Daily Fantasy Football Week 8: DraftKings, FanDuel Strategies and Value Picks

One of the best daily fantasy football strategies is to rely on the top point producers.

George Kittle falls into that category, and with injuries ravaging the San Francisco 49ers backfield, he could be the best option to tear apart the Seattle Seahawks defense.

Another popular DFS mindset is to ride the hot hands, and that could best apply to the Week 8 matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns.

If you call on Kittle, Derek Carr or Baker Mayfield, you may be required to use one or two value plays to fill out your Week 8 lineup.

If Kittle is one of the first picks, his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, is worth considering as a cheap stacking option.

One of the breakout stars in the Cleveland offense could be a top value play for the second straight week. As could a wide receiver who may have been forgotten because of a Week 7 bye.

George Kittle Is San Francisco's Best DFS Play

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San Francisco should gain yards at a high clip in both aspects of its offense, but there is concern about which running back will get the preferred workload against Seattle.

Raheem Mostert is already out and Jeff Wilson Jr. did not practice Thursday because of an ankle injury. That leaves Jerick McKinnon and JaMycal Hasty as the two healthy options.

If the 49ers split the production out of the backfield, it could be hard to figure out which running back to start. The one reliable player in the 49ers offense is Kittle, who has a pair of 100-yard performances in five games this season.

Five of Seattle's six opponents recorded more than 300 passing yards. In Week 7, the Arizona Cardinals lit up the Seattle secondary for 360 yards through the air.

In his most recent meeting with the Seahawks in Week 17 of the 2019 season, Kittle brought in all seven of his targets in a win that clinched the NFC West title.

Seattle has only allowed 281 receiving yards to tight ends, but it has faced the fourth-fewest targets against players at that position.

If Kittle is targeted on a consistent basis, he could be the deciding factor in what could be a high-scoring affair, with Russell Wilson able to counter everything the 49ers do, like he did last time out against the Cardinals.

Ride the Hot Hands in Las Vegas and Cleveland Offenses

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Cleveland enters Week 8 off its most dramatic victory of the season over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Baker Mayfield went 22-of-28 and recorded season highs of 297 yards and five passing touchdowns. He faces a Las Vegas defense that was torched for 369 passing yards in its Week 7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Although the Raiders lost by 25 to Tampa Bay, Derek Carr still put up decent totals with 284 passing yards and a pair of scoring throws. That extended his multi-score streak to five games.

Cleveland does have a dynamic pass rush, led by Myles Garrett, but its defense has still conceded more than 300 total yards in all but one contest this year.

If Mayfield and Carr exploit the holes in the defenses, we could see one of the highest-scoring games of Week 8 in Cleveland.

Adding some combination of Josh Jacobs, Kareem Hunt, Jarvis Landry and Darren Waller could boost your total scores if a shootout comes to fruition.

You could even look at Nelson Agholor, who is second on the Las Vegas roster in receiving yards behind Waller, or Harrison Bryant, who broke out with a pair of scores in Week 7, as potential stacking options from this game.

Value Plays

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Quarterback: Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco (DraftKings: $5,400; FanDuel: $6,600)

Garoppolo's matchup with the Seattle defense could aid a high point total.

In addition to having Kittle to rely on, the 49ers signal-caller has developed a connection with rookie Brandon Aiyuk and worked Kendrick Bourne into the offense.

Kittle, Aiyuk and Bourne all have more than 250 receiving yards, and Deebo Samuel can also be used to carve up the Seattle defense with his speed.

In 2019, Garoppolo threw for 533 yards in two meetings with the Seahawks, but he only had one touchdown pass.

If he produces multiple passing throws for the fourth time in 2020, Garoppolo could outplay his value in DraftKings and FanDuel contests.

Running Back: Myles Gaskin, Miami (DK: $5,200; FD: $5,700)

Myles Gaskin's dual-threat ability should help Tua Tagovailoa ease into the Miami Dolphins offense.

The Washington product has caught all of his targets in four of his six games this year and has failed to catch just two of the 29 balls thrown in his direction.

If Tagovailoa faces pressure from Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams front seven, he could look to get rid of the ball quick to Gaskin and his tight ends.

Gaskin's points-per-reception value is his biggest Week 8 asset since he is not expected to break out for a large rushing total against Donald and Co.

Given his salary and expected role, Gaskin would be a solid secondary option to a primary running back such as Derrick Henry or Alvin Kamara.

Wide Receiver: Marcus Johnson, Indianapolis (DK: $3,000; FD: $4,500)

Marcus Johnson briefly flashed his name on the fantasy radar in Week 6, but he did not gain a ton of traction because the Indianapolis Colts were off in Week 7.

Johnson brought in five of eight targets for 108 yards in the Colts' Week 6 come-from-behind win over the Bengals. If Philip Rivers throws to Johnson at the same frequency in Week 8 versus the Detroit Lions, he could be Sunday's best value play.

Detroit allowed 322 passing yards in its Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons and conceded 62 points in its first two home games.

If you roster Johnson, you could reap the rewards of his low value and add more players to round out your lineup.

Tight End: Harrison Bryant, Cleveland (DK: $3,200; FD: $5,000)

Bryant will be a popular value play because of his two-touchdown performance in Week 7 in place of Austin Hooper.

With Hooper still recovering from an appendectomy, Bryant could be one of Mayfield's top red-zone targets, and an option across the middle versus the Raiders.

The 2019 John Mackey Award winner brought in four of his five targets against the Bengals and is set to face a Raiders defense that failed to contain Rob Gronkowski last time out.

Bryant still has a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as Gronkowski every week, but he has a chance to replicate the 62-yard, one-score outing the Tampa Bay tight end had against Las Vegas.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.

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