NFL Preseason DFS Week 1 Breakdown: Thursday Slate

Aug 08, 2019

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The task of creating profitable preseason daily fantasy lineups does not come easy. You’re basically trying to figure out who will get the most playing time amongst a 90-man roster—on both FanDuel and DraftKings, all players are priced equally in the preseason, so there's no need to consider value. Oftentimes, coaches will elude to who they plan to give the most playing time to, but it can backfire. In this first week of the preseason, you’ll usually see the first unit play only a series, if at all. The second string often finishes out the first half, then the third and fourth string get the second half. There are exceptions but, usually, that’s pretty close to how it will be split up.

This week we don’t want to roster many first-string players because of their limited playing time. Can Alvin Kamara break a 50-yard run on one of the seven snaps he gets? Sure, but our goal is to maximize opportunity. It’s even possible to cash in tournaments with a zero in your lineup because of the unpredictable nature of these games.

What I’ll be doing in this article is curating all the playing time information that I find from reviewing beat writer articles, twitter, and coach press conferences. Oftentimes, we end up rostering players from teams whose depth charts are thin, forcing only one or two players to take all the snaps at a certain position.

Check back leading up to kickoff for any and all updates.

Editor's note: Follow this twitter list of NFL News and Beat Writers created by 4for4's John Paulsen.

Colts at Bills

First guy in, last guy to leave. That has been the word on QB Chad Kelly all offseason as he may be fighting for his last shot in the league. Jacoby Brissett will start the game but after a series or two, it should come down to the battle between Kelly and Philip Walker. At this time last year, Kelly was soaring up the Broncos depth chart after a strong showing in Week 1. Don’t be surprised if he does it again here.
The Colts have a log jam at wide receiver but Deon Cain is expected to get at least a quarter of action. He’s returning from injury so it’s risky but the playing time should be there. Krishawn Hogan may be my favorite play of the group. An underrated prospect, Hogan has made a lot of splash plays in camp with both Kelly and Walker under center.

Jets at Giants

The Chris Herndon suspension opens the door for another TE to get a major opportunity. Ryan Griffin is the favorite to start but after him, I’m expecting we get a long look at Daniel Brown. The team has been pretty quiet on overall playing time but Greg Dortch and Tim White are names to know. Dortch should get some snaps at wide receiver along with being a kick returner.
Daniel Jones will likely get the entire first half and Alex Tanney will take over the second half. Jones's playing time not only makes him interesting but also makes Alonzo Russell an intriguing play. Word from Giants camp is Jones and Russell have developed strong chemistry.