NFL Preseason DFS Breakdown (Friday, Aug. 11): Lions-Giants Has Plenty of Appeal

Friday features a six-game slate starting at 7 p.m. ET.

If you’re new to preseason DFS, it’s completely different than it is during the regular season. Instead of looking to the players at the top of the depth chart, we’re going to focus on the players at the bottom. Finding the players who are going to see the most snaps each week is the main goal, and those players tend to be the backups early in the preseason.

Combing through the news is also extremely important. Not every coach treats the preseason the same way, so finding out which players will play is a bit more difficult than it is during the regular season.

Fortunately, we do have our NFL Models to help. We have projections available for all four teams on Friday, so we’re not exactly flying blind.

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Let’s dive into some of my top plays for Thursday’s slate.

NFL DFS Quarterback Picks

The Lions stand out as the preeminent squad on this six-game slate. They’re not expected to play most of their starters and veterans, including Jared Goff at quarterback. That leaves the team with two signal callers: Nate Sudfeld and Adrian Martinez.

Sudfeld is higher on the depth chart, so he will likely get the start vs. the Giants. He’s had limited NFL opportunities during the regular season, but he has historically thrived in the exhibitions. He was fantastic for the Eagles in 2018, racking up 174.7 yards per game with five passing touchdowns. He also had two passing scores with the 49ers last year while completing 68.4% of his passes.

He’ll likely see at least a half of football in this contest, making him the clear top option at QB. His median and ceiling projection are easily the top marks in our NFL Models, which is not something that you typically see in the preseason.

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Other Options

• Tyrod Taylor – The Giants are another team to target on Friday, with most key veterans getting the night off. That leaves just Taylor and undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito at QB. Taylor has reportedly had a strong camp, while DeVito is probably more of a practice squad option at QB. Taylor brings some athleticism to the position, racking up more than 2,000 rushing yards in his career, and he’s been good enough to start games at the NFL level. He should be able to carve up preseason defenses.
• Logan Woodside – The Falcons are expected to get some reps for their first-team guys on Friday, which is normally a negative for preseason DFS. However, they only have three options at QB: Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, and Woodside. With the top two guys pretty entrenched, I don’t think either will see a ton of snaps in the first preseason contest, leaving Woodside to handle the rest.
• Skylar Thompson – Tua Tagovailoa is not going to play this week, and he probably shouldn’t see any action this preseason. That leaves Mike White and Thompson as the remaining QB options. White was acquired to be the backup this offseason, while Thompson was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s more of a developmental project, so getting him as much playing time as possible during the preseason makes sense.

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NFL DFS Running Back Picks

De’Von Achane leads the way at running back in our NFL Models, and I am enamored with him heading into the season. The Dolphins have a pretty weak depth chart at running back, with Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. occupying the top two spots. With a strong preseason, the third-round pick from Texas A&M could easily vault himself to the top of the position.

Achane fits the Dolphins’ offense like a glove. He has speed to burn, clocking a 4.32 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. That puts him in the 99th percentile for the position, and Player Profiler lists his closest comparable as Chris Johnson. He’s drawn rave reviews during training camp, with Jaylen Waddle telling reporters that he’s done some “amazing stuff” and is “going to be good.”

If anything, I’d worry that Achane is too good to risk during meaningless preseason contests.

That said, Achane should get a handful of opportunities early in this contest, and he only needs one touch to potentially record a long score.

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Other Options

• Eric Gray – The Giants are pretty banged up at the skill positions currently. Gray is currently battling Matt Breida for the backup RB job, and he should get plenty of opportunities on Friday. The 2023 fifth-round pick from Oklahoma isn’t the greatest athlete, but he was productive with the Sooners. He tallied 1,364 rushing yards and 11 scores in his final collegiate season, and he’s a very strong pass-catcher out of the backfield.
• Mohamed Ibrahim – This Giants-Lions game could easily be the best of the day for fantasy purposes. The Lions aren’t expected to play David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs on Friday, while Craig Reynolds sat out their last practice. That leaves a pretty small group of players to handle the RB touches, especially with Devin Ozigbo and Benny Snell only signing in the past few days. Ibrahim was an absolute workhorse in college, posting a 45.9% Dominator Rating and averaging more than 26 carries per game in his senior season. The undrafted rookie should be plenty busy in this matchup.
• Chase Brown – Brown is another fifth-round rookie from the 2023 draft, and he’s extremely intriguing from an athleticism standpoint. He blazed a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine, and he has elite strength and agility metrics as well. Like Ibrahim, Brown also proved capable of carrying a huge workload in college, turning 328 carries as a senior into 1,643 yards. The Bengals have some touches available after losing Samaje Perine in the offseason, so expect them to let Brown try to win them.

