Week 1 Preseason NFL DFS Breakdown: Sunday Slate

Aug 13, 2023

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NOTE: This is a working document. I will be tweaking this article all the way up to about 30 minutes before kickoff. Much of the news and information needed to create sharp preseason lineups is gleaned just hours before the game begins. It's prudent to check back before kickoff for updates and changes. Join the 4for4 subscriber-only discord channel during the afternoon as well.

Identifying Preseason Plays

Reviewing Depth Charts/Injuries - If there is a certain position on a team's depth chart that is thin, we want to roster those players as they'll most likely be subject to a ton of playing time. Playing time is king and we need to identify who will be on the field the longest because that's the only way you can score points
Press Conferences/Coachspeak - For each slate, I fire up podcasts and read press conference transcripts of head coaches answering questions about the upcoming preseason games to determine if they are tipping how they will divide playing time or if a certain player will get an extended look.
Beat Reports - I will also search through articles and Twitter feeds of beat reporters (as well as DM them sometimes) to get their take on who will be playing the most snaps and which players have stood out in camp.

Roster Construction

Don't worry too much about ownership percentage. We don't have an entire slate of viable plays from 10-14 teams, so pivoting off players that will be playing 2-3 quarters because they'll be rostered heavily isn't very wise.
When stacking, be mindful of which players will be on the field at the same time. A second unit wide receiver probably won't be on the field with the QB4 who ends the game. Keep your stacks to the level of the depth chart.
Limit your stacks to mostly two-man stacks. There often isn't enough playing time for a quarterback to support multiple pass-catchers. Obviously, if there is a unit set to get a large portion of playing time, you can stack more than one pass-catcher, but with only a quarter or two to rack up fantasy points, large stacks can be -EV.

Note: This is NOT an exhaustive list of all the viable plays for this slate. With so many players rotating in and out, it would be impossible to highlight everyone. This is a list of the players who, based on the research methods I listed above, I have identified to be playing well in camp and/or will be getting solid playing time during this slate. These plays are also not in any specific order.

Quarterbacks

Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, 49ers

Reports indicate that Trey Lance will play the first half and Sam Darnold will play the second half. Lance for a half immediately jumps off the page given his ability to run the football. He's obviously struggled to begin his career, but a mobile quarterback getting the entire first half on a two-game slate is pretty clearly a top play. Darnold should get the second half and is viable if you're trying to get different or are mass multi-entering. There is definitely an advantage to having a quarterback with meaningful game experience facing off against reserves

Pass-catchers to stack with Lance: Danny Gray, Ray-Ray McCloud, Chris Conley

Pass-catchers to stack with Darnold: Ronnie Bell, Dazz Newsome