Aaron Rodgers was a professional quarterback before C.J. Stroud was old enough to hold a football correctly and yet, the two will go head-to-head on Thursday Night Football when the New York Jets host the Houston Texans at 8:15 p.m. ET. Rodgers (40) is the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL, while Stroud, who turned 23 on October 3, is one of the youngest in the league. The two have led their teams to different results this season, with the Texans entering at 6-2, while the Jets are 2-6.
Should daily Fantasy football players trust the veteran Rodgers and receivers like Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson when forming a TNF NFL DFS strategy? Will Stroud show he’s the future of the league and have a strong performance for NFL DFS lineups despite receivers like Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (knee) being out? Before locking in any NFL DFS lineups for Jets vs. Texans 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 Jets vs. Texans 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.
One of Kaylor’s top NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football is Jets wide receiver Davante Adams. The 31-year-old hasn’t had his breakout performance with Rodgers in New York yet over their two games together, but he does have 15 targets over those two games as a clear focal point in the offense. He’s second behind Garrett Wilson for targets over that span as to the surprise of few, Aaron Rodgers is trying to get the ball to Adams often.
But maybe Rodgers should be forcing the ball Adams’ way even more as New York is 0-2 and averaging 18.5 points per game over the last two games. If the Jets have any hopes of reaching the playoffs, they’ll need to win on Thursday and Rodgers has eight years of trust and chemistry with Adams from their time in Green Bay. Kaylor expects a heavier target share for Adams on Thursday for NFL DFS lineups.
Kaylor is also targeting Texans running back Joe Mixon. The 28-year-old is coming off his third straight 100-yard rushing performance, rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries while adding four receptions for 32 yards in a 23-20 win over the Colts last week. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in four of five games this season while averaging 100.6 rushing yards per game, the third-most in the league. Outside of having 25 yards on nine carries in Week 2 against the Bears when he had to leave early due to injury, Mixon is averaging 119.5 rushing yards per game this season.
The Jets have struggled against the run this season as they have allowed the ninth-most rushing yards to opposing running backs this season. Opposing teams have utilized a run-heavy approach against the Jets with teams running on 49.5% of plays against New York, the sixth-most in the league. With the Texans without some key receivers, they could look to run often as well and with Mixon having 25 carries in back-to-back games, that signals a large workload for the veteran against a struggling defense. See who else Kaylor likes right here.
Kaylor is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers in Texans vs. Jets. 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 a DFS expert who won a prestigious millionaire maker tournament, and find out.
