Vanek's Views: DraftKings NFL DFS Picks for Week 9

by Jordan Vanek (vanekjordan) Last Updated 2025-10-30 21:36:45 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

Using his experience as a former scout and staff member at Central Florida under Josh Heupel, Jordan Vanek takes an in-depth look at the upcoming NFL DFS main slate on DraftKings for Week 9. Formerly of The 33rd Team and 4for4 Fantasy Football, Jordan’s deep dive into the best stacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends is a must-read before you start building your lineups.

Week 9 brings one of the more balanced slates we’ve had in a while — several high-total games, a mix of value plays, and plenty of ways to build around your favorite stacks. There isn’t a single “must-play” game environment, but there are multiple spots where correlation and game theory can make a huge difference.

With pricing tightening up across the board, finding the right value plays will be key to fitting in the elite options like Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, and Jahmyr Gibbs. I’ve broken down my favorite game stacks, mini stacks, and individual plays at each position to help you build lineups that can separate in large-field GPPs.

Our NFL DFS projections will be essential on Sunday, especially with how many cheap plays I like this week. You might be surprised by how much flexibility they give you when building lineups.

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NFL DFS DraftKings Picks: Top Stacks, RBs, WRs, & TEs for Week 9

Game Stacks

J.J. McCarthy ($4,900, QB, Minnesota Vikings)

Jalen Nailor ($3,300, WR, Minnesota Vikings)

Jahmyr Gibbs ($8,000, RB, Detroit Lions)

Whether it’s a soft benching or not is up for debate, but this is a matchup I’m willing to buy into. The Lions rank among the league leaders in man coverage usage, and while it’s a small sample, J.J. McCarthy is near the top of the league in yards per attempt against man. This time, he’ll have his starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw back, and right tackle Brian O’Neill logged a limited practice Wednesday, so he could return as well.

I understand stacking McCarthy with Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison, but I want to make a case for Jalen Nailor as a sneaky option. He’s been running routes on over 70% of dropbacks, and with the Lions’ coverage likely focused on Jefferson and Addison, Nailor could benefit. He’s also shown chemistry with McCarthy against man coverage.

When you look at what other WR3s have done versus Detroit — Andrei Iosivas (82 yards), Tez Johnson (58 yards, TD), Rashod Bateman (63 yards, TD), and Marquise Brown (45 yards, 2 TDs) — there’s a clear path for production. This stack offers strong salary relief while still giving access to top plays from other premier games, and it’s one I’ll be targeting.

Last season, Jahmyr Gibbs torched the Vikings with 38 carries for 255 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns, plus 9 catches for 75 yards and another score. This year, Minnesota has already allowed Bijan Robinson, Kimani Vidal, Quinshon Judkins, and Kenneth Gainwell to each top 125 total yards. The only elite RB they’ve contained was Saquon Barkley — and that game led to Jalen Hurts posting his best passing performance of the season.

If you’re not playing Gibbs, pivoting to Amon-Ra St. Brown is an equally strong move.

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