NFL DFS Wide Receiver Picks

It’s rare that a talented player gets tons of opportunities in the preseason, but it sounds like that could be the case with Jameson Williams. The former first-round pick was limited to just six games as a rookie, and he’ll miss the first six games of 2023 due to a gambling suspension. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that head coach Dan Campbell said he’s going to “douse” him with game reps during the preseason.

Williams is the latest star receiver from Alabama to enter the league. He turned in a fantastic final campaign in 2021, racking up 79 catches for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns. He added two scores on special teams, and special teams’ success in college tends to correlate with success in the NFL. Williams put his speed on display during the combine, posting a 4.39 40-yard dash.

Predicting receiver success in the preseason is difficult, so targeting the best players who are going to see the most snaps is about as good as you can do. Williams checks both of those boxes on Friday.

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Other Options

• Jalin Hyatt – Tank Dell was the star of the preseason on Thursday, racking up five catches for 65 yards and a score. Dell played with the starters and first wave of backups, and Hyatt could see a similar role with the Giants. He’s impressed during training camp and has seen some time with the starters recently, while Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Sterling Shepard could all rest in Week 1. That should leave Hyatt with plenty of opportunities. If you want to go further down the Giants’ depth chart, Bryce Ford-Wheaton is a size-speed freak, checking in at 6’4” while running a 4.38 40-yard dash.
• Jayden Reed – The Packers are going to give Jordan Love some reps on Friday, and Reed fits the same archetype as Dell and Hyatt. He should see some snaps alongside the starters, but he should play with the backups as well. Reed is another player who has had an impressive training camp, and his skill set as a slot receiver plays well in PPR formats.
• Andrei Iosivas – Iosivas competed at Princeton on both the football and track squads, so you know he brings some speed to the table. Iosivas also has some size at 6’3” and 205 pounds, and he has reportedly been impressive at training camp. He’ll be looking to earn a roster spot as a sixth-round pick, so he should see plenty of opportunities on Friday with most of the starters resting.

NFL DFS Tight End Picks

Trying to pick a tight end in preseason DFS is a fool’s errand. Nick Muse did manage to secure a touchdown for the Vikings yesterday, but he was owned in just 3.5% of DFS lineups. Ultimately, that seems like the best way to approach the position in the preseason: pick someone random and hope you get lucky.

For what it’s worth, Luke Musgrave is grading out best among tight ends in our NFL Models. He’s the rare starter who is expected to play in Week 1, and he should be on the field for as long as Love is. Musgrave has gotten snaps both out wide and as a traditional tight end during training camp, so he has a bit more pass-catching prowess than most of the other options at the position. If he can catch a couple passes when he’s on the field, that should be enough to make him worthy of a roster spot.

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Other Options

• Daniel Bellinger & Lawrence Cager – Like with most of the other positions, the Giants are a strong team to target at tight end on Friday. Bellinger and Cager should see most of the reps in the first half, with Bellinger getting the slightest of edges in our NFL Models. He turned in a strong rookie season for the Giants, but the acquisition of Darren Waller has moved him down the depth chart.
• James Mitchell – Sam LaPorta is expected to start at tight end for the Lions this week, but with most of the other starters resting, he likely won’t be around for long. Mitchell was a fifth-round pick in 2022, but he garnered just 11 targets as a rookie. The Lions could decide to get a look at him during the preseason.
• Devin Asiasi – Asiasi was one of two tight ends drafted by the Patriots in 2020, but the third-round pick never really got the chance to make an impact. Maybe that will change with the Bengals, at least during the preseason. He displayed some pass-catching chops in college, racking up 44 catches for 641 yards in his final collegiate season.