Saturday’s main slate differs by site. FanDuel features a six-game main slate starting at 6 p.m. ET, while DraftKings features a four-game main 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.
Don’t forget to check out our Lineup Builder if you like to hand build your lineups or our Lineup Optimizer for those of you that like to enter multiple lineups into tournaments — our optimizer allows you to make up to 300 lineups with one click of a button.
Let’s dive into some of my top plays for Saturday’s slate.
NFL DFS Quarterback Picks
Sometimes the preseason is about getting tuned up for the start of “real” football, but other times, it’s about auditioning for your future. That’s the case for Will Grier on Saturday.
The Cowboys traded for Trey Lance on Friday, and he’ll be the team’s No. 3 quarterback headed into the regular season. That means there’s no spot for Grier, and the Cowboys have already told Grier that they will cut him after their final preseason game.
That’s unfortunate for Grier, but they are going to give him the final preseason game to make an impression for the rest of the league. He’ll see every snap for the Cowboys on Saturday in hopes of securing another job elsewhere.
Grier has looked solid in his first two preseason outings. He’s completed 35 of 49 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns, and he had 16.36 DraftKings points in his first contest. Grier was also very productive in college, ranking in the 92nd percentile for yards per attempt, and he has some pedigree as a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Ultimately, Grier has everything at his disposal to leave Dallas on a high note. He’s the clear top quarterback option on Saturday’s slate.
Other Options
- Stetson Bennett – Bennett has been the Rams’ primary option at quarterback through the first two weeks of the preseason, logging 81% of the team’s snaps at quarterback. With the starters resting once again, another heavy workload is in the cards.
- Aidan O’Connell – The Raiders are reportedly “undecided” about whether their starters will play on Saturday. Even if they do suit up, it likely won’t be for very long. Backup QB Brian Hoyer also doesn’t need a ton of reps, so O’Connell should see most of the action at quarterback. He’s been impressive so far during the preseason, racking up 15.02 and 10.34 DraftKings points in his first two contests.
- Tommy DeVito – The Giants are not expected to play their starters on Saturday, while Tyrod Taylor likely won’t see more than a quarter. That leaves DeVito to play nearly the full game.
NFL DFS Running Back Picks
The big news for the Jets on Saturday is that Aaron Rodgers and the starters will see some action. Rodgers hasn’t played in the preseason in years, but with the change of scenery, the team wants to give him a bit of game action before a big Week 1 showdown vs. the Bills.
However, the team’s backfield isn’t in good shape at the moment. Breece Hall is off the PUP list, but he’s not expected to play vs. the Giants. Dalvin Cook is also expected to sit, while Israel Abanikanda suffered an injury last week. Michael Carter should see some work with the starters, but he likely won’t play much after that. That doesn’t leave a ton of bodies to handle the rest of the workload.
Zonovan Knight should see the majority of the opportunities at the position. He led the backfield with 29 snaps in Week 2, and he garnered eight carries and four targets. That was despite Abanikanda playing on two drives before getting injured.
Knight was a surprise contributor for the Jets down the stretch last season after Hall and Carter suffered injuries. He had four starts, and he rushed for at least 71 yards in two of them. He’s probably not an NFL-caliber starting running back, but he’s proven he can make the most of his workload.
Other Options
- Deuce Vaughn & Malik Davis – Both of the Cowboys’ running backs are in play this week. Davis has been the starting running back for the past two weeks, and he’s been the backfield leader in snaps. However, Vaughn has been the more impressive running back, racking up 64 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games.
- Zamir White – With Josh Jacobs back in the fold, the coast is clear for the Raiders to ride White in the final preseason contest. He’s been busy through the first two weeks, tallying at least 10 carries in both contests. He has 83 rushing yards and a touchdown, and with 4.40 speed, he has the potential to turn any attempt into a long score.
- Tank Bigsby – The starters are expected to play “up to one half” for the Jaguars on Saturday, which makes Bigsby an intriguing option. He’ll likely get some work with the first-team offense, and he could stay in the game after the starters depart. He’s played with the backups for most of the preseason, logging 27 snaps, 13 carries, and one target in Week 2. Bigsby has also been extremely impressive, averaging more than 5.5 yards per attempt.
NFL DFS Wide Receiver Picks
Receivers aren’t typically very busy during the preseason, but Andrei Iosivas stands out as an exception. He’s been insanely active through the Bengals’ first two preseason contests, logging 10 targets in both. He’s responded with nine catches for 94 yards, and he’s scored 6.9 and 7.0 DraftKings points.
With Joe Burrow still sidelined, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Bengals to run the rest of their starters out there. That means Iosivas should be busy once again.
The sixth-round rookie out of Princeton is a workout warrior. His PlayerProfiler page is full of promising athleticism numbers, ranking in the 80th percentile or better in basically every category. Overall, he grades out as the fifth-most athletic receiver in the entire 2023 class.
He was also extremely productive at Princeton, posting a 40.5% Dominator Rating. Players who check all those boxes have the potential to be draft-day steals, so Iosivas is certainly worth getting a long look at.
Other Options
- Kristian Wilkerson – Wilkerson is in his first offseason with the Raiders after entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He’s another intriguing athlete from a small school, playing his college ball at SE Missouri St. Like Iosivas, Wilkerson has been very busy during the preseason. He had five targets in his first outing, and he followed that up with 12 targets, five catches, 54 yards, and a touchdown in his second.
- Marvin Mims Jr. – With Jerry Jeudy suffering an injury at practice, Mims could be looking at a big role right out of the gates in his rookie season. That said, the coaching staff has still indicated that Mims will play “quite a bit” in Week 3. If that’s the case, he’s a really intriguing option. Mims was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he blazed a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine. He has the talent to torch backup cornerbacks.
- Dyami Brown – Brown was a third-round pick in 2021, but he is down to fourth on the depth chart heading into his third professional season. That means he’s not exactly an afterthought, but he’s not really integral to the team’s regular season success. He should see work with the starting unit in Week 3 alongside Jacoby Brissett, giving him one of the better quarterback pairings on the slate.
NFL DFS Tight End Picks
I am a sucker for playing starters at tight end during the preseason. It’s such a tough position to predict, so when a starting-caliber player has the potential to see an extensive workload, it’s tough to pass up.
Evan Engram fits that description on Saturday. Even if he just plays one quarter of football, that could still be enough to make him the highest-scoring player at a weak position.
Engram has always had the talent to make it as an NFL tight end, and he broke out in his first season with the Jaguars. He finished with a career-best 73 catches and 766 yards, and he would’ve had an even better season if not for a meager four touchdowns.
Other Options
- Zack Kuntz – Kuntz was a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but you wouldn’t know from looking at his PlayerProfiler page. He ranks in the 94th percentile or better in every athleticism metric, and his closest comparable is Mike Gesicki. That’s pretty high praise. He ran 17 snaps for the Jets last week, finishing with three catches for 18 yards.
- Charlie Kolar – The Ravens had a preseason superstar at TE last year with Isaiah Likely, but Kolar has been their top performer this year. He had just three targets last week, but he finished with an impressive two catches for 61 yards.
