Best Week 8 DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Value Plays Featuring DK Metcalf and Chris Olave

Finding value in DFS is key to cashing in, and our Week 8 DraftKings and FanDuel value plays — featuring DK Metcalf, Chris Olave, and Chase Brown — spotlight the top underpriced options with major upside.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf (4) makes a catch for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

In Week 7, my projection system was on point with AJ Brown and Chris Olave as value plays in the DFS market. They both scored two touchdowns, resulting in over 4X plays per $1,000 invested at DraftKings. Here’s my closing paragraph for both players from last week:

Brown brings a 30.00+ fantasy day ceiling while seeing his DFS salary slide as the season moves on. Before this season, he averaged 18.41 fantasy points per game in DraftKings scoring over 47 starts for the Eagles, painting a 3X starting floor vs. Minnesota.

I sense a let-down game for the Bears’ defense, but Chicago should score against the Saints. Olave must hit on a big play and a touchdown to reach playable status in the DFS market. My projections support a top 10 wide receiver fantasy day.

Best Week 8 NFL DFS Value Plays

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) warms up prior to a game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals (DK: $5,400/FD: $6,900)

Sometimes in the DFS market, the daily gamer must see beyond projections and previous failures to identify a player ready to post a winning day. Brown comes into Week 8 with no playable games this season despite being drafted as a top 10 running back over the summer. Poor offensive line and quarterback play were part of his demise.

He scored between 10.00 and 13.20 fantasy points in four of his starts while averaging 15.3 touches, 3.6 yards per rush, and 4.3 yards per carry. Only two of his 107 chances gained over 100 yards. Last week, Brown showed a spark running the ball (11/108), giving him his first outcome with over 50 yards rushing. The Bengals had him on the field for 63% of their snaps, up from 53% and 54% over his previous two starts.

Shawn Childs

The Jets’ defense has faced the most running back attempts (186 – 26.6 per game), but they have held backs to 4.0 yards per carry with minimal damage catching the ball (21/142/2 on 30 targets). Overall, running backs have six touchdowns against New York.

• James Cook (21/132/2 with one catch for three yards)
• De’Von Achane (101 combined yards with one touchdown and one catch)
• Javonte Williams (16/135/1 with one catch for four yards)
• Carolina backs (31/110 with three catches for 41 yards)

Brown showed a spark last week, and the Bengals should play from the lead against the Jets. With a touchdown, four catches, and 100 combined yards, he would deliver close to a 4X game. If Cincinnati plays well offensively, his ceiling would be in the difference-maker realm.

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (DK: $5,600/FD: $7,000)

The success of Ja’Marr Chase over the past couple of weeks should draw plenty of attention from CB Sauce Gardner this week, giving Higgins a better chance of leading the Bengals in targets and possibly production in Week 8. He comes off his best game (6/96/1 with 10 targets), and CB Brandon Stephens (26/295/4 on 37 targets) can be beaten for touchdowns. 

I wrote up a deeper Jets’ wide receiver defense profile in my Ja’Marr Chase outlook for this week.

Based on his salary, Higgins must score about 22.00 fantasy points in DraftKings scoring to deliver a 4X day for each $1,000 investment of his salary, a level he blew by in three games (9/83/2, 9/148/1, and 11/131/3) last season.

DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers (DK: $5,300/FD: $7,100)

The tight end scoring feast (4 TDs) by the Steelers against Cincinnati led to Metcalf posting a dull game (3/50 on five targets) in Week 4. He scored a touchdown in his four previous starts while posting his best outcomes at home (5/126/1 and 4/95/1). Pittsburgh has only looked his way six times a game this year.

Shawn Child

The Packers rank eighth in wide receiver defense (191.50 fantasy points) over their six games. Wideouts have accounted for 47.2% of their team’s receptions while gaining only 11.3 yards per catch. George Pickens (8/134/2) and Ja’Marr Chase (10/94/1) posted the only two impact games. Some of Green Bay’s defensive success was helped by facing Joe Flacco twice (Cleveland and a short week with the Bengals) and Jacoby Brissett.

Metcalf doesn’t jump off the projection sheet this week, but his scoring upside and big-play ability keep him in the mix in the market at this week’s salary level. 

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints (DK: $5,800/FD: $6,600)

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) runs for a gain past New England Patriots safety Craig Woodson (31) during the second quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

After posting his best game (5/98/2) against the Bears, Olave falls into the two-game winning streak mode in Week 8. New Orleans has worked him closer to the line of scrimmage (8.8 yards per catch) over his first six games this year, leading to some easy catches and a six-catch floor in five contests (7/54, 6/54, 10/57, 7/59, and 6/98). Olave gained 17.8 yards per catch over his last two starts, with two catches gaining at least 40 yards.

Shawn Child

Tampa Bay is about league average in defending wide receivers (216.20 fantasy points). Their defense has faced six top wideouts.

• Drake London (8/55)
• Nico Collins (3/52/1)
• Garrett Wilson (10/84/1)
• AJ Brown (2/7)
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba (8/132/1)
• Amon-Ra St. Brown (6/86/1)

Olave has struggled against the Buccaneers (5/80, 4/65, 1/4, 3/26, and 1/5) without scoring a touchdown. This year’s offense is geared more toward getting him involved, setting a double-digit fantasy floor in most weeks in PPR formats. His direction is trending higher while ranking 11th at wide receiver (105.00 fantasy points) after seven weeks. Olave must breakout of his scoring slump vs. Tampa to payoff.