FanDuel NFL picks and advice for Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season to help build a winning DFS fantasy football lineup to open the year.
The NFL season is back, and with it returns the weekly joy and money-making opportunities of daily fantasy football. Whether you have years of experience or are just deciding to get into daily fantasy for the first time, this article will share both general tips and week-specific advice so that you can give yourself the best chance at a profitable week.
For those unfamiliar, FanDuel splits up the different playable slates based on the times of the games. This article will cover what is referred to as the main slate, so the non-primetime games. For Week 1, this means that players from the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, and Las Vegas Raiders will all be unavailable.
While you can still play daily fantasy with these players in single-game slates, both the strategy and format completely changes when compared to that of the main slate.
The only other thing you must consider before you jump into making lineups is what type of contests you want to enter. FanDuel offers many different formats, though the two most common are 50/50s and tournaments. The former pays out approximately double the entry fee for finishing in the top half of participants while the latter pays out a fewer percentage of participants, but at an exponentially higher rate depending on placement.
While it may be tempting to attempt taking down a large tournament, 50/50s are an essential part of daily fantasy if you want to be able to consistently grow your bankroll and learn the basics of daily fantasy. I would recommend beginners to put around 80 percent of their entry fees into 50/50s while more experienced players can put about half of their weekly entries into tournaments and half into 50/50s.
When talking about players I will reference the salaries and salary cap of a typical FanDuel tournament. I will also show a complete sample lineup, which consists of nine positions: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, FLEX, and DEF. Note that your individual strategy should change based on the type of contests you enter, though I will reference different strategies for both cash and tournament formats.
FanDuel Week 1 picks and lineup advice: Quarterback
When choosing a quarterback in daily fantasy, especially in Week 1 with nearly every quarterback on the slate, it is extremely important to stay focused on a few games and hone in on a few quarterbacks that you like at different price points. If you spread your lineups up too much it will make it much harder for all your lineups to perform.
Another essential tip when creating a lineup for a tournament is making sure to stack your quarterback with at least one of their receiving options. This is because there is obviously a high correlation between the performance of a receiver and their quarterback.
Of the most expensive quarterbacks, Kyler Murray ($8,400) is a standout pick. He plays in a game with the second-highest projected over-under of the week and carries more rushing upside than any other quarterback on the slate. When you take into account he is facing a slightly improved but still weak Tennessee secondary, Murray figures to be the top QB play on the slate.
Ryan Tannehill ($7,700) is also an appealing play on the other side of the ball, though he certainly represents less of a value than Murray due to rushing upside. Regardless, I will be trying to fit as many players from this game into my lineup as possible.
Similar to the Cardinals versus Titans game, I view the quarterbacks in the Eagles and Falcons game similarly. Jalen Hurts ($7,600) is the budget Kyler Murray with comparable rushing ability albeit a worse arm with less receiving talent around him. Matt Ryan ($7,300) is as stable a quarterback as they come and should be able to do some damage against a weak Philadelphia secondary.
Finally, if you are looking for a real salary saver look no further than Sam Darnold ($6,500). While there is certainly a revenge narrative at play here, the more important things to consider are his weapons around him and his low salary. If he can just play at a competent level, 250 yards and two touchdowns should be a given and more than enough to pay off his salary.