NFL DFS Picks for Bills vs. Jaguars, Bengals vs. Commanders: Best DraftKings, FanDuel lineups & props for MNF

Fall is officially upon us, and the NFL will be celebrating with a special Monday Night Football doubleheader. The Bills and Jaguars kick things off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, then the Bengals and Commanders close out Week 3 at 8:20 p.m. ET on ABC.

The Sporting News typically brings you DFS showdown and single-game tournament lineups for the MNF slate. Since there’s bonus football tonight, though, it only makes sense to bring you some bonus DFS content!

For our DraftKings portion of the column, we will highlight our optimal lineup entry for DK’s “NFL $1.5M Monday Special.” The tournament, which costs $20 to enter, features the player pools from both Monday games. It will award $500,000 to the winner and an additional $1 million in prizes.

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FanDuel will be running a similar MNF special — called the “$400K NFL Monday Night Special” — which costs $9 to enter and awards $100,000 to the winner, as well as another $300,000 in prizes. However, we will specifically highlight the best studs and sleepers for Bills vs. Jaguars single-game tournaments on FD.

Then, for our SuperDraft lineup, we will specifically feature the top DFS picks for Bengals vs. Commanders. The goal is to get you primed for whichever tournament style you hope to enter this weekend: a combined special or either of the single-game or showdown tourneys.

Let’s get right to our lineups for DraftKings, FanDuel, and SuperDraft, and briefly explain why each player made our roster in each format.

NFL DFS picks: Optimal DraftKings “Monday Special” lineupBefore we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings contests: They’re full-point PPR, and they feature three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. Full-roster tournaments feature lineups with 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1 FLEX (RB/WR/TE), and 1D/ST. The salary cap is set at $50,000.

POS.PLAYERTEAM/OPPONENTSALARYQBJoe BurrowBengals vs. WAS$6,300RBJames CookBills vs. JAX$6,800RBTravis Etienne Jr. Jaguars at BUF$7,000WRJa’Marr ChaseBengals vs. WAS$7,500WRTee HigginsBengals vs. WAS$5,900WRKhalil Shakir Bills vs. JAX$5,500TEBrenton StrangeJaguars at BUF$2,700FLEXBrian Thomas Jr.Jaguars at BUF$4,900DST QB: Joe Burrow, Bengals vs. Commanders ($6,300)It sure feels like this will be a get-right game for Burrow and the Bengals, who have started the season 0-2 thanks to a Patriots stunner in Week 1 and a Chiefs last-minute spoiler in Week 2.

Joey B threw for 258 yards and two TDs against a good KC defense, so we can only imagine what he will do against a Commanders D that has surrendered the most QB fantasy points in the NFL. Burrow’s $1,500 cheaper than Josh Allen vs. Jacksonville, so this pick basically made itself.

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RB: James Cook, Bills vs. Jaguars ($6,800)Cook has been one of the biggest offensive surprises this season, with 198 all-purpose yards and three total TDs. The spread and over/under imply a Bills win of about 26-21, so Buffalo could very well be playing with a lead and milking the clock with 15-20 runs against its winless opponents at home.

Making things even more appealing for Cook investors, rain is in the forecast for Orchard Park on Monday. And the Jags rank 18th in fantasy points allowed to RBs — below average, for those who can’t math — so this feels like solid value for a guy we already know will be ready to Cook.

RB: Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars at Bills ($7,000)Could it be ETN SZN? The young stud back has scored a TD in each of Jacksonville’s first two games, but the Jags’ overall offensive limitations have kept him from truly breaking out for a huge game (58 total yards in Wk. 1, 59 in Wk. 2).

Well, this could be the week Travis explodes. Buffalo has surrendered the second-most DK points to RBs this season, including a 165-yard showing from the Dolphins’ De’Von Achane on Thursday Night Football. Go get ’em, Trav.

WEEK 3 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

WR: Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals vs. Commanders ($7,500)If you can find a way to get Chase in your lineups tonight, do it. He’s the most talented receiver of the doubleheader, and he’s coming off a 35-yard dud. Not only that, he’s also pissed that Cincinnati has started 0-2 again.

With battery mate Tee Higgins back on the other side of the field, expect Chase to go off under the MNF lights against a Commanders defense that has given up the most DK points to the wide receiver position through two weeks.

WR: Tee Higgins, Bengals vs. Commanders ($5,900)It’s Tee time! Higgins is finally back from the hamstring injury that kept him sidelined the first two weeks of the season, and it certainly feels like he will hit the ground running against this porous Washington secondary.

