This season marks the third year of our SimLabs tool being available to the public. It’s a powerful feature that allows casual players to build competitive lineups effortlessly — or serious players to leverage their convictions more effectively. We’ve also added the feature of being able to export lineups from SimLabs directly to our models for easy tweaking of lineups.
I broke down some general uses of the tool from an evergreen perspective last season. Moving forward, we’ll be checking out some suggested starting points for building lineups.
The process is simple: from the SimLabs home screen, first select the field size and desired range of outcomes for your lineups. The field size depends on the contest type, while the “results range” allows you to customize how unique you want your lineups to be.
Then, find the box titled “include players” and type your preferred options — then sit back and let the sims do their thing. You can generate as many or as few lineups as you want, then upload directly to DraftKings to be entered into contests.
For more on what SimLabs is and how it works, check out our user guide.
Let’s check out some potential starting points in Week 1.
Baker Mayfield + Mike Evans + Emeka Egbuka + Falcons Bring Back
It’s a wide-open week for GPPs, with a handful of games featuring similar totals. By far my favorite of the group is Bucs-Falcons, which I touched on in various spots in my Week 1 Breakdown. It’s not that I think this game is necessarily more likely to be a shootout than the others, but the relatively concentrated offenses (especially on the Tampa side) mean we know where the points will come from if it does.
Tampa is missing both Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan. That means most of their wide receiver targets will flow to Evans and rookie first-round pick Emeka Egbuka. Crucially, the Bucs also threw the ball more than 70% of the time when down by a touchdown or more last season, compared to 51% when leading by a touchdown or more.
While Tampa is favored, the spread is just 1.5, so there’s a good chance Atlanta leads at some point. Which makes the Falcons bring back the interesting part of this pick.
If you’re building around Atlanta and playing from the front, the obvious choice is running back Bijan Robinson. A closer game favors wide receiver Drake London, who needs plenty of volume to provide DFS value. Of course, there’s always Kyle Pitts, who is perpetually “set to break out.” I like going with Pitts or even Darnell Mooney (be sure to monitor Mooney’s injury status) for contests like the Milly Maker or Play Action, where the massive fields mean we need to be extra unique.
Jonathan Taylor + Dolphins Player
Last year, in seven games at Lucas Oil Stadium, Jonathan Taylor averaged just over 21 DraftKings points, with three games going for 28 or more:
That’s probably not a coincidence, since the turf in Indy plays fast, and the Colts are more likely to be favored at home. That’s the case in Week 1, and Daniel Jones getting the nod at QB also benefits Taylor since he won’t take as many carries as Anthony Richardson.
Running backs correlate fairly similarly with opposing backs, receivers, and tight ends. The correlation score is between 0.24 and 0.27 for all the above. That gives us a few choices for the Dolphins to bring back, including Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De’Von Achane.
Achane is catching some ownership steam so I’d only consider him in smaller contests, but both Dolphins wide receivers look like relatively contrarian options, despite the near-perfect situation. They’re slight underdogs at an indoor stadium against a relatively poor pass defense. While they both had a down year in 2024, this could be a perfect bounce-back spot.
Saints and Cardinals Game Stack
One of my refrains in Week 1 is that we don’t know as much as we think we do. We think we know that the Saints are going to be terrible this season — but what if they aren’t?
They have talent at the skill positions, with Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, and Chris Olave all capable of breaking slates. They’re at home in the “Coors Field of Fantasy Football” and scored at least 44 points in their first two games of 2024 with a similar offensive roster.
I’m more confident that their defense is terrible though, which makes this an intriguing game for DFS purposes. The Cardinals offense runs through Kyler Murray, James Conner, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Trey McBride. If this game stays close, Murray and one or two of the pass catchers should have a huge game. If the Cardinals control the action, it’s a great spot for Conner.
I’ll be building lineups based on a close game — so Murray and two pass catchers plus Kamara on the other side. If the Cardinals dominate, Conner paired with one or both Saints wide receivers, and potentially even QB Spencer Rattler, makes sense.
Pictured: Kyler Murray
Photo Credit: Imagn
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