Week 8 of the NFL season will conclude with just one matchup on Monday Night Football. The New York Giants are set to travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in what will be Russell Wilson’s second start with the organization. DraftKings is offering several DFS competitions for the matchup. This article will review some of my favorite players for the Monday Night matchup and ones you may be better off avoiding.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $300K Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (NYG @ PIT)
Captain’s Pick
Hitting on your captain (CPT) is essential to having showdown DFS success on DraftKings. Players drafted as the captain earn 1.5x fantasy points, so they can make or break your slate. Let’s take a look at my favorite captain plays for the Steelers vs Giants.
George Pickens ($14,700 CP): The outlook for the Steelers offense changed notably when Russell Wilson took over the starting quarterback role last week. While Wilson ($14,400 CP) has appeal as a captain’s play as well, I am looking towards Pickens to have a massive night tonight. He is the second-most-expensive option for a captain trailing only Malik Nabers ($15,000 CP).
So far this season, Pickens has tallied 31 receptions for 474 yards and a touchdown. In his first game with Wilson at QB, Pickens tallied five receptions for 111 receiving yards and a touchdown. While Pickens’ targets have been consistent throughout the season, Wilson showed a willingness to throw the ball downfield and allow Pickens to make a play in a way Justin Fields did not. This is an area that has not been tapped into enough in the Steelers offense, as Pickens led the entire NFL last season at 18.1 yards per reception.
Pass defense is not a strength of the Giants as they allow a league-worst 60.7% completion percentage on deep balls. Just last week A.J. Brown tallied five receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown while resting a more significant portion of the game due to the 28-3 blowout. Expect Wilson to give Pickens a few chances with the deep ball and for the Steelers star wide receiver to deliver. While I will not fault you if you prefer Nabers or one of the quarterbacks, Pickens is my preferred choice for this matchup.
FLEX Plays
Wan’Dale Robinson ($7,800): Malik Nabers has stolen the spotlight in New York and for good reason. However, Wan’Dale Robinson has not been far behind in terms of production. Through the opening seven weeks, he has caught 43 passes for 303 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Robinson is fourth in the NFL in targets and eighth in receptions without playing his Week 8 matchup. The Steelers are six-point favorites in the matchup and the expectation is New York will be playing from behind. While Pittsburgh’s defense has been strong so far, they rank 20th in passing yards allowed and 17th in net yards per pass attempt. It may not be the smoothest route to getting there but expect enough volume to be sent Robinson’s way for him to have a successful output.
Pat Freiermuth ($6,200): While National Tight Ends Day wrapped up at midnight, there may still be some magic in store for Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers tight end has been targeted at least three times and tallied two or more catches in every game this season. Oftentimes the production of tight ends is very dependent on if they score a touchdown and Freiermuth has tallied just two scores in his seven games. Russell Wilson has targeted his tight ends at a higher rate compared to Justin Fields throughout their careers, and Freiermuth tallied 51 receiving yards last week. Look for the Steelers to build off this and for Freiermuth to continue to be involved in the offense again tonight in a way that translates to a successful fantasy output.
Get all the information you need for the Steelers and Giants game on DraftKings Network!
Tyrone Tracy Jr ($4,400): A value play I like in the matchup is Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. The rookie has made the most of his opportunities thus far and had his best performance in Week 5. With Devin Singletary sidelined due to injury, Tracy Jr tallied 129 rushing yards on 18 carries. Singletary missed Week 6 as well and Tracy Jr tallied 107 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in his absence. The Purdue product logged 67% of the offensive snaps last week even after Singletary returned. Neither running back had success against the Eagles’ defense. Singletary holds a price point of $8,400 in this game and the $4,000 difference between Singletary and Tracy Jr feels a bit too much. Don’t be surprised if Tracy ends up the leader performer in the Giants’ backfield again tonight.
Fades
Jaylen Warren ($7,200): Pittsburgh has leaned heavily on their identity as a running-oriented and defensive-minded team. However, Wilson has allowed them to open up the passing game more and Najee Harris is the clear-cut lead back for the Steelers. Looking at the season as a whole, Jaylen Warren has carried the ball just 32 times compared to the 117 rush attempts that Harris has received. Warren is coming off his best game last week as he has 12 carries for 44 yards as well as adding 15 receiving yards. However, this was positively impacted by the game script as the Steelers looked to bleed out the clock due to their lead. Even with this being the case, Najee Harris had nearly double the touches ending with 21 carries for 102 rushing yards and a touchdown.
I like Jaylen Warren quite a bit and this is still a player to keep an eye on in the long haul. But it feels premature to be putting him in DFS lineups just yet and the $7,200 price-point is far too steep for my liking.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $300K Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (NYG @ PIT)
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
