We kick off Week 4 with a matchup out of the NFC West as the Seattle Seahawks will travel to the desert to face off against the Arizona Cardinals. It’s always a treat for the East coasters when we see a pair of West coast teams in primetime. Both these teams enter Week 4 at 2-1 and the NFC West as a group if 9-3 so far, but one team has to take a loss in this matchup. We have a couple consolidated offenses to dissect and some injuries to monitor. Let’s take a look at this week’s Seahawks vs. Cardinals DFS picks for Thursday Night Football!

 

 

 

Seahawks vs. Cardinals DFS Picks & Preview: Thursday Night Football, 9/25

The Seattle Seahawks dropped their season opener to the San Francisco 49ers but over their last two games they’ve outscored their opponents 75-30. Sam Darnold may not be lighting it up like he did last season with the Minnesota Vikings. But he was brought over by the Seattle front office to effectively operate the offense. He’s completing 70% of his passes on the year and aside from Week 1, this group has looked great.

The biggest story coming out of Seattle has to be Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He has accumulated 323 receiving yards so far through three weeks with 22 receptions on 28 targets. Fortunately for Seattle, JSN has masked the shortcomings of the rushing attack. Kenneth Walker was a fantasy gem in Week 3. However, the team ranks outside the top 20 in rushing yards per game (96.0) while they rank sixth in rush attempts per game (29.3).

The Arizona Cardinals are coming off their first loss of the season last week to the San Francisco 49ers. But the bigger loss was with James Conner who is done for the year after a brutal leg injury. In his place we all expect Trey Benson to step up but Emari Demercado has been rather efficient the last couple years when he’s been given the ball.

While the fantasy football community is glowing with optimism toward Benson, we can’t say the same about Marvin Harrison The Cardinals specifically have not thrown the ball to their wide receivers as often as other teams. And as you’ll read below, this is a great matchup for Arizona’s tight ends, but it projects to be tough for their receivers.

Since both these teams have lost to San Francisco, it may only be Week 4, but this game already carries some weight for the NFC West standings. Let’s get ready to dominate our NFL DFS Showdown contests with the Seahawks vs. Cardinals DFS picks!

 

 

 

Seahawks vs. Cardinals TNF Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Seahawks -1.5 (-105)
    • Cardinals +1.5 (-115)
  • Money Line:
    • Seahawks (-125)
    • Cardinals (+105)
  • Game Total:
    • Over 43.5 (-105)
    • Under 43.5 (-115)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Seahawks -1.5 (-105)
    • Cardinals +1.5 (-115)
  • Money Line:
    • Seahawks (-120)
    • Cardinals (+102)
  • Game Total:
    • Over 43.5 (-105)
    • Under 43.5 (-115)

 

 

 

NFL Weather: Seahawks vs. Cardinals TNF, September 25th 

This game will be played indoors in a controlled environment so there are no weather concerns for our TNF DFS picks.

 

Seahawks vs. Cardinals Injuries: Thursday Night Football Week 4

The Seahawks released their injury designations late on Thursday. Offensive lineman, and former Arizona Cardinal Josh Jones, has been ruled out for this game. Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori is listed as doubtful, but the good news for the offense is that it looks as if Zach Charbonnet could suit up. He’s questionable heading into the game but did manage to practice on a short week.

For the Arizona Cardinals, their injury report mostly consisted of defensive players or offensive linemen. Wide receiver Zay Jones has been ruled out with a concussion. Their secondary is listing Will Johnson, Darren Hall, and Akeem Davis-Gaither as questionable. As far as the offensive line goes Kelvin Beachum, Paris Johnson Jr., Will Hernandez, and Evan Brown are questionable as well.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: MVP/Captain

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks - DraftKings: $11,000 | FanDuel: $13,000

JSN is in the midst of an outstanding breakout season following the departures of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Geno Smith. JSN is the sole focus of the Seattle passing game and he’s leading a few key wide receiver metrics per Fantasy Points. JSN leads all receivers in yards per route run at 4.82 while Puka Nacua is second at 4.32. Zay Flowers is third at 2.75 YPRR, which is mind blowing that JSN is so far ahead. He also leads all receivers with a 50% first-read target share. We love consolidated offenses and he is easily the most reliable option for Sam Darnold.

