Perfect Week 7 TNF FanDuel DFS Showdown Lineup: Jaylen Warren Has Very High-Upside
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Thursday Night Football is giving us a nice change of scenery tonight. Instead of our recent shootouts in primetime, we are seeing a matchup with lower-scoring potential. This creates a necessity to be ultra sharp when it comes to DFS strategy. Scoring should be limited tonight so we are shooting for those unique plays. We are looking for defenses, perhaps kickers, and big-play ability. Luckily, we have plenty of that on the slate, so this will be our best possible DFS lineup.
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PREVIEW: STEELERS VS BENGALS
The Steelers are entering this game at a fantastic record of 4-1. I am not sure that many expected the Steelers to be doing this well, but they are. A win tonight puts them in the driver's seat in the NFC North.
Pittsburgh has been among the most efficient scoring teams in the NFL. They are 6th in Red Zone Conversion Rate and well, we can also thank their defenses for being an elite, assisting unit. They should surely get after Flacco tonight and create turnovers, field position, and sacks.
We can expect Flacco to try and force-feed Chase and Higgins. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it will not. I expect high target shares although, reduced efficiency. They must chase these big plays to succeed as their running game is irrelevant at 56 Yards per Game.
Anything can happen on Thursday Night, but we should most likely expect the Steelers to get the job done on the road. A big game can be in store for Jaylen Warren and DK Metcalf, with some sleeper upsides on the roster.
PERFECT THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FANDUEL DFS SHOWDOWN LINEUP
MVP - 1.5X PTS - Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST $10,800
This is a bold move, but one that can pay massive dividends. The Steelers defense is going to be very lowly owned in the MVP slot and probably across the entire slate. People just do not love playing defenses in DFS.
Pittsburgh is Top 5 in Takeaways and Sacks. Meanwhile, the Bengals are just 21st best in Sacks Allowed. They now have a statue in the pocket that is Joe Flacco. To assist the play, Flacco has 6 Interceptions this year. He is not quite the upgrade that many think.
AnyFLEX - Aaron Rodgers $12,600
We are going to take Rodgers here with high upside. The Steelers have ten Passing Touchdowns this year but just three Rushing. They have been very pass-heavy as anticipated. We can expect this efficient offense to keep it moving. Even without Calvin Austin, Rodgers should be just fine between his shots to Metcalf and drop downs to his backfield, Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth, and his depth pieces in Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek. If our defensive play pans out, we get fantastic field position set up for Rodgers. We are stacking upside.
AnyFLEX - DK Metcalf $12,200
Metcalf is among the most reliable options in the NFL right now. He has 38% of team receiving yards. This is all thanks to Rodgers' trust in Metcalf to take shots and have him come down with it. They will surely take these shots again tonight. The Bengals rate 29th in EPA per Play on defense, and also in the pass defense.
AnyFLEX - Jaylen Warren $9,300
If you read my start 'em, sit 'em piece yesterday, you will have learned that we like Warren tonight. Let's stack numbers... The Bengals are 32nd in Fantasy Points Allowed to Running Backs. The Steelers also project to be up in the game, favoring a late run script. The Steelers have also scored heavily in the passing game, but they are just average in pass rate at 54%. If Warren gets to the second level, he will have no issues as the Bengals have one of the worst linebacking units in the NFL.
AnyFLEX - Tee Higgins $8,600
We cannot roster 100% Steelers players. We must chase upside on Cincinnati. Instead of Chase, we will go with Higgins. He has five red zone targets, one less than Chase. 50% of team targets in Flacco's debut went to Chase and Higgins. If any big plays pan out, it will be one of the two. We all know that Higgins is among the best 1v1 receivers in the NFL and Flacco will toss it up to him.
For sakes of salary and ownership, we will go with Higgins. He has much more value when all is considered.
AnyFLEX - Noah Fant $5,000
Noah Fant with the Bengals this season:
— BengalsMuse (@BengalsMusee) October 14, 2025
16 REC
107 YDS
1 TD
With Gesicki’s injury, looks like he’ll be TE1 going forward. pic.twitter.com/qLAPjWOF8u
Mike Gesicki is out and thus, Fant expects a much higher role in this offense tonight. By default, he is a value piece at his salary. We can expect Fant to have 3-5 targets, with 6-8 target upside. If he stumbles into the endzone, great. As for his salary, he has much higher upside than anyone else around this cost. We have volume and upside that must be leveraged down here.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.