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 Eagles vs. Texans (Thursday Night Football, Week 9)
FanDuel Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| 1.5x | J. Hurts PHI @ HOU |
42.7 | $17,500 |
| FLEX | A. Brown PHI @ HOU |
21.0 | $14,500 |
| FLEX | M. Sanders PHI @ HOU |
16.3 | $13,000 |
| FLEX | R. Burkhead PHI @ HOU |
9.1 | $7,500 |
| FLEX | B. Scott PHI @ HOU |
8.6 | $7,500 |
| Totals | 97.7 | $60,000 |
Notes
You’re going to see a lot of Eagles in these lineups, and you’re going to see a lot of Jalen Hurts in the 1.5x/MVP/captain spot. This is a smash matchup for the Eagles, and the Texans will be without Brandin Cooks AND Nico Collins tonight. Houston has the worst run defense in the NFL, and the Eagles just so happen to have one of the best running offenses. For that reason, we’re leaning on Miles Sanders while also including Boston Scott, who could not only rotate into the game but get plenty of work in the second half should this game get out of reach.
Since we have to include at least one Houston player, we’ll go with Rex Burkhead. Dameon Pierce is significantly more expensive on FanDuel (he’s double at $15,000), and Burkhead should see plenty of work in the passing game based on how this game should go.
DraftKings Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| CPT | J. Hurts PHI @ HOU |
42.7 | $17,700 |
| FLEX | P. Dorsett II PHI @ HOU |
10.4 | $4,000 |
| FLEX | D. Goedert PHI @ HOU |
16.5 | $6,600 |
| FLEX | B. Scott PHI @ HOU |
9.0 | $1,800 |
| FLEX | A. Brown PHI @ HOU |
24.1 | $11,200 |
| FLEX | D. Pierce PHI @ HOU |
20.0 | $8,600 |
| Totals | 122.7 | $49,900 |
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.
Hurts, A.J. Brown, and Boston Scott again, and this time we include TE Dallas Goedert. For the Texans, we get WR1 (for tonight, at least) Phillip Dorsett II for just $4K and RB Dameon Pierce for an affordable $8,600.
Yahoo Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| 1.5x | J. Hurts PHI @ HOU |
35.9 | $36 |
| FLEX | A. Brown PHI @ HOU |
14.9 | $27 |
| FLEX | D. Pierce PHI @ HOU |
14.3 | $22 |
| FLEX | D. Mills PHI @ HOU |
12.4 | $20 |
| FLEX | P. Dorsett II PHI @ HOU |
5.7 | $10 |
| Totals | 83.2 | $115 |
Notes
Oddly enough, we’re going with three Houston Texans vs. just two Philadelphia Eagles in this one. For this one to hit, we’d need a big early Eagles lead courtesy of Hurts and Brown that led to starters being rested in the second half while the Texans tried to chip away at the final score. That’s exactly what happened last week against the Steelers, if you’re keeping track.
Leaning Houston is definitely a GPP play, but there are plenty of game scripts where this is the move. I’m definitely rolling with more Eagles players throughout my lineups, but going heavy on Houston here and there makes sense for GPP.
OwnersBox Optimal Lineup (GPP)
| POS | PLAYER | PROJ. PTS | SALARY |
| QB | J. Hurts PHI @ HOU |
28.5 | $7,400 |
| RB | B. Scott PHI @ HOU |
9.0 | $4,200 |
| RB | M. Sanders PHI @ HOU |
16.9 | $5,800 |
| WR | A. Brown PHI @ HOU |
24.1 | $6,800 |
| WR | D. Smith PHI @ HOU |
16.8 | $5,700 |
| TE | D. Goedert PHI @ HOU |
16.5 | $4,800 |
| FLEX | Q. Watkins PHI @ HOU |
6.5 | $3,500 |
| FLEX | D. Pierce PHI @ HOU |
20.0 | $5,800 |
| SF | D. Mills PHI @ HOU |
16.5 | $5,900 |
| Totals | 154.7 | $49,900 |
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 didn’t get him into many lineups here before OwnersBox, but Quez Watkins is a sneaky dart throw tonight. Not only does he have big-play ability, but he could get some additional run in the second half in the event the Eagles put this thing away early. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith would likely be rested with a big lead, but Watkins would continue to see some work with Zach Pascal and Britain Covey. Watkins is affordable everywhere but has a ton of upside based on his speed and the potential game script.
Lineup Builders
Dart Throws
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.