Week 9 DraftKings DFS Breakdown (Main Slate Only)

Slate Overview

By Adam Krautwurst

11-game slate

Multiple games with 50+ point totals:

Chiefs–Bills
Bears–Bengals
Colts–Steelers
49ers–Giants right behind them

RB injuries have opened up a ton of cheap value, which means the optimal build this week for cash and most GPPs will be:
Pay down at RB
Pay up at WR/QB
Stack high-total games

Top Cash Game Plays

Quarterbacks

Jaxson Dart — Giants
Too cheap for his rushing floor
18+ DK points in every start
Rushing TD in 3 straight
49ers defense is shredded by injuries, no pass rush, missing top LB
Giants likely lean on Dart even more without Skattebo
The best cash QB on the slate.
Also viable in GPPs because he has real 25+ upside.

Other safe cash pivots
Caleb Williams vs CIN
Daniel Jones vs Pit

Running Backs

Tyrone Tracy — Giants
Starter with Skattebo out
Only competition is Singletary
Home vs a broken 49ers defense
Cheap bellcow = chalk gold

Jaylen Warren — Steelers
Workload increasing
Game with 50+ total vs Colts who bleed yardage

Other strong cash values:
TreVeyon Henderson
Kareem Hunt
Kyle Monangai
Many builds will lock in two cheap RBs and spend up elsewhere.

Wide Receivers

Jauan Jennings — 49ers
Pearsall out again
Giants missing their top two corners
7 targets in back-to-back games
Should’ve hit a 50-yard TD last week
Too cheap for his role in this matchup

Other safe cash WRs:
DJ Moore
Rome Odunze
Puka Nacua
You want at least 1 stud WR in cash.
Ideally Chase (if Flacco starts).

Tight End

Best value: Tyler Warren
Best paydown: Dalton Kincaid if Knox sits
Best tournament pivot: Dalton Schultz

Defense

Giants or Bengals
If paying up: Packers

Top GPP Stacks

Bears Stack
QB Caleb Williams + WR Ja’Marr Chase + WR Odunze or Zaccheaus

Why it works:
Bears get the worst defense in football
Williams is cheap rushing QB
Chase has 42 targets in last 2 games with Flacco
Odunze/Zaccheaus both breakout candidates with Burden out
Game has shootout potential
Great correlation
Low ownership compared to KC-BUF

Bengals Stack (only if Flacco starts)
QB Flacco + WR Chase + (Higgins OR Zaccheaus)
Chase is chalk — so make it different with Higgins
Flacco force-feeds Chase more than any QB in the league
Bears still without CB1 Jaylon Johnson
Favorite Tournament Variation:
Flacco + Higgins + Chase → massive leverage

Colts Stack
QB Daniel Jones + RB Jonathan Taylor + TE Tyler Warren
(or swap Taylor for Pittman)
Colts offense is historically efficient
Steelers defense leaking 300-yard passing games
Warren leads TE route share and red-zone usage
Taylor has four 3-TD games in last six
High ceiling AND low ownership
Perfect GPP spot

Steelers Bringback
QB Rodgers + WR DK Metcalf + Jaylen Warren
Colts secondary is a disaster
Rodgers playing well
Metcalf has a TD in 4 of last 5
Warren chalk makes the stack affordable

Mega-Chalk Stack
QB Mahomes + Rashee Rice
(Add Shakir or Kincaid)
Bills–Chiefs highest projected ownership AND total
Chalkiest stack on slate
Good for cash, but risky in single-entry/GPP unless differentiated

Smash Value Stack
QB Jaxson Dart + Jauan Jennings
(Add Monangai or Tracy)
Unreal cheap stack
Leaves salary to jam Chase or CMC
Giants/49ers game has sneaky shootout potential

High-Priced Studs Worth Paying For

Ja’Marr Chase
Most targets in the NFL over last 3 weeks
12 / 16 / 10 catches
Bears weak to WR1
Chalky, but for good reason

Christian McCaffrey
Giants defense imploded vs Eagles
Worst YPC allowed in NFL
Elite bounce-back spot

Top Contrarian Plays for Large-Field GPP

Tee Higgins → leverage off Chase
DJ Moore → everyone gave up, usage still strong
Puka Nacua → priced high but Rams have lowest ownership projection

Simplified Strategy Guide

Cash games
Jam in cheap RB value
Pay up for 1–2 stud WRs
Lock Dart / Tracy / Jennings

GPP
Pick 1 shootout game and load it
Correlate QB with 2 teammates
Use leverage: Higgins, Pittman, Warren, Odunze, Metcalf

CASH GAME LINEUP

QB – Jaxson Dart
RB – Tyrone Tracy
RB – Jaylen Warren
WR – Ja’Marr Chase
WR – Jauan Jennings
WR – Rome Odunze
TE – Tyler Warren
FLEX – Kyle Monangai
DST – Packers

Why this build works
Dart + Tracy + Monangai = cheap volume + rushing upside
Chase = safest elite WR floor on slate
Jennings + Odunze = every-down receivers in injury-boosted roles
Warren + Tracy → two best point-per-dollar RBs
Packers elite DST matchup

GPP TOURNAMENT LINEUP

QB – Caleb Williams
RB – Christian McCaffrey
RB – TreVeyon Henderson
WR – Ja’Marr Chase
WR – Tee Higgins
WR – DJ Moore
TE – Dalton Kincaid
FLEX – Jauan Jennings
DST – Raiders

Why this wins tournaments
Game stack: Williams + Chase + Higgins + Moore → If Bears–Bengals shoots out, this lineup explodes
Higgins + Chase together gives ceiling AND leverage
CMC has 40+ potential in the best RB spot on the slate
Jennings keeps salary down but ceiling is real with CB injuries
Kincaid is a low-owned pivot off TE chalk
Raiders DST against a banged up Jags offense