One of my favorite NFL traditions is the random early-season Monday double-header. Although this year is strange (It’s more like two concurrent/competing national broadcasts than a doubleheader) I’m excited for the fantasy implications of them.
Many fantasy players enter Monday night still unsure of their weekly fate and with double the games, it’s a fun mini-slate for a full DFS lineup.
I’m using the DFS to partially hedge against losing in my money fantasy league, and I’ll focus on the full-team 2-game competitions on FanDuel and DraftKings
FanDuel
With three of the best offenses in the NFL and another that has Derrick Henry on tonight’s slate, there are a ton of ways to build a team. Here, I’ll share my lineup thoughts, but there are a ton of other setups that will play well.
Studs
The best player of the night is Josh Allen, but at $9000, he’s a bit rich for my taste given the value plays at quarterback and the talent surrounding him.
Instead, I played my stars at the skill positions, combining Justin Jefferson ($9200), Stefon Diggs ($8100) and Dalvin Cook ($8200) to make a trio of stud players.
Jefferson has been unstoppable and may find some room against a decent, but not great Philadelphia secondary. He’s going to get plenty of targets and gets open so well. Diggs is a bit of a hedge, as I face him in my main fantasy league tonight. I can’t be unhappy if he stars, because I have him here. With Gabe Davis banged up, it may be the Stefon Diggs show.
D’Andre Swift ran all over the Eagles last week and Cook could find some room, especially if Jefferson finds some room over the top. The Eagles will have to play back and open some lanes for the star back to run through.
Value Plays
I like Kirk Cousins ($7600) tonight. Of course, if he plays well and Josh Allen absolutely goes off, it’s a moot point, but playing down at quarterback gives you an extra $1400 to spend elsewhere, likely at receiver.
Usually, in a smaller slate, FanDuel lets you play a team full of studs, but with the offenses tonight being so loaded, it’s slightly trickier.
I combined Kyle Philips ($5300), Kenneth Gainwell ($5400) and Isaiah McKenzie ($5400) to save enough to spend everywhere else. Ryan Tannehill seems to love the rookie from UCLA and he should get a bunch of targets on a receiving corps that struggles to get open.
McKenzie should take some of Gabe Davis’ snaps, even if Davis is healthy, so the upside here with the low price point is great.
Gainwell should get a lot of snaps in a backfield that rotates and there’s some touchdown upside here as well. It’s a crapshoot as to which Eagles backup will score the most any given week, but I went with Gainwell in hopes of capturing some receiving upside.
Lineup Thoughts
I completed my lineup with Goedert ($6200) at tight end and the Vikings defense ($4300). If you are a bit higher on the Eagles tonight than me, swapping out the Vikings defense for the Eagles defense allows you to afford Jalen Hurts ($8300). To take it one step further, if you take Hurts, maybe consider AJ Brown ($8000) instead of Diggs.
This is a tough slate because so many of these players have 30-point potential and there’s no way to afford them all. I would do my best to avoid dropping Jefferson, but the rest of the slate is very interchangeable, depending on your preferences.
DraftKings
For once, DraftKings hasn’t made it as difficult to field a star-studded team. Because of this, the thoughts are similar to those on FanDuel, though there are a few key differences.
Studs
Due to the price difference, I swapped Diggs ($7500) for Brown ($7000) here and considered not paying up for Cook, who is the second-most expensive player on the slate.
I used a value running back at flex, making Cook ($8000), Brown and Jefferson ($9000) my main pay-ups.
Since DK makes it more difficult to manage your money in multi-game slates, those are my main plays and everyone else fits in around them.
Value Plays
I love Kyle Philips’ price point here. At $3600, starting Philips gives you a lot of room under the cap to use elsewhere. Of course, things change if we find out he’s limited, but getting the Titans’ big-play receiver at a cheaper price than all five Tennessee running backs and three other receivers is a steal. You won’t find many cheaper options.
At tight end, I went with Dawson Knox ($4000) here. He’s very touchdown dependent, but with Davis limited, it opens up some targets for the tight end. Similarly, Zack Moss’ $4300 price point was too low to ignore and I like the value there as well.
Lineup Thoughts
I once again paid down at quarterback, going with Cousins ($6200) over the big two. That move saves $900 if you were thinking Hurts or $1600 over Allen.
I rounded out my team with Miles Sanders ($5500) and the Eagles defense. Another option here would be to go with Derrick Henry ($7800) over Cook and add the Vikings defense. It’s just your preference.
The main thing here is to maximize the number of stars you can get. If that’s Allen and one other, go for it. If that means paying down for Cousins and paying up for an extra star at the flex, that works too. Just make sure you get the most bang for your buck and have the most chances to win.
