Welcome to the bar! The Week 8 DFS Cocktail Hour is here to satisfy your thirst for DFS football strategies. We’ll be looking at useful ingredients that you can use as part of your weekly DFS plays. Additionally, we’ll mix up my cocktail from this week’s Operation: Domination program.
A reminder that we’re looking at cash games on the DraftKings Classic mode, using the Sunday through Monday games. All player scores mentioned use DraftKings scoring as displayed by FantasyData.com.
Week 8 DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
We’re not rolling with the Cowboys in the Week 8 DFS Cocktail, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still chasing them. Bo Nix ($6,000) is the latest QB who gets to feast at the smorgasbord of fantasy points served up by Dallas’s alleged “defense”. Jayden Daniels left Week 7 early with a hamstring injury and still finished QB13 in DraftKings scoring. Every other quarterback to face the Cowboys this season has finished no worse than QB12 in the week. If you combine the points that Daniels and backup Marcus Mariota scored, they were good for QB9 in Week 7. Dallas surrenders the most points to opposing fantasy quarterbacks. Point being, there will be points. And Nix should have a hand in scoring most of them.
Nix is QB5 by ECR this week but only QB10 in salary on DraftKings. He’s coming off a QB1 finish in Week 7 thanks to a career-best (40.0 DraftKings points) fantasy performance. He ranks fourth in the NFL in pass attempts, fifth in completions, and top-11 in both yards and passing touchdowns. Additionally, he’s seventh in quarterback rushing attempts and tied for fourth in quarterback rushing touchdowns. It all adds up to Nix ranking QB7 on the year (QB10 in points per game), about dead-on with his performance last season. Feel confident with a heavy pour of Nix in the Week 8 DFS Cocktail.
More Mile-High value
We’re going to pair Mr. Nix with his top wide receiver target over the past year and a half. Courtland Sutton ($6,200) is only the ninth-most expensive wideout on DraftKings this week, but he’s ranked WR6 in ECR. Just as the Cowboys give up boatloads of points to opposing quarterbacks, so, too, do they bestow gift outings on fantasy wide receivers. Most gifts, in fact. Dallas has allowed four top-seven wide receiver weekly fantasy finishes this season. That includes a pair of top-five receivers in the Giants’ Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson in Week 2. Sutton enters Week 8 WR12 on the season. Last week, he tied his season-high in targets with 10. While he hasn’t visited the endzone in about a month, he’s due. Something tells me that scoreless streak ends Sunday in Denver.
Souring Agent
Many times, we’ll play back against our “Base Spirit” plays with an opponent from the same game. While that’s certainly a viable strategy this week with the Cowboys’ high-performing fantasy offense, I’m not feeling the value this week. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are both former DFS Cocktail plays. But both are on the expensive side for salary, especially relative to projected point values this week. Pay if you’re so inclined. But I’m heading in a different direction for the Week 8 DFS Cocktail.
In fact, for the second week in a row, I’m advocating for a tight end. It’s National Tight Ends Day in Week 8! My colleague Dan Mader had his own thoughts on a TE to play. But I’m going to roll with an inexpensive option in Colston Loveland ($3,000) of the Chicago Bears. Nominal Bears’ starter Cole Kmet will miss Week 8 with a back injury. Loveland already has a better utilization rate than Kmet. Since missing Week 4 with his own injury, Loveland has come on. He’s seeing more snaps per game and more targets. Now, he’ll be the main show at tight end for Chicago, as blocking tight end Durham Smythe is the only other tight end currently on the roster. The Ravens give up the ninth-most points to tight ends, and get Lamar Jackson back this week. Chicago will have to throw. I expect Loveland to receive.
Sweetener
Our sweetener this week is real top-shelf level quality. We’re paying almost all the way up for Bijan Robinson ($8,800) against the hapless Miami Dolphins. Miami already gives up the third-most running back fantasy points. Now they get to face Robinson, who’s the RB3 in both overall scoring and in points per game. Bijan only ranks tied for 16th in rush attempts on the season, but backup Tyler Allgeier is questionable for the game with hip and knee ailments. Third-stringer Nathan Carter has seven career carries on eight snaps and has never seen a target. I’m not sure Atlanta will have to throw a ton in this game. Miami has given up the most yards rushing and has the second-lowest time of possession in the league. Bijan is going to see perhaps his most touches of the season in this one, at least until the Falcons call off the dogs.
Garnishes
As always, how you dress up the rest of your Week 8 DFS Cocktail is up to you. I’ll be running Rashee Rice out there, maybe in every lineup. He’ll be one of your highest salaries, but he’s still far underpriced vis-à-vis his usage and likely weekly output. Don’t be afraid to spend on your RB2. If you’re looking for some affordable options, check out GOYAADI’s DFS Cheapskate plays.
Week 8 DFS Cocktail: The Byemageddon
Six.
Six teams.
Almost a fifth of the league will be on bye in Week 8. I won’t get into how asinine that is. Or maybe I just did. Anyway, we need a way to cope. Because you likely didn’t think far enough ahead in every league for this moment. So now, you’re scouring the wire hoping to throw together some disparate parts so that you may sip from the cup of fantasy victory. In that spirit (pun intended), let’s mix up a strong one. The Byemageddon.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. Single-malt Whisky (we used my favorite Highland Park 12: Viking Honour)
- .75 oz. Drambuie
- .75 oz. Maraschino Liqueur
- Bitters
- 4 oz. Tonic Water
- Ice
- Maraschino Cherries (garnish)
Directions:
Pour single-malt whisky, Drambuie, and Maraschino liqueur into a mixing glass full of ice. Add a few dashes of bitters to taste and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and add tonic water. Garnish with Maraschino cherries. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- Try to use a Maraschino liqueur that complements your cherries (e.g., Luxardo brand for both).
- The neon-pink cherries you put on ice cream won’t complement any liqueur…
- This is a very spirit-forward drink- more so, if you’re heavy-handed on the bitters like me. Feel free to play with ratios or with a different float (7-Up/Sprite or sour mix in place of tonic water, for instance.