Thursday Night Football DFS: Week 1

It has been a long seven months since we last saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take down the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. The defending champs kick things off this year in the NFL season opener at Raymond James Stadium. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will look to spoil their celebration. It is officially football season. Let’s take a look at the top DFS players in this NFC matchup.

DraftKings Captain

Ronald Jones II (DK 7,500 | FD 9,500)

The Cowboys’ run defense last year was among the bottom few teams in the league. They gave up on average 158.8 rush yards per game. The addition of Micah Parsons will certainly help the run defense but Jones should still be able to find some holes and break off some big plays. The Buccaneers will begin the season with three running backs expected to get the majority of snaps. Leonard Fournette will likely get the start with Giovani Bernard handling the third-down role. However, Jones should still get his fair share of carries and at his price, he will leave you with plenty of roster flexibility.

FanDuel MVP

Dak Prescott (DK 10,400 | FD 15,500)

The Cowboys will be without starting guard Zack Martin for this week’s game after he tested positive for Covid-19. They are already facing a very tough run defense making Martin an even bigger loss. If they struggle to get the run game going, Dak will be forced to throw early and often in this matchup. He was putting up huge fantasy numbers last year before his injury. As long as he is truly healthy, there’s no reason to believe Prescott will not be one of the top scorers on this slate.

Flex Plays

CeeDee Lamb (DK 8,200 | FD 10,000)

Lamb gets his quarterback back after only having Dak for a few games last season. In his rookie season, he showed his potential. Through the first 4.5 games with Dak, he had 394 receiving yards and two touchdowns. When the Cowboys are forced to throw in this game, their receiving corp will be tough to contain. The defense will be focusing on star receiver Amari Cooper. That puts Lamb in a great matchup getting more one-on-one opportunities. Look for him to put up some good fantasy numbers in tonight’s game.

O.J. Howard (DK 2,200 | FD 6,500)

Howard is a dart throw but to win the big prize, he’s the type of player you need to roster. Even with Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate on the team, Howard can still make an impact. Before his injury last season, Tom Brady was consistently looking his way. In four games, Howard hauled in two touchdowns. He also had 19 targets in those games which were more than Brate and Gronk. Brady also predicted a big season for Howard. How can you go against the best quarterback in NFL history?