The first week of the 2022 NFL regular season concludes on Monday, but not before Russell Wilson returns to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Monday Night Football in his first game as a Bronco. Sports Interaction lists Denver as a 6.5-point favorite, and the game's over/under total currently sits at 44.5. Wilson will obviously be a fan favorite for NFL DFS lineups, perhaps warranting the Captain spot in DraftKings Showdown lineups. Today we will detail our full list of picks for this single-game daily fantasy football contest.
The Wilson trade obviously filled the most important hole in the Broncos organization while simultaneously leaving a gaping void in the Seahawks franchise. These squads are almost assuredly headed in opposite directions. all Denver really needed was a QB, whereas seemingly all Seattle had with Wilson wideouts DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett (and we'll give RB Rashaad Penny his flowers for his brilliant six-game stretch at the end of the season).
In 2021, we saw the Broncos seamlessly flaunt a successful 50-50 running back committee with Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon, but the true big picture of Denver's wide receiver room remained a mystery, as Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler battled injuries all season and Courtland Sutton dealt with the inconsistencies of QBs Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock.
So, what do we expect from a fantasy standpoint for this Monday Night Football showdown? Let's dive into our lineup, which we constructed using a rare and usually risky strategy.
MORE BRONCOS-SEAHAWKS: FanDuel Lineup
Here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They're full-point PPR and there are three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player's original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
DraftKings Showdown Picks: Broncos vs. Seahawks Week 1 Monday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): WR Courtland Sutton, Broncos ($14,100)
Manning our MNF Captain slot will be Sutton, one of my preseason breakout picks. It was between him and Wilson, but the star QB would have cost $3,600 more to Captain. Since we project Sutton to lead all non-QBs in PPR points, the value will be there with the 1.5x boost, and the cost won't seriously hamper the rest of our build. Wilson and Sutton have become close since training camp, and reports throughout the preseason made it clear that the fifth-year wideout has emerged as Wilson's go-to receiver. That's no small thing — remember Tyler Lockett's breakout year in 2018, pre-Metcalf? Being Mr. Unlimited's favorite pass-catcher can result in All-Pro votes. Sutton is a fantastic deep-ball receiver with a career average of 15.2 yards per catch, and at 6-4, 220 pounds, he also has the size and strength to win 50-50 balls to stand out as a red-zone threat. In his Pro Bowl 2019 season, the SMU product logged 72 catches for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. His QBs that season: 50-percent Joe Flacco, 30-percent Drew Lock, 20-percent Brandon Allen. With 100-percent of Wilson, Sutton could emerge as a consistent fantasy force.
WEEK 1 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
FLEX QB Russell Wilson, Broncos ($11,800)
Since we have Sutton in the Captain spot, it makes all the sense in the world to stack him with his new favorite football player. The Broncos are heavily favored against the defensively challenged Seahawks, and Wilson will relish the opportunity to produce results behind an actual NFL-caliber offensive line. Imagine the level of production he can reach with better protection, a consistent running game, and a solid defense to keep him rested. We have almost always seen Wilson start seasons strong — the MVP favorite in the first-halves of multiple seasons — but the endless pressure and the physical toll of scrambles, knock-downs, and sacks always caught up to him. Wilson has been one of my dark-horse MVP picks all preseason, and he should get off to a fantastic start against a Seahawks secondary that allowed the second-most passing yards (and first downs) in 2021. The Broncos will "let Russ Cook" from the jump, and he should easily net 20-plus fantasy points against his old squad. Take a quick look at Wilson's Week 1 performances the past few seasons:
| Year | Pass Yds | Yds/Att. | TDs | FPts | Rank |
| 2021 | 254 | 11.0 | 4 | 27.1 | QB8 |
| 2020 | 322 | 8.0 | 4 | 31.8 | QB1 |
| 2019 | 195 | 9.8 | 2 | 16.6 | QB17 |
| 2018 | 298 | 9.0 | 3 | 20.4 | QB9 |
That's just a hair under 24 fantasy points per Week 1 game despite being sacked an average of four times across those contests. Pick Wilson behind the best offensive line of his career, not just because of his massive ceiling but also because of his solid season-opening floor.
WEEK 1 DFS: Best values | Best stacks
FLEX RB Javonte Williams, Broncos ($10,200)
Like Sutton and Wilson, Williams has found his way onto a handful of my redraft league rosters this season. Even 2021 timeshare-partner Melvin Gordon III, who had a completely even 50-50 carry split with the rookie last season (203 each), has acknowledged that Denver "wants 'Vante to be the guy." While both backs were effective last season, netting over 900 yards on the ground, Williams proved the better pass-catcher and open-field playmaker. Gordon, 29, also has seven years on 'Vonte and just signed a $2.5 million contract to stay in Mile High. He knows the writing on the wall, just like the rest of us. With former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Lockett now coaching the Broncos, we can see an Aaron Jones-like dual-threat emergence for the second-year stud. The emergence should start this week against a Seahawks squad that allowed the second-most fantasy points to RBs last season.
WEEK 1 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker
FLEX TE Albert Okwuegbunam, Broncos ($5,000)
Albert O will be the true wild card of this lineup. Admittedly, we usually shy away from stacking this many offensive weapons from the same team, but in an expected blowout (yes, we have Denver winning by well over a touchdown...thanks for that gift, sportsbooks!), it makes sense to stack their assets. Seattle allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the tight end position last season, and at 6-5, 260 pounds, Albert O could be Wilson's next big-body, end-zone target.
WEEK 1 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker
FLEX Broncos D/ST ($4,800)
Do not adjust your screen resolution — we did indeed roster four different pieces from the Broncos. But the Seahawks have very little to get excited about offensively! In a QB battle between Geno Smith and Drew Lock, everyone loses. Rashaad Penny would be our top target if we did in fact want some Seattle offense, but $7,800 is tough to stomach. Sometimes, you have to weigh out if one player (Penny) can produce as much in the $8,000 range as two players in the territory of the $4,000s. In this case, we'd rather have more value divided into our last two spots. Seattle will make plenty of mistakes, and the Broncos D looks healthy to start the year.
FLEX K Jason Myers, Seahawks ($4,000)
We leave $100 on the table after selecting Myers as our only Seahawk. Whatever you want to call this — a 5/1 build, a five-player stack, complete insanity — it does make sense in this instance. Seattle could easily be held to a few field goals. This is the worst Seahawks team we have seen in years, and it will need some time to adapt to life without Russ. Since we need to roster at least one representative from each team, we're going with what should be guaranteed points from Myers. He has a pretty good boot even from 50-plus yards, and he's two years removed from a perfect 24-for-24 season. Laces out.
