The Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders both scored more than 30 points in their two meetings last season. Daily Fantasy football players would love to see similar offensive fireworks for NFL DFS lineups when they meet on Thursday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET. However, this season, Philadelphia is tied for fifth at 17.9 points per game allowed, while Washington is 12th at 21.7. The Washington debut of standout cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who the Commanders traded for from the Saints, will need to wait since he remains out with a hamstring injury, so does this boost the appeal of Eagles receivers like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith from the NFL DFS player pool? Before locking in any NFL DFS lineups for Eagles vs. Commanders on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL daily Fantasy expert Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a NFL and DFS expert for SportsLine, who opened the 2022 NFL season by winning DraftKings' NFL Showdown Thursday Kickoff Millionaire contest. He edged out over 355,000 other entrants in the contest and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Kaylor, who cashed big all season in 2022, has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, and his background as a former college and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel.
Kaylor hit on epic NFL DFS picks for SportsLine members throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2022, he was all over Travis Kelce's four-touchdown performance against the Raiders on Monday Night Football, Kirk Cousins' 460-yard, four-TD performance on Thanksgiving Day, and T.J. Hockenson's 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Week 15. In 2023, he hit on Ja'Marr Chase's massive Week 5 performance (15 catches, 192 yards, three TDs), D.J. Moore's eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns in Week 14, and De'Von Anchane's breakout performance (233 total yards, four TD's) in Week 3.
This season, some of Kaylor's top picks in Showdown DFS slates include Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed, (4-138-1, 33-1), Bills quarterback Josh Allen (263-4), and Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (509-4). Anyone who followed his picks is way up.
Now, Kaylor has turned his attention to Commanders vs. Eagles on Thursday Night Football in Week 9 and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Eagles vs. Commanders
One of Kaylor's top NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football is Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. The 27-year-old is second in the NFL in rushing yards (991) and although he broke his streak of three straight 100-yard rushing performances, much of that is due to the lopsided score. The Eagles defeated the Cowboys, 34-6, last week so Barkley only played a season-low 51% of snaps. He still finished with 66 yards on 14 carries and added a 12-yard reception.
But Barkley has been the bellcow running back in Philadelphia this season. He's second in the NFL in carries and he's played more than 70% of snaps in three of the last five games. He plays the vast majority of snaps in close contests and given the 3.5-point spread against the Commanders, according to the latest NFL odds from the SportsLine Consensus, a significant workload should be expected. Although it's a short week, Barkley's limited carries last week should ease any over usage concerns.
Kaylor is also targeting Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has already proven the NFL primetime stage isn't too grand for him as he threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 39 yards and a touchdown in a 38-33 win over the Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 3. At the time, that result was considered a massive upset, but it became just the first of a string of strong offensive performances for Washington and Daniels as the Commanders have the No. 3 scoring offense in the league at 29.0 points per game.
Daniels has been the catalyst for that offensive success and it's resulted in him being the QB6 in Fantasy football on the season. He's rushed for at least 35 yards in eight of 10 games this season as the rushing production boosts his floor and raises his ceiling to have the potential of becoming an NFL DFS tournament winner. He's thrown for more than 200 yards in the eight games he's started and finished following his NFL debut. Although the Eagles are allowing the fourth-fewest Fantasy football points to opposing quarterbacks this season, they haven't faced a dual-threat signal caller like Daniels and Kaylor expects some big plays out of the favorite to win NFL Rookie of the Year. See who else Kaylor likes right here.
How to set Eagles vs. Commanders NFL DFS lineups, player pool
Kaylor is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers in Commanders vs. Eagles. 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 Kaylor's NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine.
So who is Jimmie Kaylor 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 an NFL DFS expert who won a prestigious Millionaire Maker tournament, and find out.
