Dan Johnson has been an editor, writer, and analyst for DraftKings and DraftKings Network since 2024. He’s previously held editorial posts at The Paris Review, Macmillan Publishers, Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, ASSIGNMENT Magazine, and FantasySixPack. You can find his various editorial work & writing (sports-related and non-) at all of the above.
Foxborough opens with urgency and noise, not ceremony, as a new era demands proof. Mike Vrabel steps into power and resets expectations immediately with a hardened defensive identity. Pete Carroll arrives in Las Vegas energized, challenging a hostile building he never conquered across decades of matchups. The Raiders have never won at Gillette Stadium, a […]
September 6, 2025
Week 1 under a roof gives us clean sightlines and honest speed. Lucas Oil hums when the ball is snapped, and timing wins here. The board says Colts -1.5 with a 47.5 total, but the matchup carries richer context. These teams wore the same AFC cloth for decades; the last meeting finished 16–10 with Miami […]
September 6, 2025
Huntington Bank Field snarls for a Week 1 street fight. I’m treating this like a tone-setter, even though many think the Browns are a candidate to be rolled over. Cincinnati vowed to end its September nap and opened the playbook in August. This all results in a win probability right around 65.2% for Cincinnati. DraftKings […]
September 6, 2025
Mercedes-Benz Stadium hums before kickoff, and this rivalry resumes with stakes immediately high across the division. Tampa Bay chases a fifth straight crown; Atlanta ushers in the Penix era with urgency and ambition. DraftKings hangs Buccaneers -1.5 with a 45.5 total, inviting declarations rather than cautious hedges today. I accept and lay a number, trusting […]
September 6, 2025
The Caesars Superdome sets the tone. Dome track. No weather excuses. New Orleans unveils a second-year quarterback, Spencer Rattler, and a new system. Arizona brings continuity, tempo, and a run game built heavy for fast turf. The market trusts that profile. Below is my prediction for NFL Week 1’s game between the New Orleans Saints […]
September 6, 2025
The island nightcap (pun intended) delivers volatility with injury questions and defensive splits driving the handicap. Hawaii enters 1-1 after upsetting Stanford but falling flat at Arizona 40-6. The Warriors average just 14.5 points per game, ranking 65th, while allowing 30.0 per game, 133rd nationally. Quarterback Micah Alejado has thrown for 367 yards with two […]
September 6, 2025
Seattle settles in for a September night under the lights, where tradition and transition intersect on the shores of Lake Washington. Husky Stadium’s backdrop makes the stage bigger, the echoes louder, and the margin for error smaller. Washington continues its push into a new era of Big Ten competition, while UC Davis arrives carrying the […]
September 6, 2025
This late kickoff in Provo pits programs headed opposite directions. BYU looks organized, explosive, and fresh under Kalani Sitake. Stanford enters rebuilding mode under interim coach Frank Reich. Recent form could not be more different after Week 1. BYU throttled Portland State 69-0 at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Stanford blew a 10-0 lead and fell 23-20 […]
September 6, 2025
Nebraska returns home with momentum, but the matchup profiles slower than the number. The Huskers controlled Cincinnati for 39:09 and converted 10-of-18 third downs. They produced 353 total yards at 4.5 per play, yet scored only 20 points. Dylan Raiola went 33-of-42 for 243 yards and two touchdowns with 78.6% accuracy. Emmett Johnson logged 25 […]
September 6, 2025
Two programs with very different 2024 stories collide under the lights in Starkville. No. 12 Arizona State arrives as the defending Big 12 champion, fresh off a 38-19 tune-up over Northern Arizona. Mississippi State is in year two under Jeff Lebby, trying to prove last season’s 2-10 reset is behind it after a crisp 34-17 […]
September 6, 2025
Perhaps it’s a little morbid, but what else do fantasy managers and the football-gaming/-fandom republic fear more than the bottom falling out from under their teams before Week 1 even ends? In the case of Christian McCaffrey owners, the structural integrity of the floor is feeling awfully shaky—and awfully familiar—before the first Sunday of the […]
September 6, 2025