Our NFL DFS picks for week 9 start in three places: Dallas at Indianapolis, Las Vegas at San Francisco and Detroit at Miami. Those games carry the three highest totals on the board. This slate also has an unusually deep pool of cheap quarterbacks, which makes it easier to fit the expensive running backs we want and harder to predict what everyone else will build.
Top games and implied totals
Two games share the top total of 51.5. San Francisco carries the highest team total on the slate at 30.5 as a 9.5-point home favourite over the Raiders. Dallas sits at 28.0 at Indianapolis, and the Colts at 23.5 give that game the most balanced scoring split near the top.
- DAL@IND (51.5): Cowboys 28.0, Colts 23.5
- LV@SF (51.5): 49ers 30.5, Raiders 21.0
- DET@MIA (50.5): Lions 28.5, Dolphins 22.0
- NYJ@KC (48.0): Chiefs 28.8, Jets 19.2
- LAR@WAS (47.5): Rams 26.0, Commanders 21.5
At the bottom, ARI@SEA (39.5) and NYG@PHI (38.5) are best used for defences and a couple of cheap running backs.
Best stacks
Dallas is our top stack on all four sites. Dak Prescott with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens projects for 55.9 points on DraftKings at $21,100, and 49.2 on FanDuel at $24,200. Lamb’s slot role is the attraction against a Colts defense that is stronger on the perimeter. The risk is that Dallas leans on the run, which is also why Javonte Williams makes sense in some builds. If you need a bring-back, Jonathan Taylor has an ideal matchup against this Dallas run defense, but his workload has been unsteady. Treat him as a tournament piece rather than a core play.
Detroit ranks second. On DraftKings, Jared Goff with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams projects for 52.6 at $20,800. Miami’s side is live as well. Malik Willis at $5,100 on DraftKings projects for 18.22, and pairing him with Jahmyr Gibbs as the bring-back makes for a strong game stack.
Kansas City is the efficient build. Mahomes with Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce projects for 49.8 at only $17,400 on DraftKings, the best stack value on that site at 2.86. We like this more than the general mood around the Chiefs this week does. A comfortable home win may not produce a slate-breaking passing score, but the price makes it easy to spend elsewhere.
San Francisco is the cheaper route into the top team total. On FanDuel, Purdy with George Kittle and Demarcus Robinson projects for 44.4 at $20,500. With Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel both on the injured list, targets are concentrated on very few players.
Core plays by position
Quarterback
Brock Purdy leads our quarterback projections everywhere: 22.85 at $6,800 on DraftKings and 22.52 at $8,500 on FanDuel. He is the cleanest way to get exposure to that 30.5 team total. Mahomes at $6,100 on DraftKings (21.45) is the better value. Prescott (20.82 at $6,500) is the stack anchor.
Running back
Gibbs is the top running back on our board at 27.33 on DraftKings for $10,000, and the Miami matchup supports paying that price. Christian McCaffrey at $8,000 projects for 24.53, a 3.07 value. Expect him to be the most popular player on the slate. Kenneth Walker III (23.03 at $9,000) carries a similar projection at lower popularity because of the price, which makes him a sensible way to differentiate in tournaments. Chuba Hubbard at $6,500 (17.57) has close to an every-down role against a Denver defense that runners have been able to attack.
Wide receiver
Puka Nacua is our top receiver at 24.43 on DraftKings for $8,800. With Davante Adams out, his target share has grown, and he is a safe cash-game play. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (23.34 at $9,300) depends on Drew Lock. Their connection has produced before, but keep an eye on Lock’s health through the week. Lamb and St. Brown round out the core.
Tight end
Kittle at $6,000 on DraftKings (17.92) is the best tight end value on the board and is effectively San Francisco’s top pass catcher. Brock Bowers projects a little higher at 19.07 but costs $7,900. If you want to save salary in cash games, Tyler Warren at $4,600 (12.98) works.
Value plays
- Drew Lock, QB, SEA: $4,000 on DraftKings for 16.6, the best quarterback value on the site. Pair him with Smith-Njigba, but only if he is fully healthy.
- Shedeur Sanders, QB, CLE: $4,000 for 14.81. The Saints pass defense is beatable, and Harold Fannin Jr. makes a natural partner. Sanders struggled as a rookie, so this is a tournament dart rather than a cash play.
- Devin Singletary, RB, NYG: $4,600 for 14.4 on DraftKings and $5,200 on FanDuel. His role gets even bigger if Cam Skattebo sits, so monitor that status.
- Jonah Coleman, RB, DEN: $5,300 for 15.93. He has taken over the high-value touches in Denver’s backfield, including goal-line work.
- Antonio Williams, WR, WAS: $4,100 for 11.55. He works well in a Jayden Daniels mini-stack with Nacua as the bring-back.
- Greg Dulcich, TE, MIA ($3,100) and the Giants ($2,800) and Saints ($2,900) defences round out the cheap options.
Fanteam picks
The 110-credit budget leaves room for two premium backs. McCaffrey at 19.3 credits for 23.42 is the best value among our top running backs (1.21). Gibbs at 22.3 projects highest at 25.84. Nacua at 20.0 credits (23.12) is our top receiver, and Lamb (17.8) and St. Brown (17.0) both rate well on value.
The Dallas stack of Prescott, Lamb and Pickens projects 52.8 for 47.9 credits, again the strongest on the site. Fanteam’s own stack list prefers Sam LaPorta to Jameson Williams for Detroit: Goff, St. Brown and LaPorta projects 50.7 for 46.5 credits.
Jayden Daniels at 15.9 credits (18.42, value 1.16) is a quietly strong quarterback with rushing upside and should be lightly owned. To afford the stars, use Singletary (8.6 credits, 14.14), Alvin Kamara (8.0, 12.27) and Demarcus Robinson (5.0, 8.13). At tight end, Kittle (14.3) edges Bowers (15.8) on value.
Before you build, check Fanteam’s injured list. It includes Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr., David Montgomery, TreVeyon Henderson and Jalen Hurts.
Yahoo picks
Yahoo uses half PPR with no yardage bonuses, so touchdown-dependent backs and efficient tight ends gain ground. Kittle at $23 (14.3, value 0.62) is the standout. Kelce at $18 (10.27) works for cheaper builds. The 49ers stack of Purdy, Kittle and Robinson costs just $74 for 43.2 projected points, the best stack value on the site. Mahomes at $34 (20.77) costs less than Purdy at $37. Singletary at $16 (12.83) is the top running back value. Daniel Jones at $20 projects for 15.13, a rare playable minimum-tier quarterback. If you need a cheap defence, take the Eagles at $10.
Fades and pivots
McCaffrey as chalk. Our numbers still like him, but his rushing work has been shared, and an efficient 49ers win may cap his ceiling. In tournaments, a Purdy, Kittle and Robinson stack gets you the same offense at lower ownership.
Green Bay’s passing game. Our projections keep the Jordan Love, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden stack in the top five on DraftKings (49.4). We are less comfortable than that number suggests. Watson has struggled against man coverage, and New England plays a lot of it. Use this stack in small doses.
Jets pass catchers. With Wilson out, Adonai Mitchell should draw the most attention. Omar Cooper Jr. in the slot is the less popular way into the same Geno Smith double stack.
Projections update through Sunday. Check late injury news before lock, especially for Lock, Skattebo, St. Brown and the Washington receivers.
Full, sortable projections for every player — with a CSV download for your own optimizer — are on our NFL DFS projections page.