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 Commanders vs. Eagles (Monday Night Football)

Notes

I’ll be running this lineup and the same one with Kenneth Gainwell swapped in for Brian Robinson Jr. in multiple FanDuel contests tonight. In Week 3, Curtis Samuel caught seven of his 10 targets for 48 yards and also rushed three times for 13 yards, and the Eagles will be without slot CB Avonte Maddox on Monday night. Washington is strong against the run but is susceptible to shot plays, hence the Jalen Hurts – A.J. Brown stack. And the Philadelphia defense has struggled mightily to stop the run and will once again be without nose tackle Jordan Davis in this one, so I like both Washington running backs to have success.

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.

Leaning into Zach Pascal is about as dart throw-y as it gets, but I do expect the Eagles to have to throw the ball more than usual in this one. And while Pascal splits time with Quez Watkins in the slot, Pascal is the better run blocker for both traditional runs and passes to the edges where he’ll block for A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. For that reason, I think he’ll be on the field more on Monday and could sneak his way into the end zone as he did in Week 8 against the Steelers.

Yahoo Optimal Lineup (GPP)

Notes

I worry that this might not be the best game to target Miles Sanders, and that’s why I like Kenneth Gainwell and his price tag more on most formats. But I also think this Philadephia coaching staff has a plan for attacking this Washington front after their struggles running the ball in Week 3.

OwnersBox Optimal Lineup (GPP)

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.

I love these big lineups on OwnersBox. We don’t have any true dart throws here unless you count Jahan Dotson, who is cheaper than Kenneth Gainwell on OwnersBox. Dotson missed the last five games and is playing his first game with QB Taylor Heinicke, so he’s a bit of a wild card in this matchup. But as we mentioned earlier, the Eagles are down a CB this week, and Washington might move all three of their WRs around to focus on matchups. That could lead for some opportunities for Dotson against their a backup nickel CB or a safety.

Lineup Builders / Core

Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI)

A.J. Brown (WR – PHI)

Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)

Curtis Samuel (WR – WAS)

Dart Throws

Zach Pascal (WR – PHI)

Quez Watkins (WR – PHI)

Jahan Dotson (WR – WAS)

Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.

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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.