With the preseason now officially in full swing, the major DFS sites are taking advantage of fan excitement and are offering a way-too-early look at the Week 1 player pricing. With FanDuel having just released their week one salaries, let’s do a similar analysis of FanDuel salaries, just as we did for DraftKings earlier this week. There is still over a month until this slate kicks off, so it’s much too early to lock in on any specific builds or players, but we can get a head start on the rest of the field by taking the time (which we don’t normally have during the season) to absorb as much player salary info as we can in the weeks leading up to Week 1.

Quarterbacks

While it’s no surprise that both DraftKings and FanDuel have the same top three quarterbacks in the same exact order (Patrick Mahomes vs. Cleveland, Josh Allen vs. Pittsburgh, and Kyler Murray at Tennessee), FanDuel offers a bit of a relative discount on these players, making it easier to jam them into lineups without sacrificing too much at the other positions, as all three take up an entire percentage point less of your roster’s cap space compared to DraftKings. The same can be said for Russell Wilson and Justin Herbert. With that much relative value at the high end in quarterback pricing, look for ownership to be relatively flat across the top seven players at the position, with Mahomes leading the pack in terms of popularity.

There aren’t many ranking differentiations to begin the season when comparing FanDuel to DraftKings, with the major exception of Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The 2021 first overall pick is just the 17th highest salary quarterback on FanDuel with what should be a plus-matchup against Houston, whose defense ranked second worse in the NFL in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to opposing offenses a season ago. He’s the QB11 on DraftKings, for comparison.

Running Backs

Similar to the quarterbacks, FanDuel looks like the easier site to fit the top-tier running backs into your lineups while still maintaining an adequate percentage of your salary cap for other players. With the two sites’ salaries in complete agreement as to how the top-seven running backs should be ranked, FanDuel offers an average savings of nearly 2% (over $1,100) of your salary cap on those seven backs compared to DraftKings, with Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, and Derrick Henry all saving 2.5% ($1,500) or more of your salary for other players. Unsurprisingly, players who have perceived guaranteed rushing and receiving work are bumped up in FanDuel’s half-PPR format, with Joe Mixon, Aaron Jones, and Chris Carson ranked higher among running backs than on DraftKings.

Conversely, certain receiving specialists have been moved down, with Austin Ekeler being the primary example, priced at RB11 on FanDuel compared to RB8 on DraftKings. D'Andre Swift (RB16 on FanDuel vs. RB9 on DraftKings) appears to be getting the same treatment. Other notable salary disparities at the position include Myles Gaskin (RB19 FanDuel vs. RB16 DraftKings), James Robinson (RB21 vs. RB13) and David Johnson (RB24 vs. RB20).

Wide Receivers

If you’re of the belief that Calvin Ridley’s season should start off with a bang against a Philadelphia defense that was sixth-worst in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to wide receivers in 2020, then FanDuel is the place to play him. At WR4, Ridley is ranked below DeAndre Hopkins and costs just 13.5% of your salary cap on FanDuel compared to over 15.5% on DraftKings. Other big names who offer significant discounts on FanDuel include DK Metcalf and Adam Thielen. Each carry top-10 receiver salaries but are a discount compared to their respective salary ranks on DraftKings.

Alternatively, FanDuel seems to be much more bullish on Brandon Aiyuk (WR16 on FanDuel vs. WR21 on DraftKings) facing Detroit, arguably the worst defense in the league a season ago, and Brandin Cooks (WR21 vs. WR28) who– despite continuing uncertainty surrounding Houston’s quarterback situation–should have a plus-matchup against the Jaguars, who ranked third in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to opposing offenses in 2020.

Tight Ends

Let’s get straight to the point: Kyle Pitts’s salary is aggressively high on FanDuel. So high, in fact, that it may suppress his ownership to the point he becomes a contrarian play in tournaments. Pitts could be the next great superstar at his position, but projecting a breakout Week 1 is a much more risky proposition.

With Pitts moving up, T.J. Hockenson’s TE5 salary compared to TE3 on DraftKings should make him quite popular. Moving down the rankings, both the New England tight ends, Hunter Henry (TE10 vs. TE5 on DraftKings) and Jonnu Smith (TE18 vs. TE24), offer intriguing value facing a Miami defense that was right at league average in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to the position.

Defenses

One of the largest salary disparities at any position belongs to the New York Giants defense, who look like an early choice for a value-defense to begin the season. With Denver in the middle of a full-blown quarterback competition, the Giants' defense may not be among the top-10 defenses in the NFL, but as DST16 compared to the DST3 on DraftKings, the Giants suddenly look much more appealing. They should have the upper hand against either Teddy Bridgewater, whom PFF graded as the 29th worst QB in the league a season ago, and Drew Lock, who ranked 33rd.

On the flip side, the Colts look like a team to avoid on FanDuel, coming in ranked significantly higher on FanDuel (DST8) than DraftKings (DST 19), while facing Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and the Seahawks. The same goes for the Falcons, as FanDuel seems unusually bullish on their defense against the Eagles, despite sub-par defensive numbers across the board a season ago.