Thursday Night Football FanDuel Picks: NFL DFS lineup advice for Week 3 Panthers-Texans single-game tournaments

The Panthers hit the road for the first time to face off with the Texans on Week 3 Thursday Night Football. While the Panthers are eyeing a 3-0 start on the back of a dominant defense and exciting offense, the Texans are looking to remain in first place in their division. This is your opportunity to squeeze Christian McCaffrey into your NFL DFS lineups. He may be the closest we see to a 100-percent owned and “MVP’d” player for FanDuel single game contests, but zigging on this zag does not have as much appeal as joining the herd.

Here are the important scoring settings for FanDuel single-game contests: The point total for the “MVP” is multiplied by 1.5, but he doesn’t cost any additional money like the “Captain” in DraftKings Showdown contests. FanDuel’s default scoring is half-point PPR and four-point passing TDs, and there are no bonuses for 100/300-yard games like on DraftKings.

MORE FD SINGLE GAME: How to win a FanDuel single-game contest

FanDuel Single-Game DFS Picks: Panthers vs. Texans

$60,000 budget, need at least one player from each team

MVP (1.5x points): RB Christian McCaffrey, Panthers ($17,500)

Perhaps you want to get cute and name Sam Darnold your MVP in a lineup or two, but we’re just gonna keep it simple. McCaffrey is screaming toward another 1,000/1,000 season, so why wouldn’t we lock in the multiplier on his production?

MORE TNF: DK Showdown lineup | Start ’em, sit ’em (link coming soon)

FLEX: QB Sam Darnold, Panthers ($15,000)

Darnold is off to a good start in his new digs, save for a couple of soft turnovers. With a number of dynamic weapons to target and fleet feet of his own, Darnold has the ingredients necessary to cook up a tasty fantasy performance. It doesn’t hurt that McCaffrey is such a good receiver that we can still “stack” our QB despite not having a Panthers WR or TE in our lineup.

WEEK 3 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo

FLEX: QB Davis Mills, Panthers ($12,000)

It probably won’t be pretty for Mills, but “garbage time” points are a real thing in fantasy football. Should the Texans prove to be a stiffer challenge than expected on their home turf, we’re likely spending part of Friday talking about Tyrod Taylor (hamstring) losing his starting role to yet another rookie quarterback.

MORE WEEK 3 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder

FLEX: K Zane Gonzalez, Panthers ($9,500)

The Panthers offensive line lost a starter this week and has struggled at times throughout the first two games of the season. As long as the line suffers from bouts of leakiness, the offense could see drives stall and be forced to settle for attempts at three points. Hitting the road on a short week won’t help the jelling process. Even if the Panthers are scoring a good amount of TDs, Gonzalez will get PATs and at least a couple FG attempts.

WEEK 3 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start ’em, sit ’em

FLEX: WR Anthony Miller, Texans ($5,500)

Miller is expected to be active for the first time this season, and with the injuries the Texans have suffered in their receiving corps, he may need to be involved. At $5,500, it’s worth a shot to see if Miller can emerge as a safety blanket for his rookie quarterback.