NFL DFS Week 9 Optimal Lineup: Jaxson Dart hits bullseye in 49ers-Giants stack

The two variables I was highly confident of last week were Jonathan Taylor going off against the Titans and Jalen Hurts having a big day against the Giants.

So I stacked Taylor (40.4 DraftKings points) with the Colts’ defense, and the touchdown hoarder delivered another three TDs for the third time in the last four games, and for the third straight time against Tennessee.

Hurts (25.36 DK points) also delivered in a stack with DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, who were both fine, but Saquon Barkley’s reemergence lowered the ceiling for two Eagles’ pass catchers.

Overall, it was a successful week for the Optimal Lineup build, and we cashed for the third time this season.

Here’s what I’m highly confident of in Week 9:

• The Lions offense will produce an elite scorer against the Vikings.
• The 49ers’ offense will once again go through Christian McCaffrey, who was limited to a season-low 11 touches for 68 yards last week against a good Texans defense. The Niners’ offense should bounce back against a bad Giants defense, but Jaxson Dart will be able to keep pace against San Francisco’s absolutely decimated defense in a sneakily good game environment.
• The Colts-Steelers matchup likely will go over its projected 51½-point game total.
• The Bengals will once again throw the ball a ton with Joe Flacco healthy enough to play, and the Bears should be able to do whatever they want on offense against one of the worst defenses I’ve ever seen.
• I expect the Chargers to mollywhop the Titans, so pairing Kimani Vidal and the Bolts’ defense is a sound play this week.
• And finally, I’m anticipating both Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen wearing their capes in one of the best game environments we’re going to get this season.

The preamble

Devising the perfect Daily Fantasy Sports strategy for the NFL can be a challenge, which is why I’m here weekly to assist.

On DraftKings, it’s important to remember you’re playing full-point PPR with bonuses if a player surpasses 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards or 100 receiving yards.

Here is my optimal lineup for today’s NFL $2.75 million Fantasy Football Millionaire contest, but it can be utilized as a foundation in other games and platforms.

All prices listed are courtesy of DraftKings with a $50,000 budget.

The optimal lineup has netted $120 this season, so I’m in the red $25 with an average score of 137.37 points through eight weeks.

Year-To-Date Results

Week 1: 95.52

Week 2: 124.90

Week 3: 181.44

Week 4: 142.88

Week 5: 162.24

Week 6: 117.24

Week 7: 116.46

Week 8: 158.26

Week 9 lineup

QB: Jaxson Dart, Giants ($5,200)

The 49ers couldn’t get C.J. Stroud and his inexperienced wide receivers off the field on third down last week, and Stroud finished with a season-high 318 passing yards to go with two TD passes and 30 yards rushing. Dart’s rushing upside is even higher, and he’ll likely have all the time he needs in the pocket against a defense that ranks dead last in pressure rate since Week 4.

RB: Christian McCaffrey, 49ers ($8,800)

McCaffrey had his worst game of the season last week, but this is a tremendous bounce-back spot against a defense allowing the most yards per carry (5.7) and one of the highest explosive run rates this season. In the two games since George Kittle returned, CMC is averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He averaged 3.1 ypc in the previous six games without Kittle.

RB: Kyle Monangai, Bears ($4,600)

Monangai was one of my sleepers in the 2025 NFL draft class. He was ranked No. 13 in my running back rankings. The talented rookie will have Chicago’s backfield all to himself with both D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson out this week. The Bengals have allowed an average of 36 DraftKings points to opposing backfields since Week 2.

WR: DK Metcalf, Steelers ($5,500)

The overall volume hasn’t been there for Metcalf, but such is life as the top wideout in an Arthur Smith-led offense. But he has been getting a lot of looks in the red zone. Maybe Smith dials it up to 11 against a Colts defense allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers, including the third-most receiving yards.

WR: Jauan Jennings, 49ers ($4,300)

Jennings is the WR1 in San Francisco’s offense without Brandon Aiyuk or Ricky Pearsall. The Giants are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.

WR: Darius Slayton, Giants ($4,100)

Slayton has taken over the Malik Nabers role, and everyone would’ve noticed by now if his long TD reception against Quinyon Mitchell wouldn’t have been flagged for a ticky-tacky offensive pass interference call last week. Better days are ahead.

TE: Tyler Warren, Colts ($5,500)

Indy’s offense is currently rivaling the 2007 Patriots and 2013 Broncos, but they haven’t had to keep their foot on the gas in the second half of games this season, hence Jonathan Taylor gobbling up all the TDs. I’m thinking the Steelers push the Colts enough where they have to throw more this week. Warren has been Daniel Jones’ most consistent target with 21% target share, including 30% of the team’s end-zone targets.

FLEX: Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals ($8,400)

Chase has an absurd 46% target share in his three games with Joe Flacco, and he’s seen more than half of Flacco’s throws in each of the past two weeks. The Bears’ secondary is missing their top two cornerbacks in Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. With their third corner, Tyrique Stevenson, also banged-up, Chicago just signed C.J. Gardner-Johnson to man the slot. Chase could break the slate on Sunday.

DST: New England Patriots ($3,600)

The Patriots are the top-scoring defense in fantasy through eight weeks and host the Falcons, who are averaging 10.7 points per game on the road.