Best NFL DFS Week 8 Watch List: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks

The best part about playing NFL DFS is that we are always looking ahead to a fresh start. We get a new list of players and a new list of prices. No need to go back and look at last week’s bloodbath. Look forward and appreciate how much we love a new article – the best NFL DFS Week 8 Watch List.

OK, fine. We won’t ignore everything that happened last week. Happy to take a few lumps. First and foremost, nothing you can do about injuries. They happen and they suck. I was well-invested in Jayden Daniels and that immediately sunk every lineup. Had some JuJu too and that hurt. But then I also was well-invested in the Panthers for my GPP tournament lineups and that too was a dick-shrivler. Chuba Hubbard as fine, but Andy Dalton was a hot mess and dragged everyone down with him.

Does a week like that mean a complete overhaul of our process? A change to the best NFL DFS Week 8 Watch List? Of course not. You’re not going to hit successfully every single week. Some are worse than others, but this has been one of the more chaotic and injury-riddled seasons we’ve seen in some time. Just go look at all the wide receiver injuries from last week. That alone was cruel and unusual, leaving many of us emotionally damaged.

But onwards and upwards. We got this and we are heading into a very special Week 8.

Best NFL DFS Week 8 Watch List For 2024

What makes Week 8 so special? How about no bye weeks. We get a 13-game slate on DraftKings and a full 14-game Sunday on FanDuel. We’re going to be very conscious of how we build out lineups this week with five games in the late slate. Six if you’re on FanDuel. 

We don’t want to over-invest in the late games and sit so far behind the field, but we want to make sure we have enough later options should we want to pivot in any way. Lots of people are going to want to invest in the Bills, Chiefs and, if on FanDuel, the Cowboys and 49ers and you’re definitely going to want pieces.

Which pieces? Let’s dive into the best NFL DFS Week 8 Watch List.

Top DraftKings DFS Week 8 Watch List

C.J. Stroud, QB Houston Texans ($6,900)

Not gonna lie – stunned to see Patrick Mahomes $100 cheaper than Stroud so will definitely be building a lineup or two with him, but for GPP tournaments, I’m loving Stroud this week. First and foremost, no one is going to be on him this week. 

Stroud looked terrible last week and this game profiles as another big Joe Mixon Day. With the Colts allowing the second-most rushing yards per game and the recent run of success for the Texans running back, you can bet Mixon will be chalk. That puts Stroud as a solid contrarian play.

Meanwhile, the Colts rank 27^th in DVOA against the pass, they’re allowing the 10^th-most passing yards per game and have allowed 10 touchdowns through the air this season. Opposing quarterbacks have also posted a solid 98.3 QB-rating against them. Oh yeah, and then there’s Stroud’s home/road splits. He likes it in Houston.  

Kareem Hunt, RB Kansas City Chiefs ($6,300)

As long as DK is going to price Hunt down here, I’m locking him down. He’s led the Chiefs in touches over the past two games, has three touchdowns and even catches a couple of passes each week. 

Now he gets the Raiders who are allowing the 10^th most rushing yards per game (136.7) and have given up nine rushing touchdowns on the season. Las Vegas has given up on this season and there’s going to be limited fight in them for this one, even if it is a divisional game. I expect Hunt to get some strong totals in before the first half is even done.

Jalen McMillan, WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($3,700)

This begins our journey into the Bucs’ new target-share distribution, so maybe just lean GPP for now. But we know Chris Godwin is done for the season and Mike Evans is unlikely to play this week, so someone is going to be seeing a significant boost in target-share this week. 

McMillan saw eight targets during Monday’s game and is expected to be on the field for almost every offensive snap. Obviously, Trey Palmer profiles in similar fashion and is also crazy-cheap, but if I had to pick one or the other, McMillan is my guy. 

Lucas Krull, TE Denver Broncos ($2,700)

Shout it out for Coop and Krull the Warrior King as this match-up and this price tag say yes in a major way. He continues to see a solid snap-share and has now seen four targets in each of the last two games. 