JSN only caught 5-of-6 targets last week for 96 yards and a score but the Seahawks had the game in hand and he didn’t really play in the second half. The Cardinals are allowing the most completions to opposing offenses (29.7) which correlates to allowing the third-most passing yards per game (264.3). The volume is there and the 100-yard bonus on DraftKings is definitely on the table in this matchup.

Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $12,600

It’s not a great matchup but it’s a divisional meeting and while the Cardinals haven’t been incredibly impressive on offense, they could be 3-0 heading into this matchup but they sit at 2-1 after losing to the San Francisco 49ers last week by one point.

Kyler is averaging just under 30 pass attempts per game, and he’s thrown for over 200 yards just once. The good news is that we know he’s mobile and can scramble. He’s rushed for over 30 yards in each of the first three games while completing about 67.4% of his pass attempts.

The Seahawks defense is no joke. They’ve allowed only 47 total points through three games and they have five interceptions in that span. We’ve also seen this D/ST score a touchdown in back-to-back weeks. It’s a tough matchup but we don’t have too many options on Arizona that we’re particularly confident playing at Captain. So for that reason I’ll at least go with their quarterback who can run.

Kenneth Walker, RB, Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $10,400 | FanDuel: $11,600

There’s really only one part of Walker’s game I don’t like and it’s the overall lack of involvement in the passing game for running backs through three weeks. Seattle ranks bottom three in the NFL in terms of running back target share and that’s a little surprising for a Klint Kubiak offense. Things may have been different last week if it was a competitive game, but he only has two targets in his last two games.

He excels everywhere else and that’s the great news. He has 31 total touches over the last two weeks and he’s scored three times. With Zach Charbonnet inactive in Week 3, Walker handled 17-of-18 running back touches and he even forced four missed tackles against the Saints and he has a 7.7% explosive rush rate this season according to Dataroma.

It’s hard to really gauge how good the Cardinals are against opposing running backs as they really haven’t given up much rushing yards through the first three weeks. But in Weeks 1 and 2 they allowed both Alvin Kamara and Chuba Hubbard to score and last week Christian McCaffrey received a total of 27 touches while collecting 140 total yards. But CMC is a bit of an outlier in terms of the outrageous volume he gets.

Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $9,800 | FanDuel: $10,800

I honestly went back and forth on whether to include McBride as a Captain suggestion. We all know the upside is there. But since the start of the 2023 season, he has only SIX touchdowns. In 2023 he had 106 targets and only put up three scores. Heading into 2024, he was a huge positive touchdown regression candidate. And yet, he only scored twice last year (on 147 targets) and both came very late in the season.

He’s easily one of the absolute best at his position. He’s a bully on the field and he’s everything you want in a tight end. The snap share and route share are exceptional. He even managed to find the end zone last week, which is promising. But so far through three games he hasn’t eclipsed 16 fantasy points in full PPR formats. So why does he qualify for the Captain section?

Well Seattle has absolutely sucked against opposing tight ends. George Kittle and Jake Tonges both scored against Seattle in Week 1. Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith combined for seven receptions on eight targets for 58 yards in Week 2. Last week Juwan Johnson managed to catch six of eight targets for 51 yards and he didn’t play the whole game. Opposing tight ends have totaled 29 targets against Seattle through three games. It’s certainly a gamble but the Seattle defense, for as good as it is, they bleed production to opposing tight ends.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Core Play

Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $12,000

Sam Darnold might be the most underrated quarterback through three games this season. The passing volume hasn’t been great, which obviously has me worried about one of my DraftKings Pick6 tickets that I posted in Discord. But at the same time, the Cardinals haven’t necessarily seen a murderer’s row of quarterbacks and yet quarterbacks are putting up numbers in volume against this defense:

  • Week 1 – Spencer Ratter completes 27-of-46 pass attempts for 214 yards and rushes for 29 yards
  • Week 2 – Bryce Young completes 35-of-55(!) pass attempts for 328 yards and three touchdowns
  • Week 3 – Mac Jones completes 27-of-41 pass attempts for 284 yards and a touchdown

So on average opposing quarterbacks are completing just shy of 30 pass attempts per game for almost 275 yards. Darnold hasn’t popped off for a huge game yet but he’s been serviceable and he’s completed 70% of his pass attempts. This could actually be a competitive game and if Darnold is the fourth straight quarterback that sees 40+ pass attempts against this defense then he can pay off the price tag as a core play for our NFL DFS Showdown picks.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: Mid-Tier Plays

Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $9,200

It’s hard for me to really include Benson in the Core Plays section. I initially did and then had to give this article an honest assessment. He’s a young running back about to see a much larger role in the offense and these price tags are aggressive in a matchup against a pretty good defense.

