/$” column header in the LineupHQ grid, it will rank all the available players from high to low based on their expected fantasy points per dollar of salary on the specific DFS site you have selected — this is one of the best starting points for finding value on any slate.

On FanDuel:

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Looking at DraftKings:

Keep checking LineupHQ for any projections changes throughout the week, as the best p/$ plays could change in an instant if someone gets ruled out or some other type of news makes someone likely to see more or less volume.

NFL DFS – RotoGrinders Premium Tools Pre-Lock

If you have any tough lineup decisions or need some quick picks, be sure to check out the Consensus Value Rankings, Expert Survey, and LineupHQ tags from our DFS experts.

For up-to-the-minute news and analysis leading right up to lock, make sure to follow the RotoGrinders NFL twitter feed and our NFL DFS Alerts page.

Good luck this week!

Image Credit: Imagn

About the Author

naapstermaan
Erik Wardenburg (naapstermaan)

Erik Wardenburg (aka naapstermaan) has been playing fantasy sports since 2005 and DFS since 2010. He went to UC Davis, majoring in Economics, and began working with RotoGrinders in 2015. He currently manages the lineups page for MLB, NBA, and NFL, provides Consensus Value Rankings for MLB and NBA, and manages The Situation Room for NBA. Erik has made multiple Live Finals in MLB, NBA, and NFL on a variety of sites and enjoys grinding small/medium stakes every day. Follow Naap on Twitter – @naapstermaan