Week 9 NFL DFS Thursday Night Showdown: Jets at Colts

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The NFL DFS season continues with the Thursday night showdown, and we’ve got the breakdown to help you win big money in the first Week 9 NFL DFS contests!

NOTE: For a refresher on showdown general rules and strategy, see the Week 1 TNF showdown article.

Let’s get to the game!

Week 9 NFL DFS MVP candidates (1.5x points)

Some notes on the differences between MVP on FanDuel and DraftKings: The 1.5x point boost on FD comes with no salary penalty, while and DK also bumps the salary to 1.5x – a crucial factor in deciding who we can and cannot afford on both sites. We can use this to our advantage on FD by occasionally targeting non-QBs to establish more variance and more unique lineups, and on DK it allows us to build more hearty overall stacks when we punt the MVP position with a cheap but high-upside player.

Week 9 NFL DFS Chalk: Carson Wentz (FD $16,500, DK $16,200)

Pivot: Mike White (FD $14,000, DK $14,700)

Pivot #2: Jonathan Taylor (FD $16,000, DK $17,400)

Contrarian #1: Michael Pittman, Jr. (FD $13,500, DK $15,300)

Contrarian #2: Jamison Crowder (FD $11,000, DK $11,700)

The options are wide open this week for the showdown slate, and we’re looking at a huge range of possibilities considering the play of Mike White and the Jets offense last week — especially considering the general unease that Carson Wentz unleashes when he becomes the chalk play at CPT. We’ve got a huge spread over 10 points and plenty of leverage if we can find ways to get a little contrarian.

Colts notes: Indy’s offense has been pretty potent over the past few games, and if the recent track record of both these teams’ are any indication of tonight’s narrative, we’ll see the Colts jump out to a lead and then let the Jets pile up some yardage and fantasy goodness during the final quarter or so. Primary targets beyond Wentz include a very expensive Jonathan Taylor, who might be a decent fade if you want to get a little different. The Colts interior offensive line has had some issues getting a push and it’s likely the Jets (behind the stellar play of DL Quinnen Williams) will focus on stopping the run. I can’t see the Jets having an easy time stopping Michael Pittman, Jr., who has perhaps the highest upside of any skill position player if he gets cooking early and the Colts refuse to let off the gas — a lesson they should have learned last week. Zach Pascal, Mo Alie-Cox and RB Nyheim Hines are all secondary options to the Colts big three, but I’ll mix in a few shares.

Jets notes: White seems like a must-play this week, and he along with Michael Carter and Jamison Crowder are the top targets for this showdown. With Corey Davis doubtful, both Braxton Berrios and Elijah Moore are in play and should get plenty of looks, especially if the Colts focus on removing Crowder. Ty Johnson should also be in the mix as the change-of-pace back and frequent check-down target.

Week 9 NFL DFS Final thoughts (and some DOs and DON’Ts)

Remember to build your team based on an NFL DFS narrative that makes sense.

DO: Build a trio (or quartet) of offensive weapons for a team that makes sense together

DON’T: Worry about spending every dollar.

DO: Use the projected team totals to shade one way or the other with your selections.

DON’T: Play around sub-$1K range this week. Nothing much doing down there except Ashton Dulin ($300 at FLEX), so just look for the right narrative with your medium-priced builds,

Now that we’ve established some Week 6 NFL DFS narratives and MVP candidates, the best way to round out this piece is with a list of my favorite options in descending order, based on overall value (a combo of salary and projected points):

1. Carson Wentz
2. Mike White
3. Michael Pittman, Jr.
4. Jonathan Taylor
5. Michael Carter
6. Jamison Crowder
7. Braxton Berrios
8. Zach Pascal
9. Colts DST
10. Nyheim Hines
11. Ty Johnson
12. Elijah Moore
13. Michael Badgley
14. Mo Alie-Cox
15. Jack Doyle
16. Matt Ammendola
17. Tyler Kroft
18. Keelan Cole, Sr.
19. Denzel Mims
20. Jets DST
21. Ryan Griffin
22. Ashton Dulin

Don’t forget to read the rest of WinDaily’s excellent football articles this week as you prep for Week 9 action!