NFL DFS Week 9 Picks: Strategy & Player Pool for Fanduel & DraftKings

In this article, weekly I’ll be breaking down my core player pool across each position, highlighting projected ownership trends, key leverage spots, and the plays I’m targeting for tournaments of all sizes. You can also get access to my premium DFS builds for every main slate here. Now, let’s dive in…

I’m a bit short on time this weekend so the article is going to be a bit abbreviated. Let’s dive in!

Quarterback 

Top Projected Own%: Jaxson Dart, Caleb Williams, Patrick Mahomes, Daniel Jones

My Player Pool: Patrick Mahomes, Daniel Jones, Jared Goff, Caleb Williams, Jaxson Dart, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford

We are officially half way through the NFL season, and we once again have what appears to be a chalky DFS slate on our hands. Cheaper QB’s have been the move in this version of the NFL DFS season and that’s why you see both Caleb Williams and Jaxson Dart projecting for high ownership in strong match-ups. I’m pretty good with the high-owned plays this week, but I want to be unique with the players I stack them with as my way to get different. 

My favorite overall stacks this week, however, are Daniel Jones and Justin Herbert. Both of these guys have elite match-ups on paper and should come in relatively in check in ownership. Pittsburgh’s defense has fallen off a cliff and they are missing a few key players due to injury or illness this week. 

Herbert has looked much more comfortable now that his offensive line is getting healthier and there’s no better get right spot in the NFL than the Tennessee Titans. 

Running Back 

Top Projected Own%: Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Monangai, Tyrone Tracy, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaylen Warren, Kimani Vidal, Jonathan Taylor

My Player Pool: All Chalk RBs, Bijan Robinson, Kyren Williams, Kareem Hunt, James Cook

I feel like I’ve written this every week, but we once again have elite mid-range value at the RB position which is going to force a lot of users to build the same ways. You can choose to fade the chalk, with Monangai popping for over 50% ownership and likely higher in smaller-fields, or get different elsewhere. I’ve been more inclined to play these chalky RB’s this season and get different with my QB/WR stacks and that’s likely the route I’m taking once again this week. Spending down at QB has been the better move in general this season and putting in some unique stacks alongside higher-owned cheap RB’s will be my build path in Week 9. I want to note that Kareem Hunt is priced alongside the chalky cheap RB tier but will not be similarly owned and I do like him in tournaments a fair amount. 

Wide Receiver 

Top Projected Own%: Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Rashee Rice, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jauan Jennings, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ladd McConkey

My Player Pool: All Chalk spend-ups, Olamide Zaccheus, Michael Pittman, Quentin Johnston, Darius Slayton, Brian Thomas Jr, Rome Odunze

Given all the value at RB this week, the expensive WR’s are going to get a lot of ownership forced upon them. I don’t think I need to dive into why Chase/Puka/ARSB or Rice are good plays but I will instead present how I would potentially play some stacks in GPPs. 

 

Like I noted above, Jones is my favorite target in tournaments and I want to pair him with both Pittman and Warren. 

 

On a Caleb Williams team, I would likely still insert Monangai and then choose either Odunze or Zaccheus depending on the remainder of your lineup. 

 

I prefer Darius Slayton over Robinson on a Jaxson Dart team for lower ownership combined with the big play upside. 

 

Ladd McConkey is a fine play, but I prefer Johnston and Gadsden in this match-up. 

 

If stacking the Lions I would implement an onslaught with Gibbs/ARSB/ and either Laporta or Jameson Williams. 

 

You can think similarly with the Chiefs and Rams, if stacking those teams go overweight with a double or triple stack. 

 

Tight End

Top Projected Own%: Theo Johnson, George Kittle, Tyler Warren

My Player Pool: Theo Johnson, George Kittle, Tyler Warren, Sam Laporta, Orange Gadsden, Travis Kelce, Tucker Kraft

I’m good with the chalk at TE this week, but nobody is sticking out as a slam dunk must play. Generally I take the value with someone like Johnson, but Warren probably edges out everyone if I was just grading out my favorite overall play. I will likely just correlate TE with every stack I make whether it’s with my QB or on the opposite side of the game.