The Atlanta Falcons will play their third primetime game in the last four weeks when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Kirk Cousins has a reputation as a poor primetime performer, but he led the Falcons to a game-winning drive and a touchdown with 34 seconds left in a 22-21 win over the Eagles in Week 2 and kept Atlanta close with Kansas City before a 22-17 loss in Week 3. He averaged 235.5 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in his two primetime games this season, so how should Cousins and Falcons pass-catchers from the NFL DFS player pool such as Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts fit into your Week 5 Thursday Night Football NFL DFS strategy?
Should you include Tampa Bay veteran receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in NFL DFS lineups? Before setting your NFL DFS lineups on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel for Thursday Night Football, be sure to check out the NFL DFS advice, strategy, and stacks from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends, and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best DFS values that he shares only with members at SportsLine. His methodology has led to enormous cashes on FanDuel and DraftKings, including. Last year, he won the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and the FanDuel Million once. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to Buccaneers vs. Falcons on Thursday Night Football slate and just locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Falcons vs. Buccaneers
One of McClure's top NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football is Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney. After spending his first four seasons in Chicago, Mooney is on pace for one of the best seasons of his career as he's playing in a more stable offense than the Bears had most of his tenure there. The 26-year-old is averaging 56.3 receiving yards per game, the second-best of his career, including averaging 70 yards over the last three games. He had three receptions for 56 yards last week against the Saints.
Mooney has been a big-play threat this season, leading the Falcons in receiving yards (225) despite being in a three-way tie for the second-most receptions (15) on the team. He is averaging 15 yards per reception, which ranks 23rd in the NFL and leads all Falcons. Tampa Bay allowed three receptions of 15 yards or greater to three different pass catchers last week against the Eagles and McClure expects some chunk plays and production from Mooney at a cheaper price tag for Thursday Night Football NFL DFS lineups. See who else to roster here.
Part of McClure's optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, who is third in the NFL in receptions (27) and sixth in receiving yards (322). Godwin had six receptions for 69 yards on nine targets in a 33-16 win over the Eagles last week and he's had at least eight targets in all four games this season.
The Falcons have allowed 56 receptions to wide receivers this season, which is tied for the fourth-most in the NFL, and Godwin has a 79.4% catch rate from Baker Mayfield, which is the best catch rate of his eight-year career. He leads the team in receptions, yards and targets (34) while being tied with Mike Evans for receiving touchdowns (three). Godwin finished behind Evans in receiving yards in each of the last two seasons but he's emerging as Mayfield's top option early into the 2024 NFL season. See who else McClure likes right here.
How to set Thursday Night Football DFS lineups
McClure is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers on Thursday Night Football. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and the rest of McClure's NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine.
So who is Mike McClure including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Thursday Night Football, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a daily Fantasy expert with more than $2 million in winnings, and find out.