NFL Preseason Week 1 DFS picks for Thursday’s slate

Week 1 of the NFL preseason has arrived and we have two games on the docket tonight with the New England Patriots hosting the New York Giants and with the Tennessee Titans hitting the road to meet the Baltimore Ravens. As with all of these games, you can create lineups and score big in DraftKings Daily Fantasy.

Preseason games can be tricky to predict considering how each team decides to divvy up snaps between their starters and backups. However, we’ve got you covered and have picked out some players to consider for both matchups this evening.

Thursday night DraftKings DFS picks

Best picks

Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants — $5,500

Robinson will get his first taste of NFL action against the Patriots tonight and will have a chance to show out early in the contest. He was listed as a starter on the team’s first unofficial depth chart this week, meaning he’ll play just the first quarter like the rest of the Giants first-teamers.

The rookie out of Kentucky has been impressive through the first few weeks of training camp and some are already projecting him to be a true X-factor of this offense. Quarterback Daniel Jones is going to want to establish a rapport with him and that could mean extra targets for him in this exhibition. There’s a possibility that he could even find the end zone in this one and that makes him a top DFS candidate for tonight.

Bailey Zappe, QB, New England Patriots — $5,500

With quarterback Mac Jones and most other Patriots starters expected to sit for tonight’s preseason opener, we should see plenty of action from rookie Bailey Zappe under center. Coming off a year where he rewrote the college record books at Western Kentucky, early camp reports have indicated that the first-year gunslinger has performed well in his reps and has even outplayed Jones at certain points.

Veteran backup QB Brian Hoyer will most likely start but considering that he has already missed some time during camp, head coach Bill Belichick may elect to keep his time on the field short this evening. That gives the greenlight for Zappe to get extra work and play most of tonight’s contest. Definitely consider him for a top quarterback spot tonight.

Value Plays

Tyler Huntley, QB, Baltimore Ravens — $5,500

With the number of injuries that his team suffered last year, Ravens head coach john Harbaugh is understandably playing it safe and sitting a number of his key starters tonight. That means no Lamar Jackson in this one and that opens the door for backup Tyler Huntley to get plenty of reps.

Huntley did well for himself in place of an injured Jackson last year, so it’s no mystery as to what the dual-threat backup can do when handed the keys. There’s potential for him to put together a few productive drives tonight and that makes him worthy of a captain’s spot.

Dontrell Hilliard, RB, Tennessee Titans — $5,500

Hilliard has already been stamped as the Titans’ third-down running back for this season and with starter Derrick Henry understandably not stepping onto the field for the preseason, expect Hilliard to get some work tonight. He’s excelled as both a runner and a pass-catcher within the Tennessee offense and there’s potential for him to find the end zone tonight.