Welcome to Week 1 of the NFL season! This feels like Christmas morning! The NFL offseason always seems too long, so it is great to have football back. And with the return of the NFL, the most popular fantasy sport also reemerges.
The goal of this article is to provide daily fantasy football advice for DraftKings value plays. Implementing a few value plays in your lineups allows you to start the top-tier studs. The key with a value play is to find a player with a high floor, but also with the opportunity for a breakout game. These value plays will be for the DraftKings main slate each Sunday.
A QB/RB/WR under $6K and a TE under $4.5K will be considered value plays.
Free NFL Week 1 Picks from TeamRankings (Pick’em, Survivor, Betting) 
Quarterback
Carson Wentz (PHI): $5,700 vs. WAS
The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of offensive weapons, and it all starts with their quarterback. Wentz could easily put up top-five QB points this week, but he is priced as the 12th quarterback. I expect Wentz to be a very popular cash QB this week due to his high floor but also his immense ceiling. If you are playing in tournaments, pairing Wentz with one or two of his pass-catchers (Zach Ertz and Alshon Jeffery) is a good start.
Matthew Stafford (DET): $5,400 @ ARI
Vegas doesn’t have high hopes for the Detroit Lions this week as they only have a 6.5 win total, but there might not be a better matchup for their offense all season. There has been a lot of buzz this offseason about Kliff Kingsbury and his offense. If the Arizona Cardinals offense can live up to the hype, this game could turn into a shootout. Also, if the Cardinals’ offense struggles, their defense could get tired quickly, leading to a good game for Stafford. Either way, this seems like a good start to the year for Matthew Stafford.
Running Back
Austin Ekeler (LAC): $5,500 vs. IND
Ekeler hopes to take advantage of Melvin Gordon’s holdout as long as possible. The good news for DFS players is that we don’t have to worry about how long the holdout last. All we care about is if Gordon shows up for the current week. Ekeler will share touches with Justin Jackson, but the early projection is for Ekeler to get 60-70% of the work. Ekeler will be heavily involved in the passing game as well, which is crucial on DraftKings due to their point-per-reception scoring.
Matt Breida (SF): $4,000 @ TB
Breida will share work with Tevin Coleman, but at his price, I believe Breida to be the better play. It is always tough to make decisions based on the preseason, but it seems Breida will be involved in the passing game more than Coleman. Breida had a nice touchdown catch in the third preseason game. The San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers game has a Vegas total of 51 points, which is the second-highest on the slate. I expect Breida to get a lot of usage in this high-scoring affair.
Wide Receiver
Dede Westbrook (JAC): $4,800 vs. KC
Factoring in price, Westbrook is my favorite play of the slate. He is the number one option and his QB has gotten better this offseason. I’m not sold on Nick Foles as a Pro Bowler, but he is definitely a better QB than Blake Bortles. In Week 3 of the preseason when the starters saw action, Nick Foles threw ten passes with seven of those going to Westbrook. These two have clearly developed good chemistry in Foles’ first season with Jacksonville. Throw in the fact that the Jaguars are playing in the projected highest-scoring game of Week 1, and I think Westbrook is a slam dunk play.
Curtis Samuel (CAR): $4,200 vs. LAR
The biggest buzz of the offseason might have been around Curtis Samuel. Since Cam Newton is not on the injury report after sustaining a foot injury in the preseason, this makes Samuel a great play for Week 1. Samuel has big-play upside and makes a great tournament play. Carolina faces the Los Angeles Rams which will likely lead to a shootout. At his price, Curtis Samuel is tough to pass on for Week 1.
Tight End
Hunter Henry (LAC): $3,900 vs. IND
Tight end will be a difficult position to predict all season. The decision comes with paying up for Travis Kelce or taking the value route. Hunter Henry will likely be one of the top options for the Los Angeles Chargers this season. Coming off of a knee injury last season, Henry looked impressive in the preseason catching five passes for 35 yards.
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Nate Snodgrass is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nate, follow him @NSnods.