WR: Khalil Shakir, Bills vs. Jaguars ($5,500)Bills fans could have “All Eyez” on Shakir on Monday night if he keeps catching everything that Allen sends in his direction. Through two games, it has been 100-percent efficiency for the young wideout: eight targets, eight catches.

It has only equated to 96 yards and one TD, but we can’t imagine his volume or opportunities decreasing considering how good he has been since the departure of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.

TE: Brenton Strange, Jaguars at Bills ($2,700)When you roster the massive amount of stud fantasy players that we have compiled, you have to identify a sleeper or two. Strange fits that bill, and we can’t pass up on a chance to say “Let’s get Strange” on a Monday night.

Evan Engram remains out due to a freak pregame hamstring injury from Week 2, which allowed the relatively unknown Strange to 3-of-6 targets for 65 yards against a tough Browns defense. Fire this dude up and enjoy some Strange plays.

FLEX: Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars at Bills ($4,900)Seemingly lost in all the Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers discussions, fellow rookie Thomas Jr. has been pretty dang good as well. Through two games, he has hauled in 6-of-8 targets for 141 yards and a TD. He has clearly earned the trust of TLaw, and he should be busy as the Jags try to compete with the high-flying Bills.

DST: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Commanders ($3,100)We’ve got enough money remaining, so we might as well draft the top-ranked defense on our Monday night board. Jayden Daniels has looked as explosive and athletic as we thought he might be in the NFL, but he has yet to log a TD pass and he now has to duel with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati on Monday night. He might make some mistakes.

Bills vs. Jaguars NFL DFS picks: Optimal FanDuel single-game lineupHere are the key scoring settings for FanDuel single-game tournaments: They’re half-point PPR with three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, or 100 receiving yards. The MVP pick multiplies that player’s total by 1.5 but does not cost 1.5 times their listed salary.

POS.PLAYERTEAM/OPPONENT SALARY MVP Josh Allen, QBBills vs. JAX$17,500FLEX James Cook, RBBills vs. JAX$15,500FLEXBrian Thomas Jr., WRJaguals at BUF$11,000FLEXKhalil Shakir, WRBills vs. JAX$10,000FLEXM. Valdez-Scantling, WR Bills vs. JAX$6,000Our FD single-game lineup construction utilizes many of the same players we used in the DK special. We decided to make Allen our MVP since FD’s scoring system makes QBs a bit more valuable, plus we get the 1.5-times boost without paying 1.5 times the set salary like on DK Showdown tourneys.

We checked all three boxes in terms of our core weekly FD guidelines:

Put the player we project to score the most points in the MVP spot, since it doesn’t cost us extra to get that 1.5-times boost. Stack the top QB with his top playmaking receiver (Shakir). Target multiple high-volume plays (Allen/Cook/Shakir) and a couple high-ceiling sleepers (Thomas Jr. and MVS). Like we already established, Thomas Jr. has been very dependable and should be active from the first weird kickoff to the final whistle in this one. And MVS has been known to make some noise in primetime games here and there, so don’t be surprised if this boom-or-bust play booms for us and logs a home-run play.

MORE WEEK 3 DFS ADVICE; Best sleepers and value picks

Bengals vs. Commanders NFL DFS picks: Optimal SuperDraft lineupFor those unfamiliar, SuperDraft’s DFS scoring involves point multipliers as opposed to traditional salary-capped or tiered contests. A winning lineup will likely feature a strong mix of stud fantasy contributors with 1x-1.6x boosts, as well as matchup-based sleepers with larger multipliers. Each player is assigned a scoring multiplier based on their value as determined by SuperDraft. Users can roster any player in their lineup with no restrictions.

Here are the most notable scoring rules for SuperDraft NFL contests: Half-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, and two-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards. SuperDraft lineups feature no D/ST position. The “Champ” position adds a 50-percent boost to the selected player, while the SuperFlex positions are limited to the boost listed for each player.

POSITIONPLAYERGAMEBOOSTCHAMPJoe Burrow, QBBengals vs. WAS 1.65xSFLEXJa’Marr Chase, WRBengals vs. WAS1xSFLEXTee Higgins, WRBengals vs. WAS1.3xSFLEXAustin Ekeler, RBCommanders at CIN1.4xSFLEXZach Ertz, TECommanders at CIN 1.6xMORE SUPERDRAFT DFS: How to play SuperDraft

Again, we’re making sure we utilize the four studs we really like from our DK lineup. We also love the upside with Ertz, who Daniels has seemed to trust as a dependable target on third downs and short-yardage situations. The 1.65-times boost for Burrow feels like a no-brainer, as does stacking him with Chase and Higgins.