After a very long wait, a full slate of NFL games is finally back on the menu on Sunday as NFL Week 1’s witching hour gets underway. A whole host of rookies have entered the player pool while plenty of superstars we know and love are back and ready for more, so sit back and get ready to make your DraftKings NFL DFS lineups on Sunday. Contests lock at 1 p.m. EST, so don’t forget to do your research and finalize your entries before then.
Are you ready? We sure are, so let’s dive in with three must-star fantasy football players for NFL Week 1!
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $3.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]
QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots, $5,500
Drake Maye showed just what he’s capable of last season as a rookie in New England. Now that the franchise has a new head coach in Mike Vrabel and some extra offensive weapons in Stefon Diggs, TreVeyeon Henderson and Kyle Williams, the sky feels like the limit for the young quarterback.
Across the nine games in which he played at least 90% of the snaps last season, Maye averaged nearly 16 FPPG while throwing to one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the NFL, if not the worst. Now that the group has received an influx of talent, plus a new head coach and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels (who’s created some very useful fantasy seasons for numerous players over his career), things are looking up for Maye and the Patriots’ offense. Since the second-year signal-caller brings a stable floor and awesome ceiling thanks to his dual-threat ability, he’s a smash pick to start the season at this salary, especially against a poor Las Vegas Raiders defense that will likely rank among the NFL’s bottom-tier units again this year.
WR Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers, $4,900
Another modestly priced option on the salary sheet with sky-high upside, Matthew Golden brings plenty of value to the table in a potential shootout between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
While the Pack ran the ball more than most teams last year, that rushing volume felt like more of an adjustment caused by the injury to quarterback Jordan Love than a legitimate indicator of what this offense wants to be. Head coach Matt LaFleur remains one of the best in the game, and Green Bay spent a premium first-round selection on Golden — a wideout — for the first time in 23 years. That says a lot about how they view the Texas product and his 4.29 speed. While starting a rookie brings some risk in DFS contests, the Packers should be forced to throw the ball plenty this week against the Lions’ offense in a divisional rivalry and fellow receiver Jayden Reed is questionable to play while dealing with a Jones fracture. That bodes well for immediate volume for Golden in a high-upside spot, and his salary means you can spend bigger elsewhere in the lineup, too.
RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals, $6,600
Chase Brown burst onto the scene last season and took over the Cincinnati Bengals’ backfield due to an injury to Zack Moss. Once he got touches, he never quite looked back and put forth a fantastic fantasy season.
Now, Brown sees the benefit of the starting job in what projects as one of the NFL’s top offenses once again. While the Bengals brought in Samaje Perine and sixth-round rookie (and former Texas Tech standout) Tahj Brooks, neither truly poses a threat to Brown’s role as a bell-cow back. He averaged 16.2 FPPG last season and brings both goal-line and pass-catching upside to the equation. Add those factors to a matchup against the Cleveland Browns, a rebuilding team that ranked ninth-worst against the run in 2024 and already lost linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to a season-ending injury, and you have the potential for an immensely positive game script as the Bengals play with a lead almost all day. Expect 20+ points for Chase Brown on Sunday.
