Consider your daily fantasy football advice needs taken care of this week with our weekly lineup picks. Our Week 1 Yahoo DFS tournament lineup should get us off to a good start, as we're loading up at RB and mining for value with our WRs.
You might scoff at our trio of reasonably priced wide receivers, but while this unit lacks a “sexy” household name, each is positioned to be heavily utilized in his team's respective offense -- perhaps even function as the WR1 this week. Meanwhile, the savings gives us the necessary cash to trot out a trio of do-everything backs.
MORE WEEK 1 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Before we break down our picks, just a reminder of some key rules for Yahoo DFS. It's essentially the same as FanDuel, with four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR. In the past, the Sunday Night Football game used to be available on Yahoos' main slate, but that won't be the case this year.
TNF DFS LINEUPS: DK Showdown | Yahoo single game | FD single game
Yahoo DFS Picks Week 1: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Sunday main slate, $200 budget, no more than six players from the same team
QB Kirk Cousins, Vikings @ Bengals ($28). The Vikings offense takes a bit of a blow with the loss of tight end Irv Smith Jr. (knee), but Cousins is headed into a favorable matchup and still has a pair of high-end receivers to target and a good pass-catching back. He's good value at QB10 pricing.
RB Christian McCaffrey Panthers vs. Jets ($39). McCaffrey will be involved in every facet of the game and serve as a priority when the Panthers advance deep into their opponent’s territory. There is enough value on the slate to warrant his RB1 this week.
MORE WEEK 1 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
RB Dalvin Cook, Vikings @ Bengals ($38). While it may not be the most likely stack to hit, Cook does have a weekly role in the passing game — he’s averaged nearly 46 receptions per season since 2018 — and is always a threat to take a screen pass into the paint. Few other entries with have both McCaffrey and Cook, so we're hoping for some high-end differentiation.
WR Corey Davis, Jets @ Panthers ($15). With the reported connection Davis and rookie quarterback Zach Wilson have developed, there is a high likelihood Davis operates as a target hog over the open portion of the season, if not all 17 games. The Panthers matchup will be tougher than many expect, but it’s worth a bet on the projected volume here.
WEEK 1 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
WR Jerry Jeudy, Broncos @ Giants ($15). Though there were some positives from Jeudy’s rookie season, and the expectation is he’ll take a significant step in 2021, especially with a more accurate QB under center. On the plus side, he averaged 16.5 yards/catch, and with more consistency in Year 2, he’ll be in position to turn opportunity into production.
WR Laviska Shenault, Jaguars @ Texans ($15). Travis Etienne (foot) is out for the year, and DJ Chark has missed most of camp with a broken finger. That is the long way of saying "Shenault will be heavily involved Sunday." The Jags are favored on the road against the Texans, and they’ll likely take advantage of Shenault's playmaking ability to a large degree.
WEEK 1 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
TE Jonnu Smith, Patriots vs. Dolphins ($15). Attempting to key on which Patriot will excel in a given week can be a bit of a fool’s errand. However, Smith was paid a lot of money in the offseason, and we fully expect him to a defined role in the offense. Tight ends are often a rookie QB's best friend -- especially when said rookie QB doesn't have a WR corps that will command a significant target share.
Flex (RB) Najee Harris, Steelers @ Bills ($20). Sometimes, the potential rewards outweigh the risks. When it comes to the volume of rushing, receiving, and scoring opportunities Harris will handle this season, we can accept the concerns surrounding his offensive line and this matchup. The Steelers love to lean on workhorse backs when they have a good one, and there should be plenty of work for Harris in a game against a high-scoring offense.
WEEK 1 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, Sit 'em
DEF 49ers @ Lions ($12). With as much buzz — positive for the Niners, negative for the Lions — these two teams have received, don’t expect to be in the minority by grabbing the Niners D/ST. However, San Francisco’s defense is healthy and primed for a bounce-back campaign. They opened as seven-point road favorites, and are too enticing to pass up at $12.