Daily Fantasy Football Week 8: Predicting DraftKings Top Performers and Busts

The best fantasy options aren't always the most high-profile players. Avoiding the bigger names on your daily fantasy football team can lead to lots of success as long as you find quality replacements.

Week 8 actually might be one of the best chances to look a little further down the list for the true gems at each position. Here are early predictions for the best and worst picks of the week.

Quarterback

Top Picks
Avoid
Player	Team	Opp	Price*
Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers	IND	$6,800
Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers	BAL	$6,600
Andy Dalton	Cincinnati Bengals	PIT	$6,000
Teddy Bridgewater	Minnesota Vikings	CHI	$5,100
Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	DEN	$7,500
Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	CAR	$7,400
Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	GB	$6,400

This doesn't appear to be a week to go chalk at quarterback. Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck are obviously two of the best players in the game at their position, but they are each facing off against elite defenses in Week 8.  

Josh Norman and the Carolina Panthers can slow down the Indianapolis Colts offense while the Denver Broncos have both the pass rush and secondary talent to keep the Green Bay Packers quiet. 

Meanwhile, Peyton Manning simply hasn't been good enough to justify putting into a daily fantasy lineup, even after a bye week.

A better option for the week could be Cam Newton, who hasn't put up huge numbers this year but is as safe as they come thanks to his running ability. His three interceptions Sunday night weren't all his fault and he should come back strong against an inconsistent Colts secondary.

Philip Rivers should also come through with a strong performance, at least on the fantasy side. As Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus notes, he has gotten a lot of opportunities in recent weeks:

While these were both losses, it doesn't matter as he simply won't stop throwing the ball any time soon. This could lead to plenty of yards and touchdowns against a poor Baltimore Ravens pass defense.

One cheaper option for Week 8 could be Teddy Bridgewater, who is coming off his best fantasy day of the season with 316 passing yards and two touchdowns in a win Sunday. He seems to have found a new favorite target in Stefon Diggs, but he also spread the ball around to 11 different players in the game.

If he can stay in control and avoid mistakes once again, he could provide great value for just above the quarterback minimum.

Running Back

Top Picks
Avoid
Player	Team	Opp.	Price*
Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	DAL	$7,100
Todd Gurley	St. Louis Rams	SF	$6,300
Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens	SD	$6,100
Danny Woodhead	San Diego Chargers	BAL	$4,500
Alfred Blue	Houston Texans	TEN	$3,500
Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers	DEN	$6,200
Latavius Murray	Oakland Raiders	NYJ	$5,900
Joseph Randle	Dallas Cowboys	SEA	$4,300

It appears Marshawn Lynch is back to his old self after his 27-carry, 122-yard showing Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers. With nine days to rest up, he should be able to cause many more problems for the Dallas Cowboys defense.

Of course, all other running backs might soon have to be compared to Todd Gurley, who now has 433 rushing yards in his last three games combined. He also got into the end zone twice on Sunday for his first career scores and made it all look extremely easy:

He has value against any matchup, and while his price jumped $6,300 from last week, this is still too cheap for one of the best running backs in the league.

Justin Forsett and Danny Woodhead don't muster the same type of excitement, but they each get a lot of touches for their teams and have good matchups against each other in Week 8.

Alfred Blue also is a risk, although the Houston Texans don't have many other options after Arian Foster was declared done for the year with a torn Achilles, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The injury has made Blue a solid starting running back for basically no cost on DraftKings.

What you don't want on your team is uncertainty about running backs' roles in the offense. This is the case with both Joseph Randle (two carries in Week 7) and Eddie Lacy (four carries in Week 6 before the bye). Until we know more, it might be best to stay away from their teammates as well despite seemingly good values for James Starks, Darren McFadden and others.

Latavius Murray does have a more defined role, but it has been too tough running against the New York Jets this year to justify picking him this week.

Wide Receiver

Top Picks
Avoid
Player	Team	Opp.	Price*
Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	TB	$9,200
Keenan Allen	San Diego Chargers	BAL	$7,700
Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears	MIN	$6,400
Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints	NYG	$5,400
Stefon Diggs	Minnesota Vikings	CHI	$4,800
Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	CLE	$7,700
Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	DEN	$7,000
Steve Smith Sr.	Baltimore Ravens	SD	$6,100

The best names on the board are the target monsters, the ones who get a look every time their quarterback drops back.

Julio Jones has slowed down since his hot start but still had nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown on 17 targets in Week 7. Keenan Allen caught nine of his 13 targets Sunday and leads the NFL with 62 receptions on the year. Alshon Jeffery had the week off but finally appears healthy after bringing down eight catches for 147 yards and a touchdown in Week 6.

At various prices, all three players have solid matchups and could continue to post big numbers over the weekend.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Brandin Cooks is a bit more of a question mark, but even he had 13 targets Sunday and could succeed against a New York Giants defense that gives up a lot of yards through the air.

As for Stefon Diggs, he is proving he is the real deal with a strong showing each of his last three games. This past one included one play that will be discussed for some time and earned high praise from Chris Wesseling of NFL.com:

Pairing him with Bridgewater could be a cheap and useful stack for your team.

Looking at potential busts for the week, the top players in tough matchups like Randall Cobb and Steve Smith Sr. could simply be too costly to be worth the risk.

Larry Fitzgerald has been a quality weekly option in daily fantasy, although his price is finally starting to exceed his value. With other options also available for Carson Palmer in Arizona, there simply might be better choices for your team.

Note: All prices and fantasy score info courtesy of DraftKings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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