DraftKings NFL DFS Primetime Slate Picks for Week 1

September 14, 2020

Jorge Pucks offers his advice for the DraftKings Primetime NFL DFS slate on 9/13. Expert Week One daily fantasy football advice for your DraftKings DFS lineups.

We have finally arrived at week 1 of the NFL season and we are excited to see the primetime slate back up over on Draftkings. Below, I will go over my favorite plays from this three-game slate. We have some great matchups with some big-time names and I look forward to breaking this down for you!

All of these options are cash game and tournament viable unless I specifically say otherwise. If you have never played NFL DFS, here are a few thoughts that will help you construct your lineups. Stacking has been a staple in DFS for quite some time now and it is important to consider stacking when it comes to building tournament lineups. When playing NFL DFS, there are a lot of things to consider especially the game script and the overall flow of each game.

If you feel that a certain will be behind in the game, that could mean that there will be more passing plays which result in PPR points and yards. If a team is up early, you could anticipate a heavy dose of the running game in the second-half which means the featured running back could see more touches. Best of luck with your lineups and let's get to it!

NFL DFS DraftKings Primetime Slate

• Dallas Cowboys (-134) @ Los Angeles Rams (+125)
• Pittsburgh Steelers (-250) @ New York Giants (+210)
• Tennessee Titans (-154) vs. Denver Broncos (+140)

NFL DFS Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott ($6,900 DK) - Dak carries the highest price point out of all of the quarterbacks on this slate but he also has arguably one of the best-receiving trios in the league. In the off-season, the Cowboys added college stud receiver CeeDee Lamb to their receiving room which already had two young receiving stars in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. The Rams do have a solid secondary led by Jalen Ramsey but with much of the defense's attention going to Zeke and the ground game, this should allow for Dak and company to take several shots downfield. 

Ben Roethlisberger ($6,400 DK) - Roethlisberger is back for the 2020 season and the Steelers offense as a whole is ready to go. Roethlisberger’s 2019 season was cut short due to an elbow issue but the longtime Steelers QB is ready to show that he is healthy and can still sling it. He is in a very favorable matchup against the Giants as they allowed 30 passing touchdowns in 2019 which was tied for the second-most allowed in the league. 

Jared Goff ($5,600 DK) - While Goff might not carry the highest upside out of all of the quarterbacks on this slate, he is certainly viable for your lineups. He is one of the lower-priced quarterbacks but Goff presents a good floor which could be good for your cash game lineups. In his last five games of the 2019 regular season, Goff averaged 23.3 DK points per game while throwing 11 touchdowns and only four interceptions during that stretch. 

NFL DFS Running Backs

James Conner ($6,300 DK) - Mike Tomlin came out and announced that James Conner is the bell-cow back for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. Conner is a do-it-all kind of back that when healthy, excels in both on the ground and in the passing game. Before Conner was injured last season, he recorded over three catches per game and saw double-digit rushing attempts in his first eight games played. The matchup against New York is favorable as the Giants allowed opposing teams to gain 113 yards per game on the ground last season. 

Derrick Henry ($ 7,500 DK) - Derrick Henry could be one of the best overall plays on the slate. Even with him being priced up at $7,500, he has monster upside in this matchup. The Broncos will be without defensive star Von Miller which hurts both their rushing and passing defense. The Broncos allowed 111 yards per game on the ground while Tennessee while Henry averaged 110 yards per game in 18 games played last season. Tennessee is a run-heavy team and with the game script likely being in Henrys’ favor, he could see more touches as they drain the clock late in the game. 

Ezekiel Elliott ($7,700) - If you are looking to spend up at running back, Zeke could be the way to go. He offers a little bit of salary savings compared to Saquon but has one of the higher ceilings on the slate. Zeke totaled over 1,300 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns in 16 regular-season games last season. Dallas is more improved on offense by adding CeeDee Lamb to their receiving corps which will now force defenses to make the tough choice of stopping Zeke and the ground game or shift the focus to the big-time playmaking ability of the receivers. The Rams struggled defensively against the run last season as they were the 24th ranked defenses against opposing running backs. 

NFL DFS Wide Receivers

JuJu Smith-Schuster ($6,400)- With Big Ben back in the saddle at quarterback, JuJu could have a monster game. In the two games last year that they played together, JuJu was targeted 16 times for over 150 receiving yards. In the 2018 season, JuJu set career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns so the rapport and chemistry with Roethlisberger is there. The Giants secondary really struggled last year as they allowed the second-most receiving touchdowns in the league (22) and the fifth most receiving yards (2,680) to opposing receivers.

Cooper Kupp ($6,300)- Cooper Kupp must be in good spirits heading into this game Sunday night. He just finalized an extension for three years, $48 million which ensures that Goff will have his favorite pass-catching option for years to come. Kupp had a very strong season last year going for 1,161 receiving yards and hauling in 10 total touchdowns. He was on a hot streak as he closed out the final five games of the season recording a touchdown in every game. The chemistry with Goff is undeniable as he led the team in both receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in the 1029 season. 

Jerry Jeudy ($4,300)- Jeudy was one of the top receivers in college at Alabama and could be thrust into the spotlight rather quickly come Monday night. The top receiving option for the Broncos, Courtland Sutton, suffered an injury earlier this week and is questionable for the game so this is a situation that is worth monitoring. Knowing this, Jeudy could be one of the bigger beneficiaries in terms of targets and snaps as he would replace Sutton as the top receiving threat for Denver. 

NFL DFS Tight Ends

Evan Engram ($4,300) - Engram is coming off of a Lisfranc injury but was a target monster last season for the Giants. In his nine games played last year, Engram saw 68 targets which means he saw an average of 7.5 targets per game. The Giants will lean on Engram with the lack of true receiving weapons on the outside which makes Engram a great play in all formats. 

Jonnu Smith ($4,300) - With Delanie Walker out of the picture, Jonnu Smith could see a larger role in this Titans offense as he assumes the starting tight end job. Last season, Smith averaged 6.5 DK points per game which isn’t stellar but factoring in that the Broncos Defense allowed the fourth-most receiving yards last season to opposing tight ends (974 yards), he could have a nice week 1 game at his price point.

NFL DFS Defense/Special Teams

Pittsburgh Steelers ($3,800)- The Steelers had one of the better fantasy defenses all last season. They averaged 11 DK points per game but a lot of those points came from their ability to create turnovers. They were second in the league when it came to interceptions (20) and were the best defense when it came to generating sacks (54).

Tennessee Titans ($3,000)- At $3,000, the Titans look to look to be in a great spot to use from a fantasy standpoint. While they were an average defense in terms of points allowed and yardage, they square off against a Denver offense that struggled in both the ground and passing game. Denver addressed their needs at the receiver position by drafting Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler but Tennessee added a strong defensive presence in Jadaveon Clowney which should help their pass rush. 

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