Daily Fantasy Contests require a different strategy than what you use to set your weekly lineups, and that’s even more true for these “island” or “standalone” games (Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, etc.). In these contests, you typically have only a handful of lineup spots and players from just two teams to choose from. Just as importantly, everyone else playing in those contests is also choosing from those limited options. If you want to win money (or at least win “big” money in GPP contests), you have to be savvy and take some risks.
I’ll walk you through the current optimal lineups for FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo and OwnersBox via our DFS Lineup Optimizer and share some of my notes and strategies for this particular matchup. Note: these are the current optimal lineups, and I sometimes take some liberties based on recent news and my personal preferences and projections. For updated lineups based on adjusted projections throughout the day, be sure to access the DFS Lineup Optimizer tool and create your own lineups.
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
Optimal Lineups for Steelers vs. Dolphins on Sunday Night Football
FanDuel Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| 1.5x | T. Hill PIT @ MIA |
36.5 | $16,000 |
| FLEX | T. Tagovailoa PIT @ MIA |
23.5 | $15,500 |
| FLEX | R. Mostert PIT @ MIA |
16.9 | $10,500 |
| FLEX | C. Claypool PIT @ MIA |
13.5 | $10,000 |
| FLEX | P. Freiermuth PIT @ MIA |
10.2 | $8,000 |
| Totals | 100.7 | $60,000 |
Notes
Going with Tyreek Hill as the 1.5X player here instead of Tua Tagovailoa, but I’ll probably include another lineup with Tua as the 1.5X just to cover both bases. In addition to that stack, rolling with Raheem Mostert, Chase Claypool, and Pat Freiermuth. Not starting Kenny Pickett and his $14,500 salary means I can use lineup builders like Claypool and Freiermuth instead of digging deeper for a dart throw.
DraftKings Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| CPT | T. Tagovailoa PIT @ MIA |
35.2 | $16,500 |
| FLEX | Miami (MIA) PIT @ MIA |
12.7 | $4,000 |
| FLEX | J. Waddle Q PIT @ MIA |
22.8 | $9,600 |
| FLEX | D. Johnson PIT @ MIA |
18.4 | $8,000 |
| FLEX | C. Claypool PIT @ MIA |
15.9 | $6,600 |
| FLEX | P. Freiermuth PIT @ MIA |
12.8 | $5,000 |
| Totals | 117.8 | $49,700 |
Notes
DraftKings makes you declare two players before it lets our lineup optimizer provide your best lineup. So, unlike FanDuel, this lineup won’t be universal because it depends on your initial choices.
No Kenny Pickett again, though his salary ($9,200) is a bit more manageable on DraftKings. Banking on some Pickett turnovers by starting the Miami D/ST, however. Stacking Jaylen Waddle with Tua instead of Tyreek Hill to save some salary, including Diontae Johnson, and once again leaning on Claypool and Freiermuth as lineup builders.
Yahoo Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| 1.5x | T. Tagovailoa PIT @ MIA |
35.2 | $32 |
| FLEX | T. Hill PIT @ MIA |
24.3 | $34 |
| FLEX | K. Pickett PIT @ MIA |
20.8 | $21 |
| FLEX | R. Mostert PIT @ MIA |
16.9 | $18 |
| FLEX | C. Claypool PIT @ MIA |
13.5 | $13 |
| Totals | 110.8 | $118 |
Notes
The Yahoo pricing is much kinder to some of our top players, which has been the case in previous weeks, as well. We are starting both quarterbacks and stacking Tyreek Hill and Chase Claypool, while Raheem Mostert is another high-upside player to fill out the lineup. It’s chalk, but it’s chalk with a high ceiling. If Yahoo is going to allow us to build a lineup like this with these salaries, we may as well take advantage.
OwnersBox Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| QB | T. Tagovailoa PIT @ MIA |
23.5 | $6,500 |
| RB | R. Mostert PIT @ MIA |
18.1 | $5,300 |
| RB | J. Warren PIT @ MIA |
7.6 | $4,300 |
| WR | T. Hill PIT @ MIA |
28.0 | $6,700 |
| WR | D. Johnson PIT @ MIA |
18.4 | $5,800 |
| TE | P. Freiermuth PIT @ MIA |
12.8 | $4,800 |
| FLEX | C. Claypool PIT @ MIA |
15.9 | $5,400 |
| FLEX | J. Waddle Q PIT @ MIA |
22.8 | $6,000 |
| SF | G. Pickens PIT @ MIA |
14.1 | $5,200 |
| Totals | 161.1 | $50,000 |
Notes
Unlike the other platforms, OwnersBox still uses full lineups for island games. So, this lineup will be different from the others, and you are almost forced to use a couple of dart throws in order to affordably build your lineup. OwnersBox also defines the positions and includes a superflex slot, as opposed to the MVP/Flex setup.
Lots of familiar names from the first three lineups, plus George Pickens and Jaylen Warren as affordable dart throws. Worth noting that we’re utilizing Pickens in the Superflox slot instead of Pickett.
Lineup Builders
Chase Claypool (WR – PIT)
Pat Freiermuth (TE – PIT)
Tua Tagovailoa (QB – MIA)
Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
Raheem Mostert (RB – MIA)
Dart Throws
Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT)
George Pickens (WR – PIT)
Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.