Daily Fantasy Football Week 9: Top Picks, Lineup Advice for DraftKings, FanDuel

Heading into Week 9 of the fantasy football season, we were hit with some horrible news.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has suffered a torn ACL and is done for the entire season. It happened in practice:

Just when we thought we were out of the woods with injury announcements, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch smacked us with wide receiver Pierre Garcon heading to injured reserve due to his neck issue, Schefter also reports:

These are two huge blows and they change the DFS landscape a bit—especially the injury to Watson. That decimates multiple players' values.

Well, let's examine DraftKings and FanDuel and try to win a couple bucks this weekend.

Have fun!

DraftKings ($50,000 Budget)

DraftKings: Sunday, November 5

QB: Dak Prescott, DAL (vs. KC), $6,700

RB: Kareem Hunt, KC (at DAL), $8,600

RB: Rod Smith, DAL (vs. KC), $3,200

WR: Dez Bryant, DAL (vs. KC), $6,400

WR: Robert Woods, LAR (at NYG), $4,300

WR: Devin Funchess, CAR (vs. ATL), $5,400

TE: Zach Ertz, PHI (vs. DEN), $6,800

FLEX: Mohamed Sanu, ATL (at CAR), $5,300

D/ST: Los Angeles Rams (at NYG), $3,100

Total: $49,800

As you can tell, we're doing two mini-game stacks here.

At the top, we're starting with the Chiefs and Cowboys. This game has a tight spread, with the Cowboys being slight home favorites, and the over/under here is coming in at 52.

That's a lot of points, in case you didn't know.

Looking at both teams, they're both filled with star power. The Cowboys will be without running back Ezekiel Elliott, as he will serve his six-game suspension, but the Cowboys still have enough receiving threats.

According to Football Outsiders, the Chiefs rank 20th in DVOA against the pass and 29th against opposing No. 1 wide receivers.

You see where I'm going with this? Priced in the mid-6000's, there's no way you can pass up Bryant this week.

This goes hand in hand with Prescott, too.

It was tempting to go with Watson here who is priced north of $8,000, but that's not able to happen anymore.

Going up against a porous Chiefs defense, Prescott should have another high statistical output with his arm and legs.

The other Cowboys player, running back Rod Smith, is a bit of a wild card. He comes in just north of $3K, but there is some upside.

Without Zeke, this backfield is looking for "the guy." Well, Smith could be that guy.

According to Jane Slater of NFL Network, Smith is slated to be the No. 2 guy behind Alfred Morris in Week 9. 

We already know what Morris is, and Smith is a bit of unknown but has shown flashes in his limited usage. Again, this is a dart throw. Take the risk!

On the flip side, we're sporting one of the Cowboys' opponents, Kareem Hunt. There's not much that needs to be said about him—he's good at football.

Moving down the list, Woods is going up against a Giants secondary that will be without cornerback Janoris Jenkins for the game and Eli Apple for a quarter, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

On a PPR site like DraftKings, Woods will prove to be quite valuable, and this is the week he scores a touchdown.

If you'll look at the remaining wide receiver and flex player, you'll spot Sanu and Funchess—two receivers on opposite teams of the teams playing.

Another mini-game stack.

With Kelvin Benjamin being traded to the Buffalo Bills, Funchess is the No. 1 option now. He should see plenty of targets his way against a Falcons defense ranking 25th in DVOA against the pass.

The Panthers may rank seventh in DVOA against the pass, but Sanu has been a reliable target for quarterback Matt Ryan as of late, having back-to-back six-target games and scoring a touchdown in Week 8.

To round this out, Zach Ertz is a monster and faces a Broncos defense that cannot stop tight ends—they rank 27th in DVOA against the position.

He'll get plenty of targets from quarterback Carson Wentz, too. He's the pseudo No. 1 receiver for the team.

And for the defense, the Rams are going up against a Giants team that is just not suitable for football in 2017. This could be a long day for the G-Men. They have no receivers, no running game—it's bad.

FanDuel ($60,000 Budget)

FanDuel: Sunday, November 5 

QB: Dak Prescott, DAL (vs. KC), $8,200

RB: Kareem Hunt, KC (at DAL), $9,000

RB: Alex Collins, BAL (at TEN), $5,900

WR: Dez Bryant, DAL (vs. KC), $7,700

WR: Robert Woods, LAR (at NYG), $5,700

WR: Devin Funchess, CAR (vs. ATL), $6,100

TE: Zach Ertz, PHI (vs. DEN), $7,600

K: Justin Tucker, BAL (at TEN), $4,900

D/ST: Los Angeles Rams (at NYG), $4,800

Total: $59,900

The lineup from DraftKings to FanDuel is quite similar. The only differences, however, are that we have to roster a kicker, we have a different running back, and Sanu isn't with us due to there being no flex spot.

FanDuel is different from DraftKings. Not only do you roster a kicker, but receptions are worth a half-point as opposed to a full point.

To avoid regurgitating the same information, let's cover the "new" players.

With rostering Justin Tucker and taking Sanu out due to the lack of the flex spot, we paid up a bit more at running back from Smith to Collins.

Collins has had four straight games of double-digit carries, with his season-high coming in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins with 18.

Being up 40-0 might have had something to do with that, but nonetheless—he's the one getting the carries.

Collins isn't utilized much in the passing game, but since we're losing a half-point coming to FanDuel, it doesn't sting as much.

To this point, Collins' kryptonite has been his inability to reach the end zone. Against the Titans and their defense that ranks 14th in DVOA against the run, this game could turn into a battle of the running backs. Quarterback Joe Flacco will be back after suffering a concussion, but the passing game is non-existent. The final score may not be all that impressive, but Collins should log plenty of carries in this game.

Sticking with the Ravens—and I can't believe we're rostering two Ravens—Tucker is their best player. Whether this game stays relatively low scoring or we see some high scoring, Tucker will be responsible for that. I'm not confident too many touchdowns will be scored, but a decent number of field goals? Yeah, that seems more likely.

Take these tips and win some cash in DFS this weekend!