NFL DFS Week 1 Dart Board: Top Value Picks For DraftKings & FanDuel

Oh yes, lets start this off in style shall we? With J.J. McCarthy out for the season the Vikings turn to Sam Darnold as their starting QB for the 2024 NFL season. Darnold has likely left some scars on the brains of DFS players over the years after his struggles in New York and Carolina but his move to Minnesota should be considered a clean slate due to the offensive system being put around him. Kevin O'Connell proved capable of making Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens fantasy relevant QB's last year due to his high volume passing offense and by all accounts, Darnold has looked good in camp and the preseason. He should be going into Week 1 with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison ready to go against a Giants team that is strong with their front seven but have questions in the secondary. If looking to play a Vikings stack, Darnold's price tag makes it very easy to do so.

ADDED - Listen, we know what Fields isn't BUT we also know what Fields CAN BE and his rushing upside is ELITE. The floor is as low as it comes but this man was a top 5 fantasy QB a few seasons ago on rushing upside alone. If he ends up starting with Wilson out and you are making multiple lineups he is worth a literal dart throw.

Are you buying the coach speak? Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has said the Dowdle will play less special teams this season given his expected increased usage in the Cowboys offense this season. Dallas went and signed Ezekiel Elliott as a free agent and just recently signed Dalvin Cook to their practice squad which leaves Dowdle as the only hold-over from last season and he had some good moments for the Cowboys when playing over Tony Pollard. If the idea is to limit Elliot's usage to short-yardage and red zone work this season then Dowdle could be an interesting paydown if the volume and passing game work is going to be there. 

We love to  fall in love with backup running backs in fantasy football but their has been hype around Irving since the Buccaneers drafted him in the fourth round and this week Head Coach Todd Bowles outright said that the team will “play the hot hand” and with a very favorable matchup against the Commanders this week that “hot hand” could end up being the rookie running back in your GPP lineups.

This may be more of a bias pick than anything else because I absolutely LOVED the signing of Darnell Mooney once Kirk Cousins was with the Falcons. There is a lot of film out there showing Mooney getting open time and time again with the Bears but not being able to get the football due to the poor QB play. Opposing defenses are going to have their hands full dealing with Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson that Mooney is going to get some single coverage on the outside and there will be opportunities for him to make some big plays.

Same thought process here with Rashid Shaheed. He is a dart board darling as a player who stretches the field and can hit the home run play for our GPP lineups. Last season Rashid had 6 games where his longest reception was 40 or more yards. That means we are talking about at minimum, 4.5-to-5.0 fantasy points in a single play. We are expecting an increase in usage for Shaheed as the starting receiver opposite of Chris Olave this season and a home matchup against the Panthers is a good spot to kick things off.

ADDED - With Josh Downs officially ruled out we look to the rookie for some GPP upside. We saw him score a touchdown during the preseason on a downfield pass by Anthony Richardson and with Mitchell playing mostly from the slot he has a chance to make a big play or two here against the Texans.

Pretty much everything I said above can be applied here to Gesicki along with the added “revenge” narrative being applied as well. IF Higgins and Burton are out we can certainly expect to see Gesicki being used as that “big slot” receiver and should be involved in the teams passing offense here in Week 1 against the Patriots where Gesicki struggled to find a footing last season.