After Week 8:
Jordan Love leads the league in passing yards (2,246) while Love has attempted the most passes (312). Joe Burrow leads the NFL in completion percentage (73%), while Burrow has thrown the most touchdowns (20). Justin Herbert has thrown the most interceptions (10), while Deshaun Watson has taken the most sacks (33). Love has completed the most passes over 20 yards (33), while Love and Geno Smith lead the league in passes over 40 yards (9). Finally, Drew Lock and Brock Purdy have the longest completion at 82 yards.
Here are my favorite QB/WR stacks for Week 9.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st].
5. Drew Lock ($4,000) & Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($9,300), Seahawks vs. Cardinals
With Sam Darnold ruled out, Lock will likely get the start. He is questionable, though, due to an elbow injury, so make sure he’s cleared. Lock is 30 years old and has made 29 career starts over seven seasons, three with Denver, one with the New York Giants and now three with Seattle. Lock appeared in two games to open this season, and he played very well, completing 72.9% of his 48 attempts for 422 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception, good for 12.8 and 21.4 FPTS. Smith-Njigba garnered 11 targets in both of those games, finishing with 17 receptions, 277 yards and four touchdowns, good for 29.2 and 45.5 FPTS. That 45.5 FPTS game was against Arizona back in Week 2.
The matchup is a good one, as Arizona is 23rd in pressure rate and the -85.58 expected points from the pass defense are second-worst. The unit has allowed 18 passing touchdowns, tied for the most, and the 110.4 passer rating is the second-highest.
4. Jared Goff ($6,600) & Jameson Williams ($6,100), Lions at Dolphins
My initial thought was that volume could be a problem for Goff in this one, but the total for this game is 50.5 while the spread is “only” seven points. While that’s big for a road favorite, it’s not double digits. Part of the reason is maybe because of the porous Detroit defense, while Malik Willis has made the Dolphins offense look competent the last few weeks. Finally, Jahmyr Gibbs is going to get his because he’s Jahmyr Gibbs, but the Dolphins run defense has been pretty good this season.
Goff has completed 67.6% of his 248 attempts this season for 1,964 yards, 15 touchdowns and only one interception. Amon-Ra St. Brown is the alpha, but he’s dealing with a rib issue and is priced at $8,100, while Williams is $2,000 cheaper and has scored two touchdowns in each of the last two contests.
Miami blitzes at the second-lowest rate and the nine sacks are tied for the fewest in the league. The -83.39 expected points from the pass defense are fourth-worst while the 76.9 completion percentage and 119.5 passer rating are both the highest by a wide margin. 16 passing touchdowns have been allowed.
3. Kirk Cousins ($5,300) & Brock Bowers ($7,900), Raiders at 49ers
Cousins has completed 63.6% of his 283 attempts for 2,124 yards and 19 touchdowns while throwing five interceptions. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in all but one contest this season, with three touchdowns in four of those. The 49ers are likely going to score points and the 30.5 implied points are the most on the weekend. Cousins will likely have to respond aggressively in this one.
I know, I know, Bowers isn’t a wide receiver, but he’s the number one option of the Raiders passing attack and plays essentially like a wide receiver. He leads the team with 62 targets, despite missing two games. He’s put up at least 20 FPTS four times with a high of 30.6 FPTS.
San Francisco is 12th in pressure rate but the unit has only racked up 15 sacks. A 66.9 completion percentage has been allowed with a 92.6 passer rating. 10 touchdowns have been given up while three interceptions have been racked up.
2. Jordan Love ($6,300) & Matthew Golden ($7,000)/Christian Watson ($7,500), Packers at Patriots
The Packers can’t run the ball and lead the league in passing rate at 65.73%. Love leads the NFL with 312 attempts and 2,246 yards. He’s thrown 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. The beauty of this passing attack for fantasy is that it’s extremely concentrated between Golden and Watson. Over the last three games, Golden has garnered 13, 12 and 13 targets while Watson received eight, eight and 10.
New England used to have a smothering pass defense, but the -34.33 expected points are 20th and the unit has allowed a 66.1 completion percentage, 11 touchdowns and a 93.9 passer rating. The blitz rate is fifth-highest, though, and the 22 sacks are tied for the fifth-most.
1. Brock Purdy ($6,800) & George Kittle ($6,000), 49ers vs. Raiders
Purdy was humming along until Week 7, when he had his first multi-interception game. He’s thrown only four interceptions on the season with 15 touchdowns. He’s put up double-digit FPTS in every game with three over 20 and a high of 31.3 FPTS, although those occurred to open the season. Coming off the bye week, I like Purdy to get back to the upper range of outcomes, especially since the Raiders offense could force San Francisco to remain aggressive.
Las Vegas is third in pressure rate and has racked up 18 sacks, but the secondary has allowed 18 touchdowns and a 65.4 completion percentage. The -74.39 expected points from the pass defense are fifth-worst and the 103.2 passer rating is the third-highest.
I know, I know, I’m cheating again, as both the Raiders and 49ers have their tight end as the main option in the passing game. George Kittle has looked great coming off an Achilles injury. He’s racked up 34 receptions for 425 yards and five touchdowns. The Raiders have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the position.
