NFL DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Expert Survey for Week 1

by Robert Brown (Epignosis) Last Updated 2025-09-05 15:11:21 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

Our panel of experts is here to give you their insights on NFL DFS today for the Week 1 main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. They’re ready to answer key questions that will assist you in making those crucial lineup-building decisions. Curious about Noto’s favorite correlation? Or perhaps you’re wondering about Davis Mattek’s favorite contrarian play? Read their thoughts below!

NFL DFS DraftKings & FanDuel Expert Survey: Week 1 Picks

Rank your three favorite players for cash games, in order:

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What is your favorite correlation and why?

Notorious: Trevor Lawrence + Brian Thomas Jr. + Tetairoa McMillan – Defensive metrics from last season don’t mean a ton, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that these were the two worst defenses in EPA per dropback. The Jaguars brought in an offensive-minded coach and added Travis Hunter in the draft, which should lead to a breakout year for Lawrence. It should also help take some pressure off of BTJ as the WR1 in Jacksonville. It’s hard to believe, but the Jaguars have the 4th-highest team total on the main slate. I like bringing the Lawrence + Thomas stack back with McMillan, who could have a huge rookie season with the Panthers. He was a touchdown-scoring machine in college and is underpriced in Week 1. This is a cheap stack that has plenty of upside.

stevietpfl: Trevor Lawrence + Brian Thomas Jr. + Tetairoa McMillan – T-Mac is a tall (6’4”) wide receiver and was a touchdown machine in college at Arizona. Over his last 2 seasons at Arizona, he had 1,721 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also caught 8 touchdowns his freshman season. He was drafted 8th overall and has a lot of upside in an offense that should be trailing on Sunday. The Lawrence to Thomas combo is my favorite stack of Week 1. Thomas finished 3rd in the NFL last season with 1,282 receiving yards. He ran a route on 82.8% of dropbacks and owned 33.9% of the team’s air yards. Jacksonville threw the ball 61% of the time last season and was 1 of only 11 teams that was at least 60% in both the 1st half and 2nd half. Carolina had a weak secondary last season, and I look forward to Lawerence testing them in Week 1.

Krayton: Christian McCaffrey + Jaxon Smith-Njigba – As long as CMC is healthy, his price tag is way too cheap for the upside he possesses. The 49ers offense is now missing Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and with CMC fully healthy, he is going to have plenty of opportunities to put up numbers on Sunday. He also gets quite a few targets, and with the WR corps looking different than last season, I expect them to lean on CMC as much as possible in both targets and rushing attempts. On the Seattle side, JSN is a receiver I have a lot of interest in this season, both in season-long leagues as well as DFS. With DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett both gone, JSN should have plenty of opportunities to make big plays. CMC will be fairly popular this weekend, but I don’t think JSN will be, and I like getting exposure to key players in both sides of this game.

ebeimfohr: Drake London + Mike Evans – There are a ton of good receiver plays on this slate, including in this game with rookie Emeka Egbuka, but the pairing of London and Evans is elite at their respective pOWN%. I am comfortable with either QB in this game or simply playing these two as a secondary correlation. But London projects (for me) for the single highest target share on the slate, and we saw that in both a limited sample last season with Michael Penix Jr. at QB and all of training camp. While Egbuka is stealing all the shine and pOWN%, Evans also benefits from the lack of Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan (plus a banged-up Cade Otton) against an exploitable Falcons secondary. We know what Evans brings to the table with his ceiling in spots like these, yet he’s trailing behind in pOWN% on this slate at reasonable prices.

ncorfield8k: Joe Flacco + David Njoku + Jerry Jeudy – We’ll find out pretty quickly if Flacco is washed. Or better yet, we might not. Because even a worn-down Flacco might have success against this Bengals defense. The Browns should play at a fast pace and be focused on the pass in this game, particularly with the Bengals offense on the other side. I particularly like Njoku for his TE eligibility and Jeudy for his ability to separate and give Flacco openings against this defense.

Davis Mattek: Joe Flacco + 2 pass catchers – The Bengals are bringing to the field one of the worst defenses in the AFC. Kevin Stefanski had the Browns running a top-5 PROE offense with Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Jameis Winston. Flacco is a much steadier hand than those 3 and was actually efficient for the Colts on added dropback volume last season. Jerry Jeudy led the NFL in routes last season, and we are expecting over 80% route participation for David Njoku and Cedric Tillman.

Jordan Vanek: Michael Penix Jr. + Drake London + Bucky Irving + Emeka Egbuka – The Buccaneers lived in zone coverage last season, and in Penix’s small sample as the starter, London commanded over a 40% target share against zone. With Darnell Mooney sidelined for the past month, the chemistry throughout camp has flowed entirely to London, making him the clear focal point. On the other side, Irving could realistically be 3rd on the team in targets. While the Falcons didn’t face him in a full workload last season, he caught 7 passes in their second matchup, showing how involved he can be. Then there’s Egbuka – one of the most pro-ready WRs you’ll find. Brian Hartline consistently sends polished wideouts into the league, and Egbuka has little competition for targets in this spot. He’ll likely draw a rookie in the slot or Mike Hughes, who was on the wrong side of the infamous 4-TD game from Gabe Davis. I love this game environment on both sides, and with Tampa Bay’s coverage tendencies, Penix has a real chance to carve them up the way Kirk Cousins did last season – throwing 8 touchdowns across their 2 meetings.

Who’s your favorite contrarian play (below 10% pOWN%) and why?

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