Perfect Week 8 TNF FanDuel DFS Showdown Lineup: Oronde Gadsden II Has Great Value

The Chargers will host the Vikings in a stellar, competitive matchup on Thursday Night Football. Both rosters run deep with fantasy football assets.
Oct 19, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden (86) enters the field before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden (86) enters the field before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Week 8 will kickoff tonight as the LA Chargers play host to the Minnesota Vikings. This leaves us with some unwrapping to do. The Vikings will start Carson Wentz one more time before the awaited JJ McCarthy return. The Chargers hope to get up to 4-3, maintaining to fend off the Chiefs and Broncos in the AFC West. Both teams have explosive options on their offenses so it will provide for a great game of fantasy football upside.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PREVIEW - VIKINGS VS CHARGERS

This matchup is quite balanced. We have two above average offenses versus two above average defenses. The Chargers are a team that is 2nd in Yards Gained but just 20th in Points Scored, proving them to be inefficient. The Vikings are 19th in Yards Gained but 15th in Points Scored, proving them very efficient.

The Vikings have Christian Darrisaw listed as questionable to play, but it trends that he will not be active. They also remain without Ryan Kelly at center. Otherwise, Minnesota is healthy.

The Chargers may be without two linemen but, truth be honest, they are not very good which should make the drop off a net-zero. Otherwise, the Chargers are healthy.

I see this game as a chess match, more than others. Both teams are evenly matched on and off the field. This is a toss up and all players should matchup with good upside.


PERFECT THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FANDUEL DFS SHOWDOWN LINEUP

MVP - 1.5X PTS - Jordan Addison $12,600

As always, we must avoid the highest owned MVP's in the lineup. This will have us avoiding both quarterbacks and running backs. It does lead us to Addison, who is coming off of his best game of the year.

The Chargers sit back in zone coverage at a very high rate which opens us all players to have good opportunity. Commonly, if a player gets shutdown it will happen in a man look. The Chargers are 8th best against the pass, but we can see Addison have a good game given the matchup. He faced tougher in Week 7 and see's equal red zone targets to Jefferson.

AnyFLEX - Justin Herbert - $13,000

We are fans of Herbert a lot tonight. He checks out as one of our best value plays given his salary and projections. The Chargers pass the ball above average at a 60% rate. Without Hassan Haskins, they have only got Kimani Vidal. By default, they will see more leverage in the pass game and potentially pass even heavier than the 60% average.

Minnesota is 6th best versus opposing quarterbacks, but the Chargers are 3rd best at passing themselves. With their quarterback, weapons, and pure ability, this should offset Minnesota to result in a favorable day in the air.

AnyFLEX - Jordan Mason $10,600

Mason has been money with Aaron Jones out. He is averaging 4.5 Yards per Carry and has 4 Touchdowns in 6 Games. The Vikings have been elite in their run block, standing 4th in run block win rate. The Chargers are just 21st in run stop win rate. This is a favorable matchup for Mason that see's a high touchdown opportunity.

AnyFLEX - Quentin Johnston - $9,200

The Chargers have four very reliable pass-catchers: Keenan Allen, Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, and Oronde Gadsden II. This makes it hard to pick which ones to play, truth be honest. We are going with Johnston for a couple reasons. He gives us a cheaper salary with equal upside to his counterparts. He has big play ability more than the others (14.5 Yards per Reception). As he fits our salary demands perfectly, we will hope that the chips fall our way.

AnyFLEX - Oronde Gadsden II - $8,000

Stars pop out of thin air in fantasy football. The Chargers have Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin but it is very clear that Gadsden II is the TE1 in Los Angeles. He has seen a snap increase in every single week that he has played. This has Gadsden playing 75%+ of tight end snaps in his last two games. As good as Minnesota has been, they are weakest against the tight end, allowing 5.7 Receptions per Game. Gadsden rates among the best tight ends in football and so we can expect his skillset to have high upside.

AnyFLEX - Cameron Dicker - $6,400

We do not always play kickers in DFS, but today we will. Dicker projects very high output in this game. He is among the best kickers in the NFL and statistics favor a good game today. The Chargers move the ball as well as most in the NFL. They are very inefficient at converting yards to touchdown. While facing a stout Vikings defense, we see a recipe for 3rd down stops on field goals to be attempted. As a bonus, we are indoors.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL WEEK 8 FANDUEL DFS SHOWDOWN LINEUP
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Thomas Carelli
THOMAS CARELLI

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.