Benson certainly has a lot of potential, I’ll give him that. The injury to James Conner is certainly unfortunate, but it opens doors for Benson. He only has 21 carries on the year (and eight receptions), but he’s averaging 5.95 yards per carry with 0.29 missed tackles forced per attempt. He’d be a much better play if he was cheaper, but these prices came out after the Conner injury. So I don’t view him as a Core option because he can certainly bust. But given the potential volume for 12+ touches, he still deserves a spot in the article.

Marvin Harrison, WR, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $7,800 | FanDuel: $9,800

I didn’t even want to write up Harrison, but I do feel an obligation to do so. While the fantasy community has given up on Marv, the Arizona Cardinals have not. And they really can’t as he’s only in his second year. But we’re looking at a player who has appeared in 20 games so far. He’s only gone over 75 receiving yards in three games. He’s never recorded seven or more receptions in a game. Even this year, the Cardinals are rather unwilling to distribute the ball to their wide receivers. Harrison only has 17 targets through three games and he was one of the top picks in his draft class.

The Seahawks also have a pretty strong secondary so we’re looking at a bad matchup for Arizona’s second-year receiver and volume hasn’t been coming his way. Plus we’re all still shaking in our boots after last week’s brutal drop when he was wide open across the middle of the field.

This is a Showdown slate though. And I don’t really like to completely fade any player for this kind of a DFS contest. So while Marv has not lived up to the billing, and it’s a bad matchup, there’s still a possibility he does connect with Kyler Murray for a big play or two. He did have eight touchdowns in his rookie season so that’s something that shouldn’t be ignored. Overall, he is a very polarizing play and a difficult one to trust.

Cooper Kupp, WR, Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $7,400

Cooper Kupp hasn’t really done anything exciting to kick off his tenure with the Seahawks. In Weeks 1 and 3 he recorded two catches in each game. He didn’t eclipse 40 receiving yards in either contest, nor did he find the end zone.

But in Week 2 he did catch 7-of-9 targets for 90 yards in a more competitive game script. His route tree is typically something we would like because 50% of his routes break horizontally and that’s up there with the likes of Ladd McConkey, Davante Adams, and Puka Nacua. But according to Ryan Heath of Fantasy Points, Kupp has a 0.000 average separation score on these horizonal routes so he isn’t really getting open.

I am a bit bearish on both Kupp and MHJ heading into this Thursday Night Football matchup because they do seem to get a bit lost in the shuffle of this price range. From a leverage standpoint you can make an argument for both for DFS, although they’re both highly untrustworthy in any other format.

 

 

 

NFL Thursday Night Football DFS Picks: Value Plays

Tory Horton, WR, Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $5,800 | FanDuel: $5,400

So this is a tough read with Horton because the volume has been minimal the last two games but he’s found the end zone in back-to-back contests. He might be a better option to get exposure to through player props or maybe some Underdog tickets. But given how opposing quarterbacks have seen more passing volume against this Arizona defense, that could help Horton. And let’s not forget, Cooper Kupp isn’t generating much separation against opposing defensive backs.

Horton is still seeing a decent route share at least. In Week 1 he had a 65% route share but didn’t get a target. In Week 2 it dipped to 51% but he did have two receptions on five targets for 32 yards and a touchdown. And last week, in a blowout, he ran 76% of the routes which matched Kupp and JSN, and again found the end zone with 32 receiving yards. The kid also has a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown on his resume so far this year, so we get a little exposure and positive correlation if utilizing the Seahawks D/ST.

Klint Kubiak was recently asked if there was a rookie receiver that Tory Horton reminded him of and Kubiak gave some hilariously high praise by comparing him to Justin Jefferson. He’s got a long way to go to reach that status, but the stock is definitely rising.

Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $5,400 | FanDuel: $6,800

So Charbonnet has been practicing this week, but I won’t rule him out for being a healthy scratch for this game. But if he is able to play then he’s worth some exposure. Truthfully, I didn’t want to write him up. But the value options this week are really awful, so I basically am including him just to give you all an additional option to consider.

