Welcome back to Ball Street DFS, where finance and fantasy meet. In this weekly article, I apply financial metrics to the fantasy football world to give you an edge when building your FanDuel lineups. 

Week 7 was a red-hot week on Ball Street. Among the 12 upside plays, I wrote about were wide receivers Davante Adams (overall WR2, 38.1 FanDuel points), A.J. Brown (WR4, 24.3), and my “Cash Cow” pick, Christian Kirk (WR12, 18.2). Additionally, I discussed Kyler Murray (QB2, 38.1) as a smash play at quarterback and Darren Waller (TE4, 14.0) as a locked-in “Blue Chip” tight end with upside. While my running back plays didn’t fully capitalize on their opportunities, James Conner (RB18, 12.6) wasn’t a lineup-destroyer and D’Andre Swift (RB15, 12.8) drastically outperformed his “Penny Stock” price tag. That being said, “Mid-Cap” plays Noah Fant (TE24, 5.3) and Ben Roethlisberger (QB20, 15.62) were massive disappointments in great matchups, putting a damper on the Week 7 Ball Street block party. Moving forward, I’m looking to keep the hot streak alive on a Week 8 slate ripe with underpriced upside.

Today, I’ll be highlighting 12 players who, based on investment metrics, are oozing with upside and need to be plugged into your Week 8 DFS lineups.

Before we dive in, let me break down the lingo we use on “Ball Street.” First, the focus of this article is a value I coined “Upside per Dollar,” which will be referred to as UPD. “UPD” is the product of a modified financial formula that determines how much “blowup potential” a given player offers you per dollar of your investment (his FanDuel price). In short, UPD tells you which players present the most potential bang for your buck. Below, I will highlight the 12 players who boast exceptionally high UPD scores for Week 8. 

Each position group is broken down as follows: 

Blue Chips: the studs presenting massive upside that come with a higher price tag

Mid-Caps: the more affordable upside picks

Penny Stocks: the cheapest upside plays FanDuel has to offer

*Cash Cow: The one must-start UPD standout among all 12 listed players

Lastly, if you’re looking to go all-in on this week’s upside picks, you can check out Ball Street’s “All-Upside Lineup” at the bottom of the article. Follow me on Twitter @ballstreetff to track the results from Week 8 and beyond!

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Quarterbacks

Blue Chip:
Aaron Rodgers (GB) vs. Minnesota ($8,400) – In their Week 1 meeting, Rodgers put up 30.76 FanDuel points against the Vikings on his way to a QB2 overall finish. What has changed this time around? The Packers are likely to be without star running back Aaron Jones. Play the man!

Mid-Cap:
Ryan Tannehill (TEN) vs. Cincinnati ($7,500) – Tannehill is playing lights-out football and should lead a pass-heavy attack against a Bengals defense that gave up 30.78 FanDuel points to Baker Mayfield last week. 

Penny Stock:
Jimmy Garoppolo (SF) vs. Seattle ($6,600) – While his inconsistency will scare some off, Garoppolo is in a smash spot against the Seahawks, who have given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. 

Running Backs

Blue Chip:
Derrick Henry (TEN) vs. Cincinnati ($9,500) – With seven touchdowns to his name over his last four games, Henry is a good bet to see the end zone again as the Titans boast an implied team total of 29.5 points, second-highest in the league. 

Mid-Cap:
Jonathan Taylor (IND) vs. Detroit ($7,300) – Fresh off his bye week, the Colts’ talented rookie figures to see heavy volume in a cushy matchup with the Lions, who are giving up the fourth most fantasy points to opposing ball-carriers.

Penny Stock:
Darrell Henderson (LAR) vs. Miami ($6,100) – With rookie Cam Akers seeing zero (0) touches in Week 7, Henderson will see a heavy majority of the Rams’ rushing volume in a game where Los Angeles is favored by 3.5.

Wide Receivers

Blue Chip:
Davante Adams (GB) vs. Minnesota ($9,100) – The case for playing Adams is identical to that for starting Rodgers. He hung a 14/156/2TD line on the Vikings in Week 1, and the Packers will likely be without offensive juggernaut Aaron Jones. Adams in your lineup is cash in your wallet. 

Mid-Cap:
*Tyler Boyd (CIN) vs. Tennessee ($6,400) – Boyd is averaging 8.7 targets per game and should once again receive heavy looks from Joe Burrow in a potential shootout that boasts a 53.5-point over/under. *Boyd is this week’s Cash Cow. Get him in your lineups!

Penny Stock:
Brandon Aiyuk (SF) vs. Seattle ($5,900) – Without Deebo Samuel in the lineup, Aiyuk will serve as Jimmy Garoppolo’s top wide receiver in a game where San Francisco will need to keep up with the Seahawks’ electric offense. 

Tight Ends

Blue Chip:
George Kittle (SF) vs. Seattle ($7,700) – The overall TE1 in FanDuel points per game could see 10+ targets in a matchup with the Seahawks that sports a league-high over/under of 54 points.

Mid-Cap:
Rob Gronkowski (TB) vs. New York Giants ($5,600) – Gronk is BACK. Tom Brady‘s favorite tight end has five catches and a touchdown in each of his last two games. This week, he’s destined to carve up the Giants’ defense in a game where the Bucs will be scoring at will. 

Penny Stock:
Jimmy Graham (CHI) vs. New Orleans ($5,400) – Graham is quietly the overall TE9 in FanDuel points per game, yet he is priced as this week’s TE18. EIGHTEENTH! Even more, he gets a revenge game against the Saints, who are giving up the second-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Start him and thank me later.

Ball Street’s Week 8 All-Upside Lineup

QB – Jimmy Garoppolo, $6,600
RB – Derrick Henry, $9,500
RB – Jonathan Taylor, $7,300
WR – Davante Adams, $9,100
WR – Tyler Boyd, $6,400
WR – Brandon Aiyuk, $5,900
TE – Jimmy Graham, $5,400
FLEX – Darrel Henderson, $6,100
DST – New Orleans, $3,600

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Beyond our daily fantasy football content, be sure to check out our Daily Fantasy Football Tools. From our Value Plays – which allows you to identify players who are projected to outperform their salaries – to our DFS Cheat Sheets – that helps you get a quick read on the day’s players – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Stephen Krupka is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Stephen, check out his archive or follow him @ballstreetff.