The NFL season kicks off on Thursday with the Chiefs and Ravens facing off in Kansas City. We have the NFL $2.5M Thursday Kickoff Millionaire [$1M to 1st] contest for the large Draftkings Tournament to open the season. There are a lot of high dollar players on this slate with Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson leading the way so we will need to find some value plays to build out your lineups.
Captain Plays
Rashee Rice
Lamar Jackson
Rasheed Rice could be in for a big year and this is an opportunity to start the year off right. I like his price point for a number 1 WR on a top offense in the league at $7600 and it gives you more flexibility than some of the other top guys if you put him at the captain spot at $11,400. I like using WRs at the captain spot as you can top WRs cheaper than other top players and they can score a lot of points if they rack up the receptions and get over 100 yards.
Lamar Jackson is the most expensive player on the slate but he has one of the largest upsides of any player in the league. He has major rushing potential which gives him the upside to score a lot of points making him a great captain option. I do prefer Jackson over Mahomes because of the rushing potential and I think Mahomes has a better chance to lose out on touchdowns to Isiah Pacheco. Lamar Jackson is more likely to be playing from behind as well so he will have the opportunity for more points throwing more often as well.
Flex Plays
Patrick Mahomes
Isiah Pacheco
Travis Kelce
Patrick Mahomes is the top QB in the league and is always a good option on any fantasy slate. He should be a good option this week against the Ravens of what could be a high scoring game. I like using Mahomes as a flex play instead of a captain as I think there are better upside or cheaper players we can use in the captain to free up space to get more top players in our lineup. I do prefer Jackson to Mahomes due to Jackson’s running upside and I think Mahomes could have some TDs taken away from him with Pacheco in the backfield if they are playing with a lead.
Speaking of Pacheco, I think he is a great option for the opening showdown contest. He is the clear lead back coming into the season and will especially be the top option at the beginning of the year with Clyde Edwards-Halaire on IR to start the season. Pacheco could get a lot of carries this game and I would not be surprised to see him get a TD or two in this game. I don’t hate having him as a captain option as well if you want to pivot away from Mahomes.
Kelce is the top TE in the league and is usually Mahomes top pass catcher. He will still be a top option to use in DFS. Personally I think the Chiefs have a few more reliable options this year and with Kelce getting older, I don’t see a huge game from him to be worth using him at captain but he should still be in contention to be a good flex option.
Value Plays
Justin Watson
Isaiah Likely
Justice Hill
Justin Watson could be a good value play this week with Hollywood Brown being out with an injury. That moves Watson up in his snap count and will likely be the 2nd or 3rd WR with rookie Xavier Worthy. I like Watson at his price point as I think he can get a handful of catches and will have an opportunity for a touchdown as we could be in for a high scoring game.
Isaiah Likely had a breakout season last year with Mark Andrews out and I think he has carved out a solid role in the offense even with Andrews back. He should still get targets in the offense and I think he is going to be a good value at $2600 salary on the slate.
Justice Hill is the backup running back for the Ravens but I expect him to play a decent amount as he is a much better pass catcher than starter Derrick Henry. Henry in his career has not been much of a pass catcher so I expect Hill to play on passing downs and should get a decent amount of touches. I don’t think many people will expect Hill to play much with this being the debut for Henry on the Ravens, but I could see 5-8 carries and 3+ catches for Hill in the game.
Check out all of our NFL content as the season goes on as we will have DFS picks and bets for every main and primetime slates and games.
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