We’re in for a treat this evening with not one but two Monday Night Football matchups. In tonight’s doubleheader, the Jacksonville Jaguars go on the road to face the Buffalo Bills, and the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Washington Commanders.
With two games this evening, that means there are more daily fantasy football contests to enter, with several options when it comes to building your lineups. Let’s dive into my favorite DFS picks for Monday Night Football as I lay out my best lineup for contests where you can choose players from both games.
DraftKings DFS Picks for Monday Night Football in Week 3
Quarterback: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals ($6,300)
It’s a tough choice not to roll with Josh Allen, but this is a prime matchup for Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
Burrow will be facing a Commanders defense that has allowed the fifth-most average yards per pass attempt and is also dead last in EPA (expected points added) per dropback.
Even though Washington is just one of four teams that has yet to play this week, they’ve still allowed the third-most passing touchdowns this season — despite their opposing quarterbacks so far being Baker Mayfield and Daniel Jones. Burrow is far superior to both of those quarterbacks, and he also has Tee Higgins back in the lineup.
Running Back: James Cook, Buffalo Bills ($6,800)
Ever since Joe Brady took over as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, the team has shifted its identity toward a more run-heavy offense.
The beneficiary in this schematic change has been James Cook, who is coming off a very productive fantasy week in the Bills’ 31-10 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
James Cook vs the Dolphins tonight:
-78 rushing yards
-2 rushing touchdowns
-1 receiving touchdown
-28.5 PPR fantasy pointsThe Bills are now 10-2 when Cook clears 12 PPR fantasy points 🔥 https://t.co/VPhJx9ZQuL pic.twitter.com/apm6WsNRck
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 13, 2024
Cook’s usage last game, however, was a bit deflated by the lopsided score. If not for the game being decided in the third quarter, the share of carries between Cook and Ray Davis wouldn’t be close to as even as it was.
Even with Jacksonville 0-2, I expect this to be a closer matchup and for the Bills to make Cook a focal point of their game plan offensively.
In tonight’s doubleheader, Cook is easily the most trustworthy running back and worth paying up for.
Running Back: Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals ($5,600)
Chase Brown was viewed as a potential sleeper in fantasy drafts this past summer, but so far, Zack Moss has been the bell cow in Cincinnati. Through two weeks, Moss has played in 54 more offensive snaps and has been on the field for 74% of the Bengals’ offensive plays.
The biggest factor working in our favor here, however, is that we should expect to see our first positive game script from the Bengals tonight. After an upset loss to the New England Patriots to start the season and then a nail-biter defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, the Bengals are seven-point home favorites against a far inferior Commanders team tonight.
While Cincinnati could lay another egg to a weaker opponent like in Week 1, I’m not expecting that to be the case after Burrow and the offense looked much better against the Chiefs.
Wide Receiver: Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals ($7,500)
Last season, wide receivers feasted on this Commanders secondary, and through two weeks, that trend has continued in 2024.
In Week 1 against Washington, Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin totaled eight receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, while Mike Evans got into the end zone twice. Last week, the Giants’ Malik Nabers erupted for 10 receptions for 127 yards and one touchdown against the Commanders.
Now, this secondary should have its hands full with Ja’Marr Chase, who should command fewer double teams with Higgins back in the lineup as well. This will be a popular pick, but it’s a tough spot to fade Chase.
Wide Receiver: Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders ($5,700)
Considering how heavy we’re going on the Bengals’ offense, we need to run it back with at least one player on the Commanders.
With Terry McLaurin, it’s purely a “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” pick, as his production so far has been very underwhelming, to say the least, even if it isn’t his fault.
So far this season, McLaurin has just eight receptions for 39 yards in two games. While he only has 12 targets during this span, that is almost as many as the next three most-targeted wide receivers on the Commanders combined.
McLaurin’s issue is that rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has struggled to get him the football, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury mentioned this past week that they need to better utilize their most talented wide receiver.
Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury on Terry McLaurin's 39 receiving yards through 2 weeks: "We got to find a way to get Terry more involved. That's on me. He's a fantastic player."
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 20, 2024
Perhaps Washington will have garbage time working in our favor here, which is a possibility given the large point spread.
Wide Receiver: Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars ($5,200)
After finishing last week with negative receiving yards on one reception, Christian Kirk might not be a very popular pick in DFS tonight.
Kirk, however, played in 87% of the snaps last week, and despite his reputation as a low aDOT (average depth of target) slot receiver, he averaged 24 air yards on his three targets.
With Kirk, we’re banking on positive regression and low ownership.
Tight End: Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills ($5,200)
Dalton Kincaid missed several snaps last week after suffering a hit to the head, so it’s hard to evaluate him going into tonight.
While it’s concerning that Dawson Knox is still part of the picture, the Bills have run 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) on 36.7% of their snaps, which is more than twice as often as they did last season.
With Kincaid, we’re banking on a talented player having a breakthrough game with low DFS ownership.
Flex: Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars ($4,200)
Last week, without Evan Engram, Gabe Davis was the Jaguars’ most heavily utilized pass catcher, and he played in all but two offensive snaps.
Tonight, Engram will be missing his second straight game, which means Davis should remain a focal point of the passing attack.
This is also a “Revenge Game” spot, as Davis will be going against his former team for the first time since leaving Buffalo for Jacksonville in free agency.
Both Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. have the most big-play ability of the Jaguars’ receivers, but we save $700 by going with the veteran.
Defense: Cincinnati Bengals ($3,100)
The risk here with Cincinnati’s defense is Daniels making plays with his legs, but that isn’t scary enough to avoid taking them here.
Although Daniels has taken care of the football this season with zero turnovers, he has been sacked seven times in two games and has the ninth-highest pressure-to-sack ratio among starting quarterbacks.
The Commanders also have the lowest implied point total in tonight’s slate with an over/under of 19.5 points.