Welcome back to another season of NFL DFS Cash Game Plays! A global pandemic caused a lot of uncertainty this offseason, where we didn’t even know if we would have an NFL season. We didn’t have a preseason. Absolutely nothing was normal about the lead in to this year, but at least we have football. And with football, we have fantasy football, and with fantasy football, we have daily fantasy football. That was a longwinded way of saying, let’s get back to NFL DFS on a weekly basis.
NFL DFS: Cash Game Plays for Week 1
The goal of the cash game article is to outline some of the safer plays, while also, providing options that will help you create the most optimal builds. The whole point of it all is to make some money. Sometimes we won’t, but putting ourselves in the best position to do so is the most important part. That goes without saying, but can sometimes get overshadowed by the results on a week to week basis.
All people want to know is how many points a guy scored, and not necessarily the route in which they got there. DFS is not only a science but a math equation. Let’s dive in, put the pieces together, and try to solve it. Here are the NFL DFS Cash Game Plays for Week 1.
Disclaimer: As always, there will be a lock emoji next to a few of my favorite plays. All of the guys mentioned are viable for cash games, but the ones with a lock emoji are going to be fixtures in my main lineup.
Quarterback
Matt Ryan ($6,700 DK, $7,800 FD)
Either one of Ryan or Russell Wilson is a fine option for cash games. Take the cheaper of the two. Matty Ice threw for 300-plus yards 11 times last season! This game is expected to be a shootout and many DFS players will be on it. You’ll want to get some exposure to it one way or another.
Carson Wentz ($6,300 DK, $7,700 FD)
Miles Sanders has been ruled out and the Eagles also have a banged-up offensive line. With that said, this Washington Football team is attackable, and I expect the Eagles to be able to throw the ball somewhat. There should be a lot of designed screens to Boston Scott or safe throws to Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. That could work in the form of an extension of the running game. Wentz will get points on those. Expect him to lead the Eagles to a victory.
Other Options: Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton
Running Back
Christian McCaffrey ($10,000 DK and FD) 🔒
This might be (don’t quote me on this), the only time you will see Christian McCaffrey as a highlighted cash game play this year. I’m only mentioning him in case you forgot how good he is. He broke all kinds of records last season on his way to a massive 1,387 rushing yards, 116 catches, 1,005 receiving yards, and 19 total touchdowns. He also led the league in touches with 403. He’s always an option in any DFS format, and in Week 1 you should absolutely spend up for him. We don’t know exactly how the Carolina Panthers’ new-look offense plans to utilize him, but we do know we can expect him to be a huge piece of the puzzle.
Boston Scott ($4,800 DK, $4,700 FD) 🔒
Miles Sanders was supposedly trending in the right direction and looking like he was going to play. Saturday afternoon, news broke that he will not make the trip to Washington and is out. That sets up a prime spot for running back Boston Scott. In the last four weeks of the 2019 season, Scott averaged 6.25 targets per game and caught a whopping 23 of 25 passes thrown his direction, which was good enough for a 92 percent catch rate. LOCK HIM IN. But before you do, I’d like to mention that I’m not the only one who is high on Scott this week. Euan was all over him, even before the news broke. Check out his Cheaper by the Dozen: DFS Value Plays piece here.
Other Options: Josh Jacobs, Austin Ekeler, Mark Ingram, Antonio Gibson
Wide Receiver
Marvin Jones ($5,500 DK, $6,200 FD) 🔒
Kenny Golladay is listed as doubtful to play against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 with a hamstring injury. That sets up Jones to get a ton of usage in the passing game. Is it the best matchup going up against Chicago? No, especially not when you factor in that Kyle Fuller will likely cover him more than the rest of the Lions receivers. However, Matthew Stafford was having a career year before going down to injury last season. He tossed 19 TDs to only five interceptions with a career-high 106 passer rating. Weekly, taking wide receivers in the mid-to-low range of pricing is a good plan. Take your chances at this salary that he at least gets enough work to hit value.
Terry McLaurin ($5,600 DK, $6,500 FD) 🔒
Scary Terry got the better of the Philadelphia Eagles last season, catching 10 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. The addition of Darius Slay should help the Philadelphia Eagles secondary and he could be shadowing McLaurin in this game. However, Scary Terry is the only bankable receiver Washington has and should still see the bulk of the passing targets go his direction. Also, people are forgetting that Slay had somewhat of a down year in 2019 by his standards. His completion percentage against, yards per target, yards per completion, and passer rating all took a hit. Take the discount on McLaurin.
Other Options: Chris Godwin, Michael Thomas, Davante Adams, D.K. Metcalf
Tight End
Jack Doyle ($3,600 DK, $5,300 FD)
Talk around Colts camp has been about the love and admiration for Doyle and the usage of tight ends in Frank Reich’s offense. Eric Ebron is gone, and T.Y. Hilton is the only other pass catcher guaranteed to get the ball thrown his way. Philip Rivers has always loved throwing the ball to tight ends, as evidenced by his longtime success with Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry. The Jacksonville Jaguars defense has a ton of exploitable holes. Doyle finds paydirt at least once.
Hayden Hurst ($4,300 DK, $5,200 FD)
We don’t really need to stack our quarterback with a pass catcher in cash games, but you can if you wish. Hurst is mainly an option if you are using someone like Wentz. It’ll allow you to still get exposure to the Atlanta Falcons’ passing attack, and at a bargain. Hurst should step into Austin Hooper’s role from a year ago and become a mainstay in this offense. The Seattle Seahawks struggled versus tight ends last year, giving up the second-most DK points (15.7) and yardage (1,099) to the position.
Other Options: George Kittle, Chris Herndon
Defense/Special Teams
If you’re a returning reader from last season, you know how I like to look for cheaper defenses than most people feel comfortable with. I felt like I needed to say that as almost a disclaimer before we get going. This doesn’t necessarily make all of these defenses “safe,” although I know that’s normally the goal in cash games. Because of the unpredictability at the position, I’m more willing to punt defense in hopes of finding some cheap turnovers. Taking salaries into consideration, here are my favorites.
Washington Football Team ($2,000 DK, $3,400 FD)
I’m not overly confident in Washington as a whole, but their defensive line should be improved with the offseason addition of Chase Young, joining Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Da’Ron Payne, Matthew Ioannidis, and Jonathan Allen. That group alone, combined for 29 sacks, and they’ll be going up against a very banged up Eagles offensive line. The sack potential is real.
Los Angeles Chargers ($2,800 DK, $4,200 FD)
Value-wise, this is more of a DraftKings play. They are a bit pricier on FanDuel at $4,200. In July, PFF ranked the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line as the second-worst entering the 2020 season. Jonah Williams is returning from injury, so they should be a little better at least. But the Chargers could be in store for a good day against this unit, as Joe Burrow will be making his NFL debut, and we don’t know what to expect from him out of the gate. Take a stab with the Chargers and hope for a turnover or two.
Other Options: Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens
Good luck this week! Don’t forget to check out all of our other great DFS content and analysis.
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