The good news is that he has a role if he’s at full health. He had 27 carries in Weeks 1 and 2 but he wasn’t involved in the passing game. But even with the volume of 27 touches, he totaled just 57 yards for just over two yards per carry. Seattle overall has struggled with the running game. Kenneth Walker looked solid in Weeks 2 and 3 but he had touchdown equity and passing game involvement. If we remove the “fantasy football” aspect, the run game has been underwhelming.

But if Charbonnet is a full go and can somehow get 8-to-10 touches in relief for Waker then he warrants consideration, but you could easily pivot to Jason Myers and save yourself $1,000 on DraftKings.

Emari Demercado, RB, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $4,200

In keeping with the awful value options for this slate, we look to Emari Demercado who is the RB2 in this offense by default following James Conner’s injury. Demercado really isn’t an awful option as he’s familiar with the offense alongside Trey Benson.

We do sort of forget that Demercado averaged 4.9 YPC on 58 carries as a rookie in 2023 while he added 21 receptions in 14 games. Last year he missed four games, but the efficiency remained high at 9.3 YPC but on just 24 carries. And he contributed 16 catches as well.

He hasn’t really been used this year, but he should be the RB2 option on this offense behind Benson. And the Cardinals may be hesitant at first to give Benson a heavy workload similar to what James Conner handled in previous seasons. And if you need a super cheap punt then go with Zonovan Knight aka “Bam” who is only $200 on DraftKings.

AJ Barner, TE, Seattle Seahawks – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $4,400

This game just feels like a random, cheap tight end finds the end zone. That could certainly happen on the Arizona side as well with Tip Reiman or Elijah Higgins when you consider how bad Seattle is at defending the tight end position.

But I’ll give a nod to Barner as he has a reception for 19+ yards in back-to-back games. Plus, Elijah Arroyo is dealing with a groin injury sustained on Sunday and those are very easy to re-aggravate on a short week. So I’ll give the preference to Barner but as is the case with cheap tight ends on Showdown slates, we’re praying for a touchdown.

 

 

 

TNF DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

So we enter this matchup with a pretty low total (43.5 points as of Wednesday afternoon). The Seahawks have an implied team total of 22.5 points while Arizona sits at 21 points. Those implied totals are respectable, but this is a short week for both teams so let’s look at some numbers.

The Seahawks D/ST stands out right away because they’ve scored a D/ST touchdown in back-to-back weeks. But keep in mind one of those was gifted to them by Kaleb Johnson, who had a brain fart during a kick return. And the other came last week courtesy of Tory Horton. So there is some of that correlation with Horton and the Seahawks D/ST. But by and large, touchdowns for this position are hard to predict even if Week 3 saw an abundance of them on the main slate.

Seattle has given up some production in terms of yardage but they’ve yet to allow an opposing offense to score 18 points so that 21-point implied total for the Cardinals could be a bit bullish. But the Seahawks haven’t truly been tested yet. Seattle certainly has upside and potential. Casual players will view them as a good value play at $4,000 on DraftKings because of the touchdowns in consecutive weeks and the five interceptions on the season. Tread carefully as we don’t want more than 20-25% exposure to either D/ST.

I’m not entirely sure why the Cardinals are the more expensive D/ST if they’re home underdogs. They only have five sacks on the season and they’ve allowed every offense they’ve faced to post over 300 yards on offense. Nothing necessarily jumps out at me that they’re a must play but it can’t hurt to get some exposure in 4:2 or 5:1 Cardinals stacks, which could be a bit contrarian since they’re underdogs.

The kickers definitely interest me for this slate. Chad Ryland is the cheaper of the two on DraftKings. He doesn’t have the ceiling that Jason Myers has but there’s a good floor. He’s missed two field goals on the season, but he’s attempted at least two in every game so far. And this is projecting to be a close game, not a blowout. That keeps kickers on the underdog in play. According to Football Insights, the Cardinals are only converting touchdowns on 50% of their red zone trips through three weeks so we can find a nice floor with Ryland.

Myers probably has the better ceiling in this game. If the Seahawks get a commanding lead then they are more prone to settling for field goals if it comes to that. He’s 6-for-7 on field goal attempts through three games but a perfect 10-for-10 on extra points. The Seahawks have been pretty effective in the red zone converting 7-of-11 red zone drives for touchdowns. However, Myers is reliable from deep as he’s recorded a field goal of at least 48 yards in all three games so far this season.

 

 

 

Seahawks vs. Cardinals DFS Player Pool: TNF, 9/25

Player Pool

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