NFL DFS RB Coach Week 1: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks
Week 1 of the NFL regular season is finally here! We have spent months focusing on seasonal fantasy football drafts, but now it’s time to turn our attention to some NFL DFS for Week 1. The first week of the season always makes for an interesting week of DFS action as we don’t have as much current data to go off of. We can make our best guesses on workloads and volume, but until we get a couple weeks into the season, there’s no way to know for sure. However, it’s also a great week for running backs as injuries haven’t started happening yet and players are fresh, but that also means we lack value plays at this position and are more than likely going to want to spend-up. Let’s dive into the top plays, values and fades for NFL DFS Week 1.
Be sure to check out the rest of the NFL DFS Coaches and DFS Watch List throughout the week!
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NFL DFS RB Top Plays
Jonathan Taylor, Colts
Taylor was the RB1 last year and he is in a great spot to start the year off in a similar fashion as the Colts will take on the lowly Texans. The Texans are going to be one of the worst teams in the league this year and ranked as a top-5 matchup for backs last season. Game flow should be in Taylor’s favor and he is going to be fed the football. I would not be surprised if he finds the end zone a time or two in Week 1 and he has an elite DFS day. The price tag is a little rough though, but try and fit him into your build.
Christian McCaffrey, Panthers
CMC has struggled mightily with staying on the field over the past couple years, but he has still been as elite as they come when on the field. He is healthy right now and ready for Week 1, but his price tag is not anywhere near where it will be after a week or two. He should be the highest cost of any back and not only is he not that, but he isn’t even priced as the number two back. He is a great play in Week 1 against a Browns team that probably won’t be very good while Watson is suspended.
NFL DFS RB Mid-Tier Plays
Najee Harris, Steelers
Harris had a monster rookie season and he should be able to kickoff 2022 with a strong game in a matchup against the Bengals. Their defense is far from anything special and Harris should be able to get plenty of work in this one. We know he will be heavily used in the passing game (barring a drastic change in the Steelers game plan from last year) and he should also receive the goal line work. He is a good cash game play at this price, but there are better directions for GPP action.
Saquon Barkley, Giants
Barkley is back and healthy and ready to showcase that he is still the elite back that we saw a few years ago. He has massive upside and will be used plentiful both on the ground and in the passing game. He is a steal in the mid-tier, especially in the full PPR scoring formats. His FanDuel price is borderline criminal and feels like stealing with how cheap he is (cheaper than guys like Josh Jacobs and J.K. Dobbins). I have a feeling he will not be in the mid-tier for very long, so let’s take advantage of it while we can. His ceiling is huge and he makes for a great play in all formats.
NFL DFS RB Value Plays
Dameon Pierce, Texans
Pierce is not someone I would have originally envisioned being in the Week 1 DFS coach, but it’s hard to ignore his price tag and expected volume. He is currently cheaper than plenty of backup running backs, who will barely even see the field this week. That being said, we don’t know for sure what his volume will look like, so he’s not a “set it and forget it” or “free square” but he does have enough upside to make for a strong play at this price tag. The Colts were a tough matchup last year though and we can expect similar this season. Pierce is a value play that allows you to spend up in places and this slate really lacks strong value backs.
NFL DFS RB Fades
Cordarrelle Patterson, Falcons
Patterson fell off down the stretch last year, failing to reach double-digit fantasy points in any of his final four games of the season. His usage cratered and he wasn’t targeted more than twice in any of those four games. Will that be the case to start the year and be more of where he left off? Remains to be seen, but it’s not a risk worth taking in Week 1 in my opinion. On top of that, the Saints were THE toughest matchup in football last year for running backs.
Breece Hall, Jets
Hall is an easy fade in Week 1 for me as there are too many things working against him. For starters, this is not a good matchup against the Ravens as they ranked as a negative matchup for backs last year. On top of that, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding what type of usage Hall is going to be getting early on in the season and is currently not even the starter. It’s Week 1 of the season and we have so many studs to choose from, there is simply no reason to pay this price on Hall and the limited upside that he brings to the table.
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Player News
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Dolphins released LS Blake Ferguson.
The team also waived CB Ryan Cooper Jr., DT Neil Farrell and OL Chasen Hines. Ferguson has been the team’s long snapper for five seasons and earned a three-year contract extension just before the 2023 season. He should be able to find work snapping footballs farther than the average snap elsewhere in the league.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.