DFS NFL DraftKings Preseason Lineup Advice Week 1 *Updated*

Draftkings knows how to milk every ounce of degenerate out of a person, don’t they? Preseason football? I think DraftKings is going to put out a contest for my flag football game this Sunday (if they do, I’m a good punt option at WR, I don’t make a lot of catches, but the catches I do make are normally for TDs). I feel dirty playing preseason football, but I’m starved for DFS for a sport I know. I’ve been playing MLB all summer and I know zero about MLB! Let’s get to the reason you’re here:

Updated Removed Packers and Colts players and added a few more with some recent camp news

Quarterbacks

Carson Wentz, Eagles

Wentz has already been predicted to get the most snaps of any player for the entire preseason, so he is a no brainer here. The Eagles know what Sam Bradford and Chase Daniels are, and they intend to redshirt Wentz in the regular season, so the only chance they will have to see him in real game action is now.

Jimmy Garoppolo, Patriots

This one is a little risky because you never know what Bill Belichick will do here. Conventional wisdom says they need Garoppolo to be ready for the season, so get him as many reps as you can before then, but there is a part of me that thinks Belichick’s ego will get in the way and he’ll treat Garaoppolo like any “starter” and barely play him in preseason Week 1. Wentz will likely be the highest owned QB, so if you’re looking for a GPP contrarian play, Garoppolo could be your guy.

Paxton Lynch, Broncos

The Broncos came out today and said the Mark Sanchez would play the first quarter, Trevor Siemien would play the second quarter, and Lynch would get the second half. Lynch may not be ready to be a starter in the regular season just yet, but a full half of football against a bunch of third and fourth string players will make him an interesting choice at QB for your DraftKings team.

Running Backs

Josh Ferguson, Colts

Frank Gore is like 94, so there is no way the Colts play him any kind of meaningful minutes. Ferguson has been getting some preseason hype and could spell Gore in the regular season. The Colts are going to want to see if he can be viable in that role, so I expect him to lead all Colts RBs in snaps in this one.

Keith Marshall, Redskins

Playing the rookie card here. The Redskins are claiming publicly that they will use Marshall and Matt Jones as a one-two punch in the regular season. I don’t completely buy that notion as I think Jones will be the workhorse as long as he can hold on to the football, but it shows how high the ‘Skins are on the rookie. Jones won’t play much, and Chris Thompson is a bit injury prone so don’t expect to see much of him either. That leaves Marshall with a good chunk of preseason snaps.

 

Kenneth Dixon, Ravens

Rookies are always a good bet to get some a ton of snaps in preseason and Dixon is no exception. Don’t expect Justin Forsett to see any meaningful snaps — if he even plays at all. The Ravens already know what they have in their other RBs (except the next guy on this list), as all of the were on the roster last year. I expect Dixon to play most of the second quarter and deep into the third or early fourth quarter.

Terrance West, Ravens

A lot has been made about West this off-season. Beat writers are raving about his camp so far, calling him “the most explosive player” on the field for the Ravens. That’s high praise for a guy that was cut by the Browns! The Ravens felt so good about how West was performing that they were comfortable cutting Trent Richardson — okay, that was a joke — but in all seriousness, the Ravens aren’t going to play Justin Forsett much coming off a season-ending injury last year. West should see plenty of action even with Dixon getting some reps.

Wide Receivers

 

Michael Thomas, Saints

Thomas has already been labeled the next Marques Colston, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Thomas is a rookie with promise, but he will need to play well in the preseason to earn the No. 3 WR position and potentially push Willie Snead for No. 2. Rookies are always a good bet to play a ton of snaps in the  preseason, and  the Saints will want to see what Thomas has to offer.

Jared Abbrederis, Packers

The Packers have their top two WRs and there is no questioning that. DeVante Adams is expected to hold down the No. 3 spot, so that leaves three other guys fighting for No. 4. Abbrederis is the favorite to win it, and could potentially push Adams for No. 3. Either way, the Packers will need to have this sorted out before the season starts, so all of the Packers WRs not named Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb should play a ton of snaps.

Ryan Grant, Redskins

Grant could be playing for another team by the time the season starts as he is currently expected to be No. 5 on the WR depth chart behind DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder. With Doctson expect to miss the preseason opener and Jackson and Garcon expected to play limited snaps, Grant needs to show other teams (and potentially the Redskins) that he belongs in the NFL. A guy playing for a job with either shine or wither, I’m expecting him to shine. Coach Jay Gruden has publicly commended Grant on his work ethic and practice habits, and Week 1 of the preseason will be his chance to show if all that hard work has paid off.

 

Justin Hardy, Falcons

Hardy was set up to be the No. 2 WR in this offense until the Falcons went out and got Mohamed Sanu, now he is subject to being the No. 3 WR “at best” and potentially on the bubble to make the roster at all. I don’t expect the Falcons to cut him, but they are going to want to see something from their young WR in the preseason for them to feel comfortable with him as their No. 3.

Tight Ends

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Buccaneers

My has this situation turned ugly in a hurry. Going into the off-season, a lot of people had ASF as a breakout candidate, and now there are rumors he could be cut. Cameron Brate has reportedly passed him on the depth chart, and most teams don’t keep a ton of TEs on their rosters unless they bring something else to the table, i.e. play special teams or be a good run blocker — ASF is neither. To put it another way, he is playing for his job, if not with the Bucs, then with another team.

Rob Gronkowski, Patriots

Wait? What? He is a starter and will probably play one series. Yeah, but he is also the most likely starter from any team playing on this slate to score a receiving TD, and that in itself is enough to take a risk on him. Besides, it’s kinda fun to pay $5,500 for Gronk, it’ll never happen again, of that I can assure you.

Defense/Special Teams

New Orleans Saints

Defense in the preseason is a crapshoot. The defense is so vanilla it’s hard to predict how good they’ll be, so I looked at the all the teams on the slate and thought, “Which of these teams care the least about preseason.” And that answer was the New England Patriots. So I took the defense playing aginst them.

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