Tonight the Minnesota Vikings are hosting the Dallas Cowboys in the featured Sunday Night Football matchup, and Yahoo Fantasy is offering NFL DFS single-game contests. The general concept of creating a team remains the same, but this is a one-game player pool. The twist is that any position player can be rostered, and one is designated to receive a 1.5x multiplier on their Yahoo fantasy points. Using Awesemo’s expert NFL projections and rankings, these are the top Yahoo NFL picks for the Week 8 Sunday Night Football game tonight.
Yahoo NFL Picks: Week 8 Sunday Night Football
Top SUPERSTAR Options
The SUPERSTAR position will get a 1.5x multiplier on their Yahoo points in the single-game format.
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings – $32
This is an easy choice, particularly with Dak Prescott ($35) going down to the wire as a game-time decision with his calf injury. That is particularly concerning since the Cowboys are coming out of a bye. Minnesota also had a bye last week, so Dalvin Cook should be as healthy as he has been since the beginning of the season. Dallas has a middle-of-the-road run DVOA, and with Cook contributing in all facets of the game, this is lining up to be a nice situation from a fantasy perspective.
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings – $31
Although the Cowboys are ceding a lofty 295 yards passing per game, that is mostly because their offense has been putting pressure on other teams to keep pace. They are a decent defense from an efficiency standpoint, with the 10th-best pass DVOA. Kirk Cousins, however, is a conservative quarterback in more ways than one. Generally he will take what the defense is giving him and let his playmakers do the work after the catch. This is a reasonable salary for tonight’s matchup, and if none of his pass catchers end up with more than one touchdown, he should outscore them.
Yahoo NFL Core Picks
Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys – $31
Even with the hefty salary, it makes sense to be on lineup 10 to 12 before making Ezekiel Elliott the Superstar. Regardless of Prescott’s status, Elliott should see 20 to 25 opportunities, even if most are going to be right into a waiting defense. Most gamers are going to feel this way, so that is what makes Elliott intriguing since his popularity as the SUPERSTAR is likely to be behind three Vikings players. It would not be a complete shock if somehow Elliott had 80 combined yards and lucked into two touchdowns with a backup quarterback leading the team, however.
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys – $18
The salary is indicative of his workload this season. Dalton Schultz has seen at least six targets in five of six games this season. Over his last four games he has 29 targets for 23 catches, 296 yards and three touchdowns, which is more production than Amari Cooper and not too far away from CeeDee Lamb. Even if the inexperienced Cooper Rush is under center, there is a good chance that the coach Mike McCarthy will still scheme a few plays to get the ball to Schultz.
Yahoo NFL Value Picks
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings – $15
There are few discount dandies below K.J. Osborn and teammate Tyler Conklin ($14). Osborn has the ability to score from anywhere on the field, but he is clearly the third option among the wide receivers. Conklin has stepped in at tight end with Irv Smith out for the season. This duo should each be in the mix with four or five targets, and both have some touchdown equity.
Final Thoughts
Things will change dramatically based on the availability of Prescott. If he is in, it is unlikely he will be a full-go, though he will at least give a significant upgrade to the passing attack. The more effective the passing game, the better off things will be for Elliott. If he sits, then there will likely be a lot of short passes and runs. Minnesota will load the box and dare Rush to throw. Rush has been with the Cowboys since 2017, though he has played in just six games and thrown the ball only three times.
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