Week 8 Thursday DraftKings DFS Lineup: Ladd McConkey, Jordan Mason, Oronde Gadsden and More

It's Thursday, which means a new week of NFL regular season games starts! As we usually do for the Thursday game, let's put together a DFS lineup on DraftKings.

Also be sure to check out start/sit stories involving players from the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.

Check out player prop bets, prop bet rankings and public betting splits on FantasySP all season! 

Captain - Ladd McConkey ($11,400)

The top fantasy player in tonight's game is Justin Jefferson, but he was expensive, and I don't love his outlook with Carson Wentz throwing to him and the Chargers being a stiff fantasy test. So I decided to grab who I believe who will be the Chargers' top pass catcher, and that's McConkey.

He's been outperformed by a couple teammates, but McConkey has been trending up, with 14.9 fantasy points or more in three straight games. He's averaging 12.9 points per game this season.

As long as McConkey is the Chargers' top pass catcher, this DFS lineup should be in pretty solid shape.  

Flex - Quentin Johnston ($8,000)

Johnston is tied with Keenan Allen at 16.4 fantasy points per game so far, so those are the guys outperforming McConkey.

Johnston has been trending down, and only has 18.9 points over his past two contests. He was at 14.9 points or more in each of the first four weeks.

I like him over Allen tonight, and so we really just have to hope McConkey leads the way and that Johnston then outperforms Allen. If those things happen, I like my chances.

Flex - Justin Herbert ($10,400)

Next, I chose the guy throwing the ball to those wideouts.

Herbert is averaging 21.6 fantasy points per game, so I decided to splurge a bit and add him to my lineup. He's scored at least 14.5 fantasy points in all seven games, and even in a tougher test, I see him shining again.

Now, I basically just need Herbert to be throwing touchdowns instead of having a back like Kimani Vidal stealing any scores. If anyone scores on the ground for LA, I have to hope it's Herbert.

Flex - Jordan Mason ($8,600)

Mason ended up being my only pick from the Vikings. He has a super favorable matchup, so I'm fine choosing him, even if Aaron Jones Sr. returns and factors in - both backs could be in for good fantasy showings.

Mason is averaging 12.7 fantasy points per game so far this season. With Jones out since week 2, Mason has between 10.2-26.6 fantasy points in four games.

Again, even if he's splitting the workload tonight, I like this matchup enough to utilize Mason in DFS lineups. Hopefully Jones doesn't steal any scores, or the Vikings get behind big, so the offense is forced to pass a ton.

Flex - Oronde Gadsden ($5,800)

Gadsden had the big surprise fantasy performance in week 8, scoring 32.4 fantasy points. He's averaging 12.2 fantasy points per contest, and that's after scoring 9.6 fantasy points or less in his first three games.

His matchup is pretty average, and I'm expecting him to contribute in a big way again tonight. Maybe with Minnesota being better at slowing fantasy wideouts, Gadsden can deliver from the TE slot again.

So now, I really need Herbert and the passing game to shine, with McConkey leading the way and Gadsden and Johnston outperforming Allen and Vidal, and not having any surprise fantasy showings from anyone else.

Flex - Cameron Dicker ($5,400)

I went heavy with LA players in this lineup, so it's only fitting to end things with the team's kicker.

Dicker is averaging 9.1 fantasy points per contest. I like Los Angeles to win tonight, so hopefully he's given plenty of chances to score, whether that be on field goals or extra points. 

I'll take all the extra fantasy points I can, as there wasn't another viable fantasy option for this cheap, outside Vikings' kicker Will Reichard. Some other options included T.J. Hockenson or either defense/special teams, but I like Dicker's chances of scoring more fantasy points, so I went with him.

Final Thoughts

I am heavy with one team again, which means I'm hoping the Chargers win this game pretty handily. Hopefully that doesn't affect my one Minnesota pick too much.

But pairing Herbert with McConkey, Johnston and Gadsden is a chance to score a ton of fantasy points if the LA passing game keeps rolling. I just have to hope it's a close enough game and that Vidal and Allen don't steal any scores or a ton of fantasy points.

We'll see how things go, but this is probably the least confident I've felt with any DFS lineup this season. There's not a lot of great fantasy options for either team, and there's lots of possibilities for the top fantasy performer outside Herbert.

It means you can try several different lineup combinations to try and beat my score. Best of luck with your DFS and fantasy football lineups as week 8 kicks off!