Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was eighth in the NFL in passing yards as a rookie last season. After Houston traded for Stefon Diggs and signed Joe Mixon to go along with talented wide receivers in Nico Collins and Tank Dell, Stroud became one of the most targeted quarterbacks in Fantasy football 2024 and for NFL DFS lineups. Stroud has put together quality passing numbers, ranking seventh in passing yards (1,948 yards) and 10th in yards per game (243.5), but his lack of rushing caps his potential as an elite weekly quarterback for NFL DFS picks.
In a single-game format with the Houston Texans playing the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, is Stroud the signal-caller to seek when forming NFL DFS stacks? He’ll be challenged with Collins (hamstring) and Diggs (knee) out, so how should that affect your NFL DFS strategy? Before locking in any NFL DFS picks on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel for Thursday Night Football, be sure to check out the NFL DFS advice, strategy, and stacks from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends, and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best DFS values that he shares only with members at SportsLine. His methodology has led to enormous cashes on FanDuel and DraftKings. Last year, he won the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and the FanDuel Million once. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to Texans vs. Jets on Thursday Night Football and just locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
One of McClure’s top NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football is Jets running back Breece Hall. The 23-year-old rushed for 80 yards on 5.0 yards per carry and added a reception for nine yards on three targets in New York’s loss to the Patriots last week. Although it hasn’t translated to victories, Hall been a far more productive player over the last few weeks, coinciding with the change from Nathaniel Hackett to Todd Downing as offensive play-caller.
Hall is averaging 77 rushing yards as part of 133 total yards per game over three games with Downing calling plays. He had more than 140 total yards in each of the first two games with Downing entering last week while playing more than 80% of snaps in each contest. His snap percentage dropped to 74% last week, but he remains the clear focal point of the New York rushing attack heading into a matchup against the Texans, who rank 24th in yards per rush (4.7).
Part of McClure’s optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Texans wide receiver John Metchie III. McClure expects the Texans to ask more of the second-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft with Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (knee) out. Metchie had season-highs in receptions (three), yards (29) and targets (four) last week and those were also career-highs in receptions and receiving yards during the regular season over his first two seasons.
Metchie was dealt some bad luck to begin his career when he was diagnosed with leukemia before rookie training camp following his selection out of Alabama. That has slowed his professional development but now with Houston facing receiver injuries, this could be one of his first opportunities to be a featured pass-catcher in the game plan. Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson will likely draw top New York corners like Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, so McClure likes this matchup and opportunity for the young receiver to have a breakout performance in a standalone contest. See who else McClure likes right here.
McClure is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers on Thursday Night Football. 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 McClure’s NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine.
So who is Mike McClure including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Jets vs. Texans, and which under-the-radar player offers huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, NFL DFS rankings, NFL DFS advice and NFL DFS stacks, all from a daily Fantasy expert with more than $2 million in winnings, and find out.
