Week 8 kicks off Thursday in LA with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams will be looking to get back in the winning column after taking home losses last weekend, and we’ll be looking to assemble a couple winning DFS lineups for the evening.

There will be no shortage of offense in this one, even with the Bolts’ running back room banged up. Justin Herbert has enjoyed strong success with receivers Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, and Jim Harbaugh’s squad has benefited from young assets like tight end Oronde Gadsden and running back Kimani Vidal. 

On the other side, Justin Jefferson remains the straw that stirs the Vikings’ drink. However, Minnesota has also enjoyed the return of fellow wideout Jordan Addison from injury, and Kevin O’Connell also gets veteran running back Aaron Jones back alongside Jordan Mason in the Vikes’ backfield. 

For DFS and fantasy football enthusiasts constructing lineups for this primetime showdown, we’ve put together what we feel is the optimal squad for both DraftKings and FanDuel contests. Keep reading if you’re interested in how to play DFS single-game tournaments or just want to see which stars and sleepers made our TNF cut. 

MORE: Fantasy rankings this week | Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 8 | Week 8 Sleepers | Week 8 Busts

Vikings vs. Chargers NFL DFS picks: Optimal DraftKings TNF Showdown lineup

Before we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They’re full-point PPR, and they feature three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player’s original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.

Captain: Jordan Mason, RB, Vikings ($12,900)

Getting Mason in our Captain’s chair ahead of more costly options means we can afford much more depth across our flex positions. It also separates us from the crowd in terms of lineup composition and variance.

If we had Captained Jefferson at $17.7K, we would have had far less balance across the remaining roster spots and also likely run the risk of having similar-looking lineups to the majority of our opponents. With Mason, we have a contrarian approach, a balanced lineup, and plenty of upside with our 1.5-times boost.

The young back has averaged over 13 DK points per game over his past four outings, LA has allowed the eighth-most PPR points to RBs this season, and Aaron Jones shouldn’t eat into his usage too much in his first game back in well over a month. 

FLEX 1: Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings ($11,800)

Whether it’s Carson Wentz, J.J. McCarthy or some old guy named Hank from the side of the street throwing him the ball, Justin Jefferson is one of the best wide receivers in the world.

J-Jets has averaged 16.5 DK points per game this season, and he’s only a few weeks removed from back-to-back 120-yard performances. Here’s hoping he finds the end zone.

FLEX 2: Ladd McConkey, WR, Chargers ($7,600)

Ladd’s actually priced below Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston, which we will take considering he has been much hotter than his veteran counterparts.

Over the past three weeks, he has posted estimated DK totals of 16, 26 and 15 with collective totals of 206 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Smash-play the young Ladd.

FLEX 3: Jordan Addison, WR, Vikings ($7,400)

Another seemingly undervalued DK asset, Addison made up for lost time last week when he posted nine catches (on 12 targets) for 128 yards. That’s 24.8 DK points, for those who don’t have their Calculator apps handy. We’ll take the young speedster in what should be a shootout of a primetime affair. 

FLEX 4: Kimani Vidal, RB, Chargers ($7,000)

Vidal might be the last man standing in the LA running back room, and here’s hoping he stretches well before this game. Jim Harbaugh loves his top RB option, and there’s little doubt that Vidal’s currently that guy.

The young back got bottled up a bit by the Colts’ underrated front seven last week, but he had 25.8 DK points in his previous game in Miami. The Vikes have a far better defense than the Dolphins, but they can still be beat on the ground with the right plan of attack. 

FLEX 5: Tre’ Harris, WR, Chargers ($3,000)

Will this be the week that the rookie wide receiver breaks out? Here’s hoping. Harris has scored 11 combined DK points over the past two weeks, so it’s not like he’s a complete dart throw. We will definitely need a long bomb or a touchdown from the rook to feel confident about our chances at Thursday’s grand prize, though. 

Vikings vs. Chargers NFL DFS picks: Optimal FanDuel TNF single-game lineup

Here 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 and, for the first time, the MVP pick also costs 1.5 times that player’s salary.

Our FanDuel lineup took a similar approach to our DraftKings one, with Mason in the MVP spot and a balanced core of flex options. We love the depth, and the big-play and touchdown upside. 

We also picked up stud tight end Gadsden and elite kicker Dicker in lieu of Vidal and Harris, so we can diversify our Chargers portfolio a bit. Here’s hoping we get solid contributions from every roster spot and cash in big!