David Jones 
Welcome to my NFL Daily Fantasy Sports guide for this Sunday’s games! In this article, I’ll walk you through my strategic approach for selecting top players and crafting optimal lineups to give you a winning edge in NFL DFS for 2024. I’ve thoroughly analyzed each game and position to highlight the best plays and explain the reasoning behind my selections.
*I’ll be updating this article on Sunday morning if there are any changes. Be sure to check back for the most current and accurate DFS plays.
Sunday Updates:
- Tyler Goodson should be added to the RB player pool
- Joe Mixon should also be added to the RB player pool as a top 5 back
- JuJu is a good $4K option if you need it
Quarterback Rankings
- Jayden Daniels
- Sam Darnold
- Geno Smith
- Kirk Cousins
GPP Punts
- Daniel Jones
- Anthony Richardson
Running Back
Saquon Barkley
Anything less than 100+ yards and 2 TDs in this spot will be a disappointment, but I think we get it. Spare can spare me your bad takes on how returning to the Meadowlands doesn’t mean anything to Barkley. He wants to stick it to them. His coaches know it is time to let Barkley shine. There won’t be any Jalen Hurts “tush pushes” on the one-yard line, instead, there will be give it to Barkley and let him run it down the poverty Giants throats. This is an organization in the Eagles that let Boston Scott get 9 touchdowns in 10 games against the Giants purely based on the narrative that he does it every single time (almost). The DFS nerds victory lapped him failing the last two times after they missed out on the first 8 easy money anytime TD bets. Not that you need a narrative against the Giants, but you have a big one here. If for some reason you need another reason to play Barkley, he leads the NFL in fantasy points per game (21.08) that is playing on the main slate. He also makes for very good leverage if you fade the Eagles receivers.
My crystal ball says he is the highest-scoring running back on the slate and possibly a player.
Kyren Williams
He is a high-volume back against a Las Vegas Raiders team ranked 28th in DVOA against the run. The Raiders allow 28.1 DK points per game to the running back and are coming off a matchup against the Steelers where they let Najee Harris show life for the first time this season. Williams is a great spend-up if you can afford it.
Chuba Hubbard
He just continues to exceed value no matter the game script. Washington should almost certainly beat the Panthers here, but even a trailing Andy Dalton will get Hubbard involved in the passing game. Aside from Week 1, Hubbard has at least 4 targets in every game. He averages 17.1 DK points per game, and that counts him only scoring 1.4 DK points in Week 1. He is truly having a breakout season and we may catch an ownership discount due to DFS players factoring in the blowout risk.
Chase Brown
Are we witnessing the flippening in Cincinnati? Last week Chase Brown out-snapped Zack Moss 62% compared to 45%. He also got 10 carries and 3 targets compared to Moss’s 6 carries and 1 target. This game could get ugly for the Browns, and fast. The Bengals need wins, and messing around against a Browns team, that just lost Amari Cooper, isn’t something they can afford. Brown has averaged 18 DK points in the past three weeks compared to Moss’s 9.1 DK points. The Browns are ranked 20th in DVOA against the run, which is worse than the Seahawks, Falcons, Colts, and Jaguars. I do not love the fact that he isn’t guaranteed starter volume, but I do like his odds a lot on finding the endzone. Perhaps that makes him a better FanDuel play.
Others to consider:
- Kenneth Walker/Zach Charbonnet: Charbonnet going to be a priority if Ken Walker gets ruled out
- Brian Robinson: A+ matchup, A+ salary yet a major volume risk with his knee injury that sidelined him in the second half of last week’s game.
- Tony Pollard
Wide Receiver
Drake London or Darnell Mooney
Seattle put safety Rayshawn Jenkins on IR this week. Cornerbacks Riq Woolen and Tre Brown have also been ruled out. The Seahawks are going to try to piece together a secondary against the Falcons, and the pieces they have to play with are not encouraging.
Both Falcons receivers get the benefit of playing in what Vegas thinks could be a high-scoring affair while having one of the better cornerback matchups in the league. Nehemiah Pritchett is the target corner who is allowing the second most yards per route run for any starting corner in the league (1.93). He plays more on the right 63% which is where Drake London runs 39.7% of his routes and Darnell Mooney runs 25.5% of his routes. Coby Bryant will likely step into the slot corner role, which will be a positive for all three Falcons receivers. Devon Witherspoon hasn’t been terrible and should stick to the left side of the field the most. The Falcons are fantastic in scheming the receiver they want open, and I expect no difference here. Drake London is clearly their guy with a 26.1% target share (Mooney has a 20%). One, if not both of them, should have a fantastic day.