The Panthers rank 26^th in DVOA against the tight end, allow the fifth-most fantasy points to the position and just gave up a pair of tight-end touchdowns to the Commanders last week. For this price, it’s worth a shot.

Best FanDuel DFS Week 8 Watch List

Jalen Hurts, QB Philadelphia Eagles ($8,600)

As the fifth-most expensive quarterback? Why wouldn’t I look at Hurts? He’s the lowest-priced of all the quarterbacks typically capable of getting at least one rushing touchdown and this is an interesting match-up against the Bengals. 

Their defense has vastly improved, but that’s from a run-stopping standpoint and a healthier defensive line. They’re still allowing 217 passing yards per game and have given up 11 touchdowns through the air. Both pass defenses rate fairly well, but he 47.5 total gives me hope for a bit of a back-and-forth. 

Javonte Williams, RB Denver Broncos ($6,000)

Yeah, I know, two Broncos? What am I doing? But it’s a watch list and the match-up on paper is nice. Oh, who am I kidding? The match-up on the field is fantastic. Carolina is terrible and Javonte has had double-digit carries in three of the last four games. 

The one he didn’t, was the Chargers game where the Denver running backs were game-flowed out. He really seems to be figuring out Joe Lombardi’s offense and could be a solid play even in half-point PPR scoring. 

Jauan Jennings, WR San Francisco 49ers ($6,100)

Just like we are doing up above with Jalen McMillan, we’re going to latch onto a bargain price here for what could be Brock Purdy’s No. 1 target. Brandon Aiyuk is done for the season and Deebo Samuel wound up in the hospital with pneumonia. Everyone is going to jump on Ricky Pearsall, but Jennings has the established rapport with Purdy and has strong potential for both cash games and GPP tournaments. 

Dallas ranks 28^th in DVOA against the pass and is allowing 213.3 passing yards per game with nine passing touchdowns allowed. And what’s best is Jennings’ versatility, so I expect the Niners to line him up all over the place and avoid the tighter coverage.

Grant Calcaterra, TE Philadelphia Eagles ($4,900)

This is, obviously, contingent on whether or not Dallas Goedert suits up, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a bargain pass-catcher to pair up with Hurts? Maybe it allows you to go full-stack and get A.J. Brown in there too, but more importantly, should Calcaterra be the starting tight end, this match-up against the Bengals could be super-tasty.

He’s sharing snaps with Jack Stoll, but Calcaterra is definitely the pass-catcher of the two. He only saw one target last week, but it was a run-heavy day as they beat up the Giants. The game prior, Calcaterra had four targets. The Bengals rank 22^nd in DVOA against the tight end and are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to the position. At this price? Huge steal.

Player Pool

• DraftKings
• FanDuel

$ Tier	QB	TE	RB	WR
High	Jordan Love $8,900	Brock Bowers $7,400	Joe Mixon $9,000	Ja'Marr Chase $9,200
	Lamar Jackson $8,800	Travis Kelce $6,900	Jordan Mason $8,900	CeeDee Lamb $9,100
	Jalen Hurts $8,600		James Conner $8,300	A.J. Brown $9,000
	C.J. Stroud $8,500		Kareem Hunt $8,100
Medium	Brock Purdy $7,700	Tucker Kraft $5,900	Breece Hall $7,900	Jayden Reed $8,100
	Dak Prescott $7,600	Kyle Pitts $5,700	Kenneth Walker $7,800	Davante Adams $7,800
	Kirk Cousins $7,100	David Njoku $5,500	J.K. Dobbins $7,400	Tyreek Hill $7,600
Low	Bo Nix $6,900	Grant Calcaterra $4,900	Javonte Williams $6,000	DJ Moore $6,600
	Jameis Winston $6,500	Lucas Krull $4,600	Raheem Mostert $5,900	Brian Thomas $6,500
				Jaxon Smith-Njigba $6,400
				Darnell Mooney $6,300
				Jauan Jennings $6,100
				Jalen McMillan $4,900