Daily Fantasy Football Week 1: Top Picks, Lineup Advice for DraftKings, FanDuel

The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the 2020 NFL season on Thursday night with a 34-20 win over the Houston Texans. The game featured plenty of strong performances from fantasy veterans like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, but it was also a coming-out party for Chiefs rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The former LSU star rumbled for 138 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

While Edwards-Helaire has received plenty of fantasy buzz ahead of Week 1, he still provided managers with value in daily fantasy sports (DFS) formats.

If you missed out on playing Edwards-Helaire in Week 1, don't fret. We're here to help you recover with some top value picks for the remainder of the opening-week slate. Let's dig in.

Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons: $6,700 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel

While younger quarterbacks like Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson have become the headliners in fantasy, some elder vets still carry a ton of DFS upside. The 35-year-old Matt Ryan, for example, is consistently one of the most prolific passers in the league. He's passed for at least 4,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in each of the past nine seasons.

This is partially due to the Atlanta Falcons having star wideout Julio Jones at the forefront of its receiving corps, and whenever Jones is healthy, Ryan is a sound play in fantasy. With the Seattle Seahawks coming to town, he's a tremendous play this week.

While the Seahawks did add Jamal Adams to their secondary in the offseason, they still possess a pass defense that is above average at best. Seattle ranked 27th against the pass and 22 in points allowed last season while producing a mere 28 sacks.

Matt Schaub started in place of Ryan when these two teams met last season, and he ripped off 460 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. Expect Ryan to have similar numbers in the yardage department with an extra score or two tacked on. At his price, he can be a huge DFS bargain.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders: $6,800 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel

John Locher/Associated Press

The Las Vegas Raiders made some notable additions to their receiving corps in the offseason, drafting the likes of Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards and signing Nelson Agholor and Jason Witten. However, their offense is still likely to run through Josh Jacobs and the ground game.

Head coach Jon Gruden may even be extra motivated to showcase Jacobs early in the season.

"When he wasn’t Rookie of the Year, I think Jon [Gruden] took it personally. Jon was upset about it. I think he wants to make people realize they made a big mistake," The Athletic's Vic Tafur told CBS Sports.

Jacobs should have a chance to shine in Week 1 against a Carolina Panthers defense that ranked 29th in run defense and 31st in points allowed last season. The Panthers did draft defensive help in Derrick Brown and Yetur Gross-Matos, and defensive tackle Kawann Short returns after missing all but two games last season, but don't expect them to suddenly have a top-five unit.

Jacobs should feast this week, and he's going to make many a fantasy manager happy to have him rostered.

Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: $6,400 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel

The beauty of DFS is that managers can play to matchups. Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen isn't going to be a high-end play every week now that Tyrod Taylor is under center instead of Philip Rivers. However, he is still the team's No. 1 receiver and will be worth starting when the matchups are favorable.

The Chargers are on the road in Week 1, but they'll be visiting the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that ranked 21st against the pass and 25th in points allowed last season.

With rookie quarterback Joe Burrow leading an underrated Bengals offense, Cincinnati should put up enough points to prevent L.A. from going into closeout mode with the run game early. This should provide Allen with opportunities throughout the game.

Adding to the likelihood that Allen sees a heavy workload is the fact that fellow wideout Mike Williams is dealing with a shoulder injury and is expected to be a game-time decision.

Hayden Hurst, TE, Atlanta Falcons: $4,300 Draftkings, $5,300 FanDuel

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

We've already discussed the matchup the Falcons face against a lackluster Seattle defense. As well as Ryan's, it also boosts the DFS value of pass-catchers like Jones, Calvin Ridley and tight end Hayden Hurst. The latter, in particular, could be a sneaky-good sleeper play, as he's still being undervalued.

Hurst hasn't done much in his NFL career, but he's also been stuck behind Mark Andrews on the Baltimore Ravens depth chart. Now that he's in Atlanta, he should be the primary pass-catching tight end and one of Ryan's favorite targets.

Expect Hurst to produce numbers similar to those of former Falcons starter Austin Hooper. Hooper had 75 catches for 787 yards and six touchdowns last season, putting him firmly in the second tier of tight ends after Travis Kelce and George Kittle.

That's where Hurst is likely to settle too, though he isn't being valued like it heading into Week 1.