The NFL preseason has just begun as teams across the league are reporting to training camp. We are less than a week away from the first preseason game, and DraftKings has already released its DFS salaries for Week 1 of the regular season. The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions are not included in the main slate rankings as they kick off the regular season on Thursday, September 7.
While it may feel like a pain to roster a defense/special teams unit, there is actually worthwhile information here. These rankings can give insight into which defenses are expected to play well this year and which offenses could struggle. Take the Baltimore Ravens, for instance. They have a good defense but come into Week 1 as the most-expensive unit to roster at $4,000. Baltimore will face the Houston Texans and rookie quarterback CJ Stroud making his NFL debut.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is expected to struggle with Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask under center. The team also released veteran running back Leonard Fournette and, at the time of this writing, are expected to utilize two unproven running backs in the backfield. This gives a boost to the Minnesota Vikings D/ST, which is the second-most expensive on the week at $3,900.
It’s tough to find value with D/ST as it feels all risk with little chance for reward. That said, the Carolina Panthers D/ST will take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. The Panthers improved as a unit, and if Desmond Ridder struggles to get his offense going, Carolina could be a sneaky pick at only $2,600. If that is too risky for you, another value pick could be the Washington Commanders D/ST ($2,800) as they face an Arizona Cardinals team that is expected to not play well without quarterback Kyler Murray.
NFL Week 1 DraftKings DFS D/ST Salaries
| Team | Opponent | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Opponent | Salary |
| Ravens | Texans | $4,000 |
| Vikings | Buccaneers | $3,900 |
| 49ers | Steelers | $3,800 |
| Eagles | Patriots | $3,700 |
| Broncos | Raiders | $3,600 |
| Jaguars | Colts | $3,500 |
| Saints | Titans | $3,400 |
| Seahawks | Rams | $3,300 |
| Falcons | Panthers | $3,200 |
| Chargers | Dolphins | $3,100 |
| Steelers | 49ers | $3,000 |
| Bears | Packers | $2,900 |
| Bengals | Browns | $2,900 |
| Packers | Bears | $2,800 |
| Commanders | Cardinals | $2,800 |
| Rams | Seahawks | $2,700 |
| Patriots | Eagles | $2,700 |
| Titans | Saints | $2,600 |
| Panthers | Falcons | $2,600 |
| Dolphins | Chargers | $2,500 |
| Cardinals | Commanders | $2,500 |
| Colts | Jaguars | $2,400 |
| Raiders | Broncos | $2,300 |
| Browns | Bengals | $2,200 |
| Buccaneers | Vikings | $2,100 |
| Texans | Ravens | $2,000 |