Eighteen NFL teams are in action on Saturday. The top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft are expected to take the first snaps under center for their new teams. Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, will start for the Bears, while Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, will start for the Commanders. Williams didn’t play in last week’s Hall of Fame Game, so what can NFL daily Fantasy football players expect from the high-profile No. 1 overall pick in his professional debut when crafting their NFL DFS lineups?
The preseason is often dominated by players lower on the depth charts, so who are players fighting for a roster spot you could consider when making NFL DFS picks? Bills coach Sean McDermott said Josh Allen and the Bills starters will also play on Saturday, so how should they factor into your NFL DFS strategy? Before making any NFL DFS picks on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel for Saturday, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL daily Fantasy expert Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a NFL and DFS expert for SportsLine, who opened the 2022 NFL season by winning DraftKings’ NFL Showdown Thursday Kickoff Millionaire contest. He edged out over 355,000 other entrants in the contest and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Kaylor, who has been cashing big all season, has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, and his background as a former college and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks.
Kaylor hit on epic NFL DFS picks last season like Justin Jefferson (11-159), D’Andre Swift (175-1), DeVonta Smith (4-132-1), T.J. Hockenson (7-66-2), D.J. Moore (8-230-3), David Montgomery (121-3), Ja’Marr Chase (12-141, 11-149-1), Alvin Kamara (12-91, 76), Jordan Addison (7-123-2), Jahmyr Gibbs (152-1, 5-37), Javonte Williams (79, 3-31-1), Dak Prescott (331-4), CeeDee Lamb (12-116-1), DK Metcalf (6-143-3), Aidan O’Connell (248-4) and Puka Nacua (9-164-1). Anyone who has followed his picks is way up.
Now, Kaylor has turned his attention to Saturday’s 2024 NFL preseason games and just locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Top NFL preseason DFS picks for Saturday
One of Kaylor’s favorite DFS picks Saturday, where every player on DraftKings is $5,500 and $6,000 on FanDuel, is Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft was a preseason darling last season from his first contest, completing 8 of 11 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 36 yards against the Jets in the Hall of Fame Game in front of a national audience. He followed that by completing 9 of 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in his next contest.
Thompson-Robinson made three starts during the regular season for the Browns last season and averaged 140 passing yards and 21.7 rushing yards over those contests. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Cleveland will play some starters, but not quarterback Deshaun Watson. Despite playing in eight games last season and making three starts, Thompson-Robinson is fighting for his roster spot after the Browns signed Jameis Winston as the backup along with Tyler Huntley as additional quarterback depth. Thompson-Robinson should see extended snaps to showcase his talent, which he did through last year’s preseason.
Kaylor’s NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd. The Packers selected Lloyd in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft and if he can put together a strong preseason, he could become the No. 2 running back behind Josh Jacobs this season. AJ Dillon, the returning backup, struggled with his opportunities last year after averaging just 3.4 yards per carry on 178 attempts, which was part of the motivation for selecting Lloyd to strengthen the Green Bay running back room.
Lloyd rushed for 7.1 yards per carry and 820 yards last season at USC while adding 232 receiving yards over 11 games. He should be in line for a significant workload in his first preseason game and he showed his acceleration and ability to break huge runs at USC. Kaylor believes that explosiveