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Football season kicks off in full this Sunday, much to the delight of fantasy football players around the world.
While most fantasy enthusiasts have likely settled their drafts already, those that take part in daily fantasy leagues like DraftKings and FanDuel are still toiling away to set the perfect lineup before kickoff on Sunday.
Budgeting can get tight fast in daily fantasy - it's tough to leave Ezekiel Elliott out of your lineup when you're SURE he's going to run all over the Giants. With this in mind, below are some potential value plays for Week 1 daily fantasy players. Picking these guys up isn't a sure thing, but they'll do well enough to get you some points and save you some dollars so you can spend more money on studs.
Take a look below for our best value picks for your Week 1 DraftKings lineups.
Nick Foles is set to make his first start with the Jaguars on Sunday, facing off against a guy that will find himself the centerpiece of many daily fantasy lineups — Patrick Mahomes.
But while Mahomes might be more of a sure bet from a skill standpoint, Foles is a great value play based on the opportunities he should have to make plays.
While the Chiefs offense garnered attention and praise for their historic scoring levels last season, the Kansas City defense was far from impressive, giving up nearly 26 points per game, one of the bottom 10 teams in the league.
Further, if you think the Jaguars are going to be playing catch-up in this game, expect Foles to be passing quite a bit.
RB: Austin Ekeler, $5,500
Melvin Gordon is still holding out for a new deal, meaning that Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson will both be seeing increased action out of the Los Angeles Chargers backfield.
I'm backing Ekeler here because he's a bit more of a proven fantasy producer for my money, but either player could help you in a pinch.
RB: Matt Breida, $4,000
The San Francisco 49ers brought in Tevin Coleman to improve their backfield during the offseason, but Matt Breida is still listed as the top running back on the depth chart, and at $4,000, feels wildly underpriced for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers.
Last year, Tampa Bay ranked in the bottom 10 in the league in rushing defense, and don't look all that improved heading into this season.
WR: DeSean Jackson, $4,500
DeSean Jackson has made his return to Philadelphia, and while he's not the spry young receiver he was when the Eagles first drafted him in 2008, he's still got plenty of speed to give opposing defenses fits.
Jackson is a great downfield threat for the Birds, and at home against an inferior opponent, I expect one of the first offensive plays for the Eagles to be a deep play-action throw to a streaking No. 10. If he catches it for a score, he'll have outplayed his value in just one move.
WR: John Brown, $4,300
John Brown has long been a boom-or-bust fantasy player.
He's a deep threat that can break for a huge play if given the opportunity and the right scheme, but a rotating cast of sub-par quarterbacks in Arizona never made the most of his talents.
Now in Buffalo, Brown is paired with quarterback Josh Allen, whose infamous cannon-arm is perfect for flinging deep throws up for Brown to chase underneath.
WR: Marquise Goodwin, $4,000
Marquise Goodwin was one of Jimmy Garoppolo's favorite targets during his opening stretch of games as the 49ers starting quarterback in 2017.
After his potential break out season in San Francisco was cut short due to injury in 2018, expect Garoppolo to rely on the familiar hands of Goodwin to get back into the swing of things.
TE: Jason Witten, $3,000
Jason Witten is back with the Cowboys after a much-maligned one-year stint in the "Monday Night Football" booth.
While I don't know how much of a part of the Dallas game plan he will be through the rest of the season, I fully expect the Cowboys to target him in the red zone in this first week back as a thank you to the veteran.
Witten needs ust six touchdowns this year to take the all-time Cowboys mark away from Dez Bryant, and they'll try and jump start that run on Sunday against the Giants.
DEF: Indianapolis Colts
It feels like this Colts team is rallying around each other after the sudden departure of starting quarterback Andrew Luck.
In Week 1, Indianapolis is taking on the Chargers, who are pretty well known for being slow starters. A big performance from the defense could be the spark the team needs to secure their shocking first win of the post-Luck era.
