Slate Overview- Week 8 Thoughts

Week 8 is a bit of a disaster due to injuries and bad pricing. DraftKings has completely mispriced the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa’s return. Injuries have made it so that there is tremendous value all over the board this week. This type of pricing makes it less optimal as you have to factor in 2024-draftkings-gpp-domination-week08

Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De’Von Achane are all about $1,000 underpriced this week which is going to raise their roster percentage. However, because this is a 13-game slate, the roster percentage is not going to be nearly as high as many may think it will be, as we have it projected to be 23% for Hill, 15% for Waddle, and 22% for Achane. On a normal week, Hill would likely be 40% or higher this week. If Miami’s offense is able to bounce back to 2023 levels with Tua back at quarterback, they’re going to be a team that you do not want to fade. Tampa Bay is also a team that is very underpriced with the injuries to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.

So, how do we approach this in a GPP? Many people are going to go with a lineup that just takes a lot of these under-valued players and loads up on the value plays by starting a Tampa receiver, Tyreek Hill, and Bo Nix while spending up at other positions. Tyreek Hill should be in your starting lineup as long as he stays below 50% rostered, as the upside is just too great compared to the price. However, for the Tampa receivers, you’re really playing a game of roulette. Everyone can convince themselves on a narrative of why to like one of their receivers, but the reality is that there is a strong chance that a more balanced lineup wins this week as it’s entirely possible that we see each of these guys have 35-50 yards.

Key Injuries for Week 8

• Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles. The Browns will start Jameis Winston, which should provide some life to this passing offense that still has some value available due to the trade of Amari Cooper.
• Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are both out this week. Chris Godwin’s injury occurred late in the Monday Night game after pricing had already been finalized, and this will make Cade Otton, Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, and Sterling Shepard all value plays. Of these options, expect Otton to be by far the most popular this week after a 100-yard performance in Week 7. However, Palmer is a top punt play this week after he showed upside in his limited experience in his rookie season. We haven’t seen Jalen McMillan breakout, but the third-round rookie is extremely talented and could have a big role this week.
• Tee Higgins was a late addition to the injury report with a quad injury. Being added to the injury report on Friday is always concerning. If Higgins is out, Andre Iosivas would see a slight upgrade but would be a downgrade to Ja’Marr Chase, who has failed to top 100 yards in each of his last five games without Higgins, averaging just 41.8 yards per game.
• The Panthers are a mess. Andy Dalton is out with a thumb injury, which means that Bryce Young will start this week. Diontae Johnson is also out this week with a rib injury, and Adam Thielen will need one more week to return from a hamstring injury. Denver’s defense should be a top play this week, but it is expensive at $3,700.
• Travis Etienne Jr. is questionable this week with a hamstring injury. At $6,300, Tank Bigsby is a little bit too expensive than what we’d like him to be, but he is a potential GPP play if Etienne were to miss this week against a Packers defense that allowed 115 yards and two touchdowns to Joe Mixon last week.

Stacks

Top Stack

Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle

If you’re going to stack Tyreek Hill with Tua Tagovailoa, you should strongly consider taking Jaylen Waddle as well, or just take Tyreek Hill without Waddle. We know Tua is not going to be running the ball this week, given that he is coming off of a vicious concussion, and Mike McDaniel has made it fairly clear that he is worried about him. So, for Tagovailoa, the only path for him to be a GPP winner is to have a 300+ yard 3 touchdown performance. To do that, both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are likely going to need to have big games this week. The matchup is tremendous, as Arizona is allowing the fourth-most DraftKings points to opposing quarterbacks and has allowed 25 points or more three times this year.