NFL DFS Contrarian Picks Today: Vikings-Rams Thursday Night Football Week 8

Week 8 of the NFL season kicks off with an interconference battle as Sam Darnold and the 5-1 Vikings head to Los Angeles to battle Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Using Stokastic’s tools, we’re diving into the player pool to uncover the best NFL DFS contrarian picks for Week 8 TNF.

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NFL DFS Contrarian Picks Week 8 TNF: Best Vikings-Rams Picks

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Here is how the Single-Lineup Simulator is evaluating a Vikings-Rams Week 8 TNF DraftKings lineup that projects to cash at a high rate. If you like what you see, sign up for a Lite, Core or Max NFL package and start seeing how your lineup ROI compares!

NFL DFS TNF Contrarian Captain: Cooper Kupp (LAR)

Stokastic’s Captain Optimal Percentage
DraftKings: 11.4%
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $11,000

Coming off last week’s Broncos-Saints monstrosity, the NFL gods did us right this week, giving us Cooper Kupp vs. Justin Jefferson on Thursday Night Football. With Kupp back in the mix after hurting his ankle in Week 2, the Rams get back Matthew Stafford’s top weapon, and it makes sense that Los Angeles is only a 2.5-point underdog to a Minnesota team that has looked like one of the best teams in football.

The last time we saw Kupp play a full game, he had 14 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown en route to dropping 35 DraftKings points against the Lions in Week 1. Though that type of production can’t be expected every week, Kupp is the definition of a “PPR Monster,” and his rapport with Stafford is second to none. As of this writing, Kupp is currently showing up as a Captain in 15% of the top 300 lineups by ROI in Stokastic’s NFL DFS Sims, but only 9.3% of lineups are expected to roster him there.


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NFL DFS TNF Contrarian Flex Pick: Will Reichard (MIN)

Stokastic’s Flex Optimal Percentage
DraftKings: 26.6%
Ownership Projection
DraftKings: 23.6%

While tonight’s game doesn’t lack the playmakers that last week’s Broncos-Saints game did, both the Rams and Vikings have very top-heavy rosters with expensive studs that are desirable to play in DFS. As such, finding value plays is even more crucial on a slate like tonight’s.

Simply put, Will Reichard has been one of the best kickers in football this season. The 2024 sixth-round pick comes into Thursday night a perfect 12-for-12 on field-goal attempts, including an impressive 4-for-4 on kicks of 50-plus yards. Playing for a Vikings offense that has had no problem moving the football down the field, Reichard has been a nice weapon for head coach Kevin O’Connell, and I only expect Reichard to be trusted more as the season goes on.

Either way, both Stokastic’s NFL Showdown Plays Tool and Sims are extremely high on Reichard as a leverage play. As of this writing, Reichard has a 33% exposure rate in the top 300 lineups according to ROI in the Sims, and his cheap-ish price tag also does a lot in terms of roster construction. However, only 23.6% of lineups are currently projected to roster him.

Other NFL DFS Contrarian Picks for Week 8 TNF

Matthew Stafford, Vikings DST, Rams DST, Joshua Karty

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Matt Belman graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Consumer Behavior. He has been playing and analyzing DFS full time since 2018. He has qualified for the 2023 DraftKings NBA World Championship (5x), the 2023 DraftKings MLB World Championship (2x), the 2023 FanDuel MLB World Championship (2x) and the 2023 DraftKings NFL World Championship. You can find him on X at @fantasytipsmatt.

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