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Week 1 DraftKings Tournament Picks

Stacks

Jayden Daniels ($5,700) + Terry McLaurin ($5,600)

Daniels’ combination of elite rushing and deep-passing ability gives him a clear path to the 25+ DraftKings points we need from our tournament QBs.

He debuts against an aggressive Todd Bowles defense that creates a wide range of outcomes for opposing offenses. We like that in tournaments. Don’t be surprised if Daniels beats the blitzing Bucs with a deep pass, a long run, or both.

He’s an easy stack with McLaurin, who should dominate targets for Washington. WR Jahan Dotson’s departure leaves Olamide Zaccheaus, Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Jamison Crowder, and Noah Brown behind McLaurin on the depth chart.

The Bucs ranked 26th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs last year – and lost CB Carlton Davis this offseason.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans ($7,300) and Chris Godwin ($5,800) are both strong runbacks on Commanders stacks.

Trevor Lawrence ($6,200) + Christian Kirk ($5,500)

We want exposure to Jaguars-Dolphins. It has the slate’s highest over/under at 49.5 points – and I like the over. We know how explosive Miami’s offense is. And their defense could take a big step back this season with key injuries and offseason departures on that side of the ball.

Lawrence, meanwhile, is coming off a super sharp preseason. He completed 79% of his passes, averaged 9.6 yards per attempt, and led all 93 qualifying QBs in Pro Football Focus passing grade.

With WR Gabriel Davis making his Jaguars debut and WR Brian Thomas Jr. making his NFL debut, look for Lawrence to lean on Kirk. 

It doesn’t hurt that Kirk has the best matchup among Jacksonville’s top three WRs against Dolphins slot CB Kader Kohou, who ranked 74th among 125 qualifying CBs in PFF’s 2023 coverage grades.

The trickiest part of this stack is figuring out who to use as the runback. WR Tyreek Hill ($8,700), WR Jaylen Waddle ($6,300), RB De’Von Achane ($6,800), and RB Raheem Mostert ($6,400) are all strong options.

Also consider:

• C.J. Stroud ($7,500) + Nico Collins ($7,000) + Tank Dell ($5,500)
• Anthony Richardson ($6,300) + Adonai Mitchell ($3,800)

Runnings Backs

There’s serious RB firepower missing on this slate – Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Saquon Barkley, among others – which means we can get a little weirder with our GPP plays at the position.

De’Von Achane ($6,800) and Raheem Mostert ($6,400), Dolphins

These two guys combined for eight games of 25+ DraftKings points last season (five by Achane, three by Mostert). Few other RBs on this slate have that type of ceiling. Yet both Achane and Mostert are reasonably priced.

They open against a Jacksonville defense that ranked 20th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs last year.

Consider mini-stacking Achane or Mostert with WR Christian Kirk.

Chase Brown, Bengals ($5,000)

We’ll get our first peek at Cincinnati’s new-look backfield this weekend. The workload distribution uncertainty between Brown and Zack Moss makes it a prime situation to attack in DraftKings tournaments.

It’s a good spot for the backfield in general. The Bengals are 7.5-point home favorites with a healthy 24.25-point implied total. And they’ll likely lean more on the RBs – on the ground and through the air – with WR Tee Higgins out and WR Ja’Marr Chase likely to be limited.

Brown is $800 cheaper than Moss and brings more big-play ability.

Also consider:

• Bijan Robinson, Falcons ($7,700)
• Travis Etienne, Jaguars ($7,200)
• Joe Mixon, Texans ($6,600)
• Ken Walker, Seahawks ($6,100)

Wide Receivers

Mike Evans ($7,300) and Chris Godwin ($5,800), Buccaneers

In case you forgot, the Commanders’ pass defense was atrocious last year. They allowed 161 more passing yards than any other team and finished dead last in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs.

This year’s starting CBs:

• Benjamin St. Juste (94th out of 125 CBs in PFF’s 2023 coverage grades)
• Michael Davis (103rd)
• Mike Sainristil (Round 2 rookie)

Evans is pricey but brings clear tournament-winning upside. He scored 25+ DK points five times last season.

Godwin underwhelmed last year, mostly because he scored only two TDs. He’s a prime rebound candidate in 2024 as he moves back into the slot under new OC Liam Coen. Godwin draws the rookie Sainristil in primary coverage this weekend.

Nico Collins ($7,000) and Tank Dell ($5,500), Texans

I expect a big game from Houston’s passing game in Indianapolis. QB C.J. Stroud totaled 648 passing yards and four TDs on 8.9 yards per attempt in two games against the Colts last year.

Stroud is tough to get to at $7,500, but I’ll be playing both of these Texans WRs.

Collins tortured the Colts in their two meetings last year: 7-146-1 in Week 2 and then 9-195-1 in Week 18. He dominated Cover 3 throughout the season, which the Colts tend to play at one of the highest rates in the league under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.

Dell is just too cheap for his upside. He topped 28 DK points in three of 11 games last year – and scored 20.2 in his only game against the Colts.

Also consider:

• Tyreek Hill, Dolphins ($8,700)
• Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins ($6,300)
• Drake London, Falcons ($6,000)
• Malik Nabers, Giants ($5,900)
• Terry McLaurin, Commanders ($5,600)
• Christian Kirk, Jaguars ($5,500)
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks ($4,900)
• Rome Odunze, Bears ($4,000)

Tight Ends

Taysom Hill, Saints ($4,300)

We don’t know exactly what Hill’s role will look like under new OC Klint Kubiak. But there are reasons to believe it’ll give him a high weekly fantasy ceiling.

HC Dennis Allen gushed about Hill multiple times this offseason. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote in August that the Saints are "leaning into the Taysom Hill experience." And Hill lined up in the backfield, out wide, in the slot, and inline this preseason.

His rushing upside looks particularly exciting this weekend. The Saints are without RB Kendre Miller and get a Panthers defense that ranked dead last in run defense DVOA last year.

Mike Gesicki, Bengals ($3,000)

WR Tee Higgins is out. WR Ja’Marr Chase will likely be on a snap count (if he plays at all). Yet the Bengals are still implied for 24.25 points – tied for fourth-most on the main slate.

Someone else is going to deliver for Cincinnati if they hit that total. The field is seemingly flocking to WR Andrei Iosivas, who’s projected for 15% ownership. But Gesicki is projected at just 5%.

A catch-first TE, Gesicki drew some buzz in training camp and played five of his eight preseason snaps in the slot.

Cheap, low-owned, and with nice TD upside, he’s exactly what we’re looking for in a tournament TE.

Also consider:

• Dalton Kincaid, Bills ($5,800)
• Kyle Pitts, Falcons ($4,600)
• Jonnu Smith, Dolphins ($3,500)
• Ja’Tavion Sanders, Panthers ($2,500)
• Theo Johnson, Giants ($2,500)

Defense/Special Teams

• Bears ($3,400)
• Falcons ($3,300)
• Steelers ($2,900)
• Titans ($2,800)
• Texans ($2,700)

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.