Week 1 of the NFL season kicked off with a thrilling Chiefs victory over the Ravens on Thursday night. It was literally decided by mere inches in the back of the end zone.
There will not be much of a wait for the encore, as the NFL is leading off the opening week with a Friday night matchup. In the first-ever NFL game in South America, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will face off in São Paulo, Brazil.
This additional game created an extra opportunity for a Showdown DFS matchup. Hitting on your Captain (CPT) is essential to having Showdown DFS success on DraftKings. Players drafted as Captain earn 1.5x fantasy points, so they can make or break your slate. Let’s take a look at the top options and my favorite Captain plays for this week’s TNF slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.25M Friday Night Millionaire [$1M to 1st] (PHI vs GB)
DraftKings Showdown Captain (CPT) Picks
A.J. Brown ($16,500)
Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown leads all captains in DFS price. Based on DraftKings scoring, he finished last season as the 13th-best scorer in all of fantasy football. Having reached a peak of 38.5 points in Week 4 against the Commanders last season, Brown is capable of putting both the Eagles and your DFS fantasy squad on his back.
Overall last season, he tallied 106 receptions for 1456 yards and seven touchdowns.
The biggest concern with choosing Brown is the number of weapons on the Eagles offense that can all step up in any given game. With DeVonta Smith ($13,500 for CPT) lining up on the opposite side of the field, Smith will have his weeks where he puts up WR1 numbers for this Eagles team. This also goes without mentioning the red-zone vulture that Jalen Hurts is, and how the addition of Saquon Barkley will impact touches across the entire offense.
A.J. Brown is comfortably a top-ten wide receiver in the NFL in terms of talent, but his level of opportunity in 2024 is still to be seen. He absolutely could end up the leading fantasy scorer in this matchup, but Brown carries a bit more risk than most players of his talent caliber.
Jalen Hurts ($15,900)
It’s been an up-and-down career trajectory for Jalen Hurts. Despite achieving massive success already, including two Pro Bowls and leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl, this feels a bit of a make-or-break season for the 26-year-old. Hurts ended last season with the fifth most fantasy points based on DraftKings scoring. This is all while battling a knee injury throughout the season, and dealing with some extremely poor play-calling which led to the firing of Brian Johnson at last year’s conclusion.
Unlike Brown, Hurts has among the highest floors of any player in fantasy football. He finds a way to impact the game on a week-by-week basis. Despite the perceived struggles, Hurts threw for a career-high 3,858 yards through the air and 23 passing touchdowns last season. He also added 605 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns which was tied with Josh Allen for the second-most in the entire NFL.
It will be interesting to see how different the Eagles’ offense looks with Kellen Moore now calling plays. But Hurts is a dynamic dual-threat weapon capable of plenty of fantasy production. He also has looked to have back the burst he was missing last season due to the knee injury. The combination of sure touches, weapons around him, and different ways he can impact the game makes Hurts my favorite DFS captain’s choice.
Jordan Love ($14,700)
The first member of the Packers to crack this list is Jordan Love. The 25-year-old took a massive step forward last season and will be looking to build off the strong finish to the season. He led the Packers to a 6-2 record to close the season- throwing for an average of 268.8 yards and 2.3 touchdowns per game and just one total interception over this time. Love finished last season as the ninth-highest-scoring fantasy football player in DraftKings scoring.
Heading into his fourth year in the NFL and second as a full-time starter, Jordan Love has a chance to establish himself as one of the true rising stars. He has some impressive weapons around him such as Josh Jacobs ($12,300 CPT), Christian Watson ($8,400 CPT), Romeo Dobbs ($10,200 CPT), and Jayden Reed ($9,600 CPT). This will be a tough test for Love against a talented Eagles defense with the bright lights on him. This will be a statement performance for the Packers standout, but if he picks up right where he left off Love has a strong chance to lead all scorers.
Saquon Barkley ($14,100)
The newest addition to the Eagles’s offense is former NFC East rival Saquon Barkley. The two-time Pro Bowl RB signed a three-year $37.5 million contract this offseason with $26 million guaranteed. This was especially surprising considering Philadelphia has shown a tendency to undervalue the running back position and has been reluctant to invest top dollar in years past. Barkley is a significant change in this and one would assume this comes with increased opportunity as well.
From Barkley’s perspective, the Eagles will be the most dynamic offense he has ever played with. This season will mark the first time in his NFL career that he will not be the top focus of opposing defenses on an every-play basis. While they might not be the peak of what they once were, this Eagles offensive line will also be a notable improvement from what Barkley has rushed behind in the past. Despite playing just 14 games last year and having a down season statistically, the Penn State product still ranked 56th among all fantasy players and 13th among running backs.
There are still some questions surrounding how this Eagles offense will fit together and who will receive the majority of the opportunity. But don’t be surprised if Barkley is back to looking like his prime self and elevating this Eagles offense sooner rather than later.
Josh Jacobs ($12,300)
While each of the four names ahead are more sure things, Josh Jacobs is my favorite value play on the captains’ list. The former Raiders standout agreed to a four-year with the Packers worth about $48 million this offseason. Jacobs had an up-and-down 2023 season where he battled injuries and had one of the worst yards per touch average in the NFL. However, in 2022 he led the entire NFL with 1,653 rushing yards while adding 12 touchdowns.
Heading into Week 1 this season, there is much less clarity on the rest of the running back depth chart. MarShawn Lloyd and Emmanuel Wilson are each listed as questionable while AJ Dillon finds himself on IR. One would expect at least one of the questionable running backs to suit up or the team likely would have made a roster move. However, it is unclear what level they will be at.
Jacobs has proven capable of being a bell-cow back before and was paid by the Packers to produce as such. Look for him to tally at least 20-25 touches in the opening matchup and have a real chance to outperform some of the higher-dollar captain choices.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.25M Friday Night Millionaire [$1M to 1st] (PHI vs GB)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