Malik Nabers
The Eagles pass defense is terrible. They have supplanted the Washington Commanders as the worst team via DVOA against the WR1. Nabers is back from his two-week absence after dropping three straight must-have weeks in a row. In those three games, he had a staggering 45 targets against CLE, WAS, and DAL. The Eagles are not going to shadow which allows the Giants to scheme Nabers open plenty. Nabers is the 7th highest-priced receiver and he has a legitimate chance to finish the Sunday as the WR1. Hell, he may even bring Daniel Jones ($5,400) along with him on a GPP winner.
Jordan Addison
The Detroit Lions allow the most receiving yards on the slate, yet they have only given up 3 receiving TDs. Justin Jefferson is the best spend-up on the slate. I just want to get that out there. But, if you do not land on JJ, then take a look at Jordan Addison as a direct leverage play. When you look at how they line up on the left side of the field (where I want to target), it is identical. They both have run 33% of routes on the left where Carlton Davis lives. He is getting demolished and that is where the chunk plays are going to come from. Jefferson has far more YPRR than Addison (2.99 compared to 1.99) yet Addison has far more air yards (17.9 compared to 14.2). Remember when I said chunk plays before? That’s what we must have from Addison, and that is what you can get if JJ somehow doesn’t have a monster day. Again, don’t get it twisted Jefferson is the best play, but Addison has me intrigued.
Jackson Smith-Njigba
Technically JSN has the ideal slot matchup here running 86% of his routes against Dee Alford. Alford allows 1.53 YPRC, which is significantly higher than the other Falcons corners. The one thing that is hard to ignore is DK Metcalf is only $1,000 more expensive than JSN. The Falcons don’t shadow so the Seahawks should be scheming to get Metcalf open, which isn’t that hard against ATL. Metcalf leads the Seahawks in Target %, YPRR, and AirYards. However, JSN leads the Seahawks in Target % inside the 20-yard line (38.9%). I have to trust the numbers and say JSN is a better play, but there is no way I am leaving salary on the table to play him over DK Metcalf. Both are solid and one should find the endzone.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
Did you know that the Vikings allow the single most fantasy points to receivers in the league? I did not. St. Brown runs out of the slot which is by far the softest spot on the Viking’s secondary. The Detroit offense is a constant “get right” game for whoever didn’t score the week before. That being said, they have so many ways to hurt you that you don’t have to rely on only one or two guys to move the ball. They have 5 solid options they can spread it around to. I would reserve St. Brown for MME, and by playing him you are hoping the talent priced above him (Jefferson, Chase) busts.
Jalen Coker
Diontae Johnson is currently questionable against Washington. If he plays will be shadowed by Benjamin St-Juste, but that actually may be a good thing for Johnson IF it were just a one-on-one situation. The Commanders are 31st against the WR1, but when there is only one legitimate passing threat that you are concerned about (Johnson in this case), they could very easily double him and make Xavier Legette or min-priced Jalen Coker beat you. Coker has gone 7-7 in the past two weeks and has earned a 13.1% target share. That isn’t a huge number, but for $3,000 on DraftKings, it is pretty good. Let’s also consider the game script here. The Panthers are going to be trailing, and the second half should be full of passing opportunities. Even if it gets out of hand both Legette and Coker need some reps and probably don’t come off the field.
Others to consider/mix in MME
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Tank Dell: Too cheap at $6,500
- Terry McLaurin
- Devonta Smith
- Christian Watson: Why is he only $4,900?
- Michael Pittman: CLE is 28th vs WR1
- Jaylen Waddle
- Trey Tucker
- DJ Turner
Tight End
George Kittle
Kittle has been the most consistent high-scoring tight end of the past month, scoring at least 20 DK points three times. He is now taking on a Chiefs team that allows the most fantasy production to tight ends giving up 18.6 DK points per game. They have allowed the second-most receptions and the second-most yards in the league while only having 5 games under their belt. He is a better play on DraftKings than FanDuel due to pricing.
Jonnu Smith
He comes in at only $3,400 after getting 8 targets in his last game with Snoop Huntley. There have been reports that Smith and Waddle were working over the break together running routes, while others were out on vacation. That can’t hurt.
Other Tight End Notes
- Brock Bowers: We know that Bowers is the only body in town who can move the chains for the Raiders (12 targets last week). Sean McVay knows that as well and has had 2 weeks to prep for it.
- Grant Calcaterra: He is cheap TE chalk on an Eagles team that isn’t lacking playmakers. I will mostly fade.
- David Njoku: He in theory should get more targets with Cooper out of town, yet Deshaun Watson is still his QB. Watson is too bad to consider Njoku in your main lineup.
Again, I will update this article if anything changes. Be sure to come back and check for the most up-to-date plays. I can already tell you I will be adding another running back in the morning.
