We’re onto Week 8 of the NFL season, starting with Thursday Night Football — a clash between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills. Below, I’ll go over my top DraftKings NFL DFS Showdown picks for the Buccaneers vs Bills TNF Week 8 game.
This matchup features plenty of top talent on both sides of the ball, making it very intriguing from a DFS perspective. The Bills’ offense is normally very explosive and productive but it has struggled the last few weeks. On the other side, you have Baker Mayfield and Chris Godwin, who are expected to play despite questionable tags. I suspect there’s going to be tons of throwing tonight but which offense does enough to win?
It’s going to be a fun one regardless because well, it’s football, so let’s dive into how you should tackle this week’s DraftKings NFL DFS Showdown fantasy football slate. I’ll highlight my favorite Captain’s plays and FLEX plays below.
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NFL DFS Showdown DraftKings Picks for Buccaneers vs Bills TNF Week 8
Favorite Captain NFL DFS Picks
Josh Allen ($17,700)
Unless you’re looking to save cash and stack as much talent as possible, Josh Allen is going to be your best bet. There aren’t many quarterbacks that have higher fantasy ceilings than Allen and that’s been apparent this season as he’s found the endzone and eclipsed at least 22 DKFP (including 30+ twice) in four of his last five games. He already ranks second in touchdown passes (15) and sixth in passing yards (1,841) and now gets to face a Buccaneers’ defense that surrenders the sixth-most passing yards per game (246.7).
The Bills offense has been quite underwhelming the last few weeks and they’ve lost two of their last three games as a result. It’s primetime and they’re at home –– Allen and Stefon Diggs ($11,400 FLEX) will put on a show for the home fans and hopefully correct the offense. Tampa Bay’s run defense has been rather stout –– allowing less than 96 rushing yards per game thus far, further adding more of the weight on Allen and the passing game to put up points.
Mike Evans ($15,000)
You could go either way with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin ($11,700 Captain; $7,800 FLEX) and Godwin is $4K cheaper because of his injury tag but Evans feels a little safer to me. Evans was out-targeted by Godwin last week for the first time all season but it’s clear that Baker Mayfield ($9,200) looks for him often and especially deep down the field. Mayfield has targeted Evans 10 times in three of six games thus far and it should continue against a Bills’ defense that is declining quickly after key injuries. Although Buffalo has allowed the 10th-fewest passing yards per game on the season (201.3), that rank flips all the way to 26th (243.7) across the last three games.
Buffalo still ranks 13th in defensive DVOA (-3.4%) but that rank has just been plummeting each week and at the end of the day, there’s nobody physical enough in the secondary to outmatch Evans. If resources are dedicated to limiting Evans, then Godwin feasts.
Favorite Value FLEX NFL DFS Picks
Rachaad White ($8,000)
I feel like Rachaad White will be a fade for the majority of DFS players today because of the fear of a negative game script and the fact that he’s been quite inefficient with his carries thus far this season. He’s started to split some carries and snaps with Ke’Shawn Vaughn ($600) over the last few weeks but he remains a solid pass-catching option out of the backfield and most recently hauled in six of his targets for 65 yards in Week 7. I don’t expect the game script to be too negative but if it is, the Bills’ run defense isn’t that great, ranking 10th in rushing yards allowed per game (128.3) and even worse across the last three games (28th with 141.1 yards per game).
Now for those who think the Buccaneers will be playing from behind all game, White could still see plenty of fantasy value and production. His pass-catching role is already apparent having caught at least three receptions in each of the past five games. Luckily, on top of the Bills’ defense allowing a ton of yards on the ground and through the air the last three games, they’ve allowed the sixth-most receiving yards to opposing running backs this season (303).
MORE: Fantasy Football Week 8 TE Streamers Include Dalton Kincaid
Dalton Kincaid ($5,000)
I’m well aware Dalton Kincaid is going to be a very chalky play for tonight’s slate because of Dawson Knox (wrist) having surgery. Nonetheless, Buffalo’s backup tight end Quintin Morris ($200) isn’t going to play, and Kincaid just had a breakout eight reception, 75-yard game in Week 7. This Buffalo offense needs something different and maybe this will be a blessing in disguise to get Kincaid involved consistently in the passing game.
His $5K salary is kind of a joke for how much production he’s expected to get operating as the only healthy tight end on the roster at the moment. Prior to Week 7’s solid performance, he had three other games with at least four targets but has yet to find the endzone. Luckily, Knox ranked second in redzone targets (7) so we can only hope Allen is looking for Kincaid to get his first career touchdown tonight. Tampa Bay’s allowed 32 receptions and 269 yards to opposing tight ends on the season.
Look below for my favorite DFS lineup for Thursday’s DraftKings NFL DFS Showdown slate for the Buccaneers vs Bills game.
Favorite NFL DFS Picks: NFL DFS Showdown DraftKings Picks for Buccaneers vs Bills TNF Week 8
| Captain | Josh Allen ($17,700) |
| FLEX | Stefon Diggs ($11,400) |
| FLEX | Rachaad White ($8,000) |
| FLEX | Dalton Kincaid ($5,000) |
| FLEX | Latavius Murray ($4,800) |
| FLEX | Cade Otton ($3,000) |
| Salary Remaining | $100 |
