DFS NFL Draftkings Preseason Showdown Lineup Advice (HoF Game)
NFL is back! There won’t be a Sunday without football now until February 2020 — how great is that? This Sunday we have our first preseason game and while it’s only one game and it’s only preseason, it’s still football.
Before I dive into this showdown slate, I first want to announce a great charity contest that we have put together for Week 1. DraftKings supplied me with a 1,000-man single-entry contest including prizes that include; Dk swag, crowns and Dk dollars. The contest is free to enter, donations are optional (but encouraged) and it’s all for a great cause. All you have to do is visit GoingFor2.com/charity to register. This contest will NOT be in the lobby and the only way you can be a part of it is if you register. It takes less than a minute to register.
Okay, now that the housekeeping is out of the way, let’s get to the slate…
Preseason DFS Strategy Pointers
The first things you need to know about the HoF game is you are not likely to see any of the players you know. Perfect example, the Bears were in this game last year and their leading rusher was Benny Cunningham with six attempts for 37 yards, followed by Taquan Mizzell (5a/15y), Ryan Nall (7a/13y) and QB Tyler Bray with one carry for zero yards. Jordan Howard nor Tarik Cohen played a single snap.
Don’t automatically assume that the rookies will get a ton of action in these games. Late-round guys, yes, they are trying to make the team and will see action. Guys with high draft capital could get a limited workload or not play at all. Again, we can look to last year for an example. Bears WR Anthony Miller wowed everyone in pre-game with a one-handed catch that made rounds all over twitter and got everyone excited… then he didn’t play a single snap in the game.
Don’t assume that all the players in the player pool for DraftKings or FanDuel are even on the team anymore. Players at this time of year get cut and signed so fast that sometimes they are part of the player pool despite not being on a team.
On the flip side, don’t assume that all the players you see in the draft pool are the only players the team has at that position. Last year, there were instances when everyone was going on Twitter saying, “Make sure to play Player X because he is the only RB on the roster behind the starter”, but there were actually three other RBs on their roster. Use OurLads.com. It’s not an official depth chart but it’s the closest thing you will find at this time of year.
And, finally, if you don’t have Twitter, get it. The beat reporters are on-site, they are tweeting who they see on the field, who is warming up, and who looks like they won’t play. It’s invaluable information. If you don’t want to search Twitter for every beat reporter, I have a great “Twitter List” setup that has 150-plus accounts of Twitter handles that tweet during and before the games. You can follow me @GeoffLambert77. This tweet will show you how to subscribe to my Twitter List…
If you’re looking for a Twitter list of #NFL beat reporters for #fantasyfootball or #DFS, I have a good one I use a lot during the season. Invaluable for NFL DFS Preseason. The following images will show you how to subscribe to it. Oh, and hit that follow button too 😉 pic.twitter.com/HSfgieMpdG
— Geoff Lambert (@GeoffLambert77) July 21, 2019
 Okay, one last pointer and then we can get into the advice for this weekend’s game. DFS Preseason is not about having the best players, it’s about having the players that…well…play. Now, let’s go…
Hall of Fame Game DFS Advice
Keep in mind, I’m writing this on Wednesday. Things will change for sure. I will try to keep things updated as we get more news. If you’re following me on Twitter, I’ll be tweeting out news 30 minutes before game-time.
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Quarterbacks
Kurt Benkert (ATL)
The Falcons third-string QB is the easiest pick on the entire showdown slate. Not because he is this great talent, but because of who else they have on the roster. Starting QB Matt Ryan won’t see the field and their backup QB is 38-year-old Matt Schaub, who I didn’t even know he was still in the league. After that, it’s Benkert and no one else.
In Atlanta’s first preseason game last year, Ryan threw one pass, Schaub threw nine passes and the combination of Benkert and Garrett Grayson threw for 27 passes combined, Grayson is no longer on the team, leaving Benkert the only man to suck up those passes.
Drew Lock (DEN)
I think Lock might end up being the highest owned QB on the slate, so I thought I would at least mention him. The word in camp is that he has made a few really big plays and just as many boneheaded plays. In DFS Preseason, you can live with a boneheaded play as long as he makes one of the big plays to make it up.
Running Backs
Brian Hill (ATL)
The coaching staff has said numerous times in camp that the RB corps will be one to watch during the preseason. We know injury-prone Devonta Freeman isn’t going to see the field, Ito Smith is pretty locked in as the No.2 or at worst No. 3 guy. Their fifth-round rookie Qadree Ollison is an interesting option, but looking at last year’s first preseason game for the Flacons, then-rookie RB Ito Smith only saw 10-percent of the snaps.
Hill, on the other hand, has been lighting it up in camp, especially through the air as a pass-catcher. He had a really good preseason last year with the Bengals with a 5.1 yards per carry average on 17 attempts and six catches on eight targets for 70 yards and a TD. I think the Falcons know who their top three guys are, so it’s a battle for fourth and a likely special teams role, one that Hill has the lead for at the moment.
Tony Brooks-James (ATL)
Sticking with the Falcons RBs, I think the winner of this week’s showdown contest will come down to who picks the right Falcons RB, and Brooks-James as a UDFA has received some rave reviews in camp so far. He has the most to prove to show he belongs in the NFL, he will start proving it Thursday night.
Khalfani Muhammad (DEN)
As I was trying to add some diversity to my running back picks, I kept coming up on Muhammad. He is mentioned a bunch of times from beat reporters as a guy that has shown well in camp, especially as a pass-catcher. In fact, QB Joe Flacco’s first TD in a Broncos uniform went to Muhammad. Granted, it was practice and he wasn’t actually wearing a Broncos uniform, but it’s preseason and this is what we got.
Wide Receivers
Because this is a showdown slate, you don’t have to play a WR since every position is flex. With the QBs I expect to see in this game, I’m avoiding the WRs for the most part, but if I had to choose two, these are the guys…
Juwaan Winfree (DEN)
The most talked-about WR in Broncos camp so far this year is Winfree, a rookie from Colorado. He is 6-foot-2 210 pounds and ran  4.48 40. He has great hands by all accounts, and will likely see a ton of snaps in this game.
Russell Gage (ATL)
Much like Winfree was talked about for Denver, Gage was talked about in Atlanta. Many think Gage will lock down the fourth WR role in this offense behind Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu. He has reportedly played his way into passing Justin Hardy and he will get a chance to prove he belongs there tonight.
Tight Ends
Tight ends are always hard to use in preseason DFS because they have to score a TD to be worth it. The following 3 guys are three guys I’m keeping my eye on. All three have pass-catching ability, but I don’t know if any of them will make my lineups.
Troy Fumagalli (DEN)
Jeff Heuerman (DEN)
Luke Stocker (ATL)
Defense
For a preseason showdown game, sometimes the best strategy is to play both defenses and I think tonight is the perfect time to do so. I think I’ll be locking in Atlanta QB Kurt Benkert and both defenses and then rotating a few other guys into all my lineups.
Kickers
Kickers in preseason showdown are another option to get near-guaranteed points. Just be careful of two things; 1) DraftKings lists both teams punters as kickers. The punters are sometimes the backup kickers and might get a kick or two, but I wouldn’t play them. 2) Make sure there isn’t some other random kicker on the team that isn’t listed in the player pool. It’s happened to me before where there was only one kicker listed for a team, and I played him, only to find out there was a rookie kicker on the roster that got all the preseason kicks.
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