Week 8 of the NFL season concludes with an interconference battle as Daniel Jones and the Giants travel to Pittsburgh for a matchup with Russell Wilson and the Steelers. Using Stokastic’s tools, we’re digging into the player pool to reveal the top NFL DFS contrarian picks for Week 8’s Monday Night Football.
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NFL DFS Contrarian Picks for Week 8 MNF: Best Giants-Steelers Plays
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Here’s how the Single-Lineup Simulator is assessing a Giants-Steelers Week 8 MNF DraftKings lineup, incorporating some of the contrarian picks highlighted here. If you’re impressed, sign up for a Lite, Core or Max NFL package and start comparing your lineup ROI today!
NFL DFS MNF Contrarian Captain: Chris Boswell
Stokastic’s Captain Optimal %
DraftKings: 3.0%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $5,000
This week’s primetime showdown between the Steelers and Giants is lacking in DFS appeal compared to recent matchups. Outside of Malik Nabers for New York and George Pickens for Pittsburgh, the offensive talent pool is thin. The Steelers may offer more complementary players than the Giants, but this game isn’t one you’d typically build around on a Sunday main slate. Given that, it’s worth exploring some under-the-radar options, and Steelers kicker Chris Boswell is a sneaky Captain choice on DraftKings.
With the game expected to be low-scoring (the total sits at 36.5 points), defenses and kickers become highly viable in this kind of slate. The Steelers are favored by 6 points at home, making it plausible that Boswell could emerge as one of the top scorers. At a price tag of $5,000, he doesn’t need to be the slate’s top scorer, but given the circumstances, it’s within the realm of possibility.
While Boswell only projects to be the optimal Captain 3.0% of the time, the field is undervaluing him, with just 2.7% expected to roster him in that spot. Stokastic’s simulations back up this perspective, showing Boswell in the Captain role in 3.3% of top-300 lineups according to ROI.
NFL DFS MNF Contrarian Utility Pick: Greg Joseph
Stokastic’s Utility Optimal %
DraftKings: 21.1%
Ownership Projection
DraftKings: 18.1%
Giants kicker Greg Joseph is another strong leverage option according to Stokastic’s Tools and Sims. While playing kickers might not be the most exciting way to approach a Showdown slate, it’s a solid strategy here, especially given how the Giants and Steelers are likely to approach this matchup. Joseph has averaged 7.4 DraftKings points per game so far, and with points likely at a premium, he’s a strong contrarian option for tournaments.
Both teams in this Monday night matchup are far more formidable defensively than offensively, meaning we’re likely in for a slow, grind-it-out affair. In such a scenario, kickers like Joseph can become crucial to DFS lineups, as they’re often the ones putting points on the board in low-scoring games.
Joseph is projected to be optimal as a Utility play 21.1% of the time on DraftKings, yet only 18.1% of lineups are expected to roster him. Stokastic’s simulations favor Joseph even more, as he appears in 30% of lineups with top-300 ROI.
Other NFL DFS Contrarian Picks for Week 8 MNF
Tyrone Tracy, Pat Freiermuth, Steelers DST, Jalin Hyatt
