With Week 1 of the NFL season in the books, the usual weekly NFL schedule is upon us. That means DraftKings opening contests — and releasing salaries — for the week ahead on Sunday evening. In the fast-changing landscape of the NFL, that leaves plenty of time for obvious value to appear.
Let’s take a look at a few players who stand out for Week 2, using the early projections in our NFL Player Models. Of course, these models update frequently. Things will likely change between now and Sunday, but it’s still good to have a plan of attack.
If there’s news between now and lock — and there will be — the models will update to reflect that.
As always, they’re powered by Sean Koerner — the most accurate fantasy ranker in the industry from 2019-2021.
For full access to our models, you’ll need to sign up for a FantasyLabs subscription:
NFL DFS Quarterback Values
Daniel Jones ($5,100) New York Giants (-2.5) vs. Carolina Panthers (42.5 total)
In the not-so-distant past, DraftKings would leave backups priced far below starters at the position, creating obvious values when a starter unexpectedly goes down. That would’ve made the Cowboys Cooper Rush ($5,000) the obvious value here, but not anymore.
Jones is just $100 more than Rush on DraftKings, making him an obvious value. He had a respectable Week 1, scoring just over 18 DraftKings points against the Titans. Jones was under siege all game, taking five sacks from the Titans’ top 10 defensive line.
It should be easier sledding in Week 2 against a Panthers team that came into the season ranked 24th and produced one sack in Week 1. That should help Jones look downfield a bit more this week.
Even an identical performance to his ho-hum Week 1 would have him as the best Pts/Sal option on the slate though.
Our current projections have him scoring just under his opening game performance — and he still has the best Pts/Sal projection at quarterback. His rushing ability also gives him a path to some upside as well.
NFL DFS Wide Receiver Values
Greg Dortch ($3,500) Arizona Cardinals (+5.5) at Las Vegas Raiders (51.5 total)
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury had plenty to say about the expanded role for Rondale Moore ($4,100) in the offseason. With Deandre Hopkins suspended and Christian Kirk now in Jacksonville, there were a lot of targets in Arizona that needed new homes.
Of course, Moore then went down with an injury and missed Week 1. Enter Dortch, who was everything we hoped Moore would be last season. He drew nine targets, catching seven of them for 63 yards in Arizona’s opener. A whopping 60 of those yards came after the catch, with Dortch seeing almost zero air yards in the process.
Dortch is massively underpriced if Moore remains out in Week 2. It’s a bit too early to tell, but Moore’s hamstring pull came on the Thursday before Week 1, so another week on the sidelines wouldn’t be a surprise. Dortch should still have a role even with Moore back, but another nine targets seems unlikely.
His projections currently reflect Moore playing on Sunday, so be sure to check back if and when we get official news about Moore’s status.
NFL DFS Running Back Values
Darrell Henderson Jr. ($5,700) Los Angeles Rams (-10.5) vs. Atlanta Falcons (47.5 total)
It’s a bit of a surprise to see Henderson’s price so low coming into Week 2. In the NFL’s opener last Thursday, Henderson handled 13-of-17 running back carries for the Rams, with Cam Akers ($5,600) seeing just three. Henderson was the more effective runner as well, averaging 3.6 yards per carry to Akers’ zero.
Henderson was also involved in the passing game, catching five passes for 26 yards. He’s clearly the lead back in the Rams committee at this point — and it might not even be a committee.
That didn’t pay off much in Week 1, but that was against a tough Bills defense. The Rams are massive home favorites against Atlanta this week, so expect more focus on the ground game if this one lives up to oddsmaker’s expectations.
He should also be more efficient as well, with the Falcons defense expected to be far worse than Buffalo’s. Atlanta allowed the fifth-most DraftKings points to opposing running backs in 2021.
Henderson is tied for the lead in Pts/Sal projection at running back in Week 2 and leads the position in Projected Plus/Minus.
NFL DFS Tight End Values
Albert Okwuegbunam ($3,700) Denver Broncos (-9.5) at Houston Texans (43.5 total)
Albert O’s usage in Week 1 was encouraging. He drew six targets in the Broncos’ shocking upset loss to the Seahawks, catching five of them for 33 yards.
He was able to put up a respectable score on a night when the Broncos’ offense struggled, which is a good sign for his prospects moving forward. Denver lost two fumbles on plays that started at the one-yard line. In addition, a touchdown-saving tackle at the goal line was all that separated Albert from a big day.
That level of usage in an improved offensive environment is a recipe for success from a cheap tight end. He’s a fairly safe bet for a usable score relative to his punt salary and a touchdown away from a massive price-considered ceiling game.
He leads all sub-$4,000 tight ends in median projections for Week 2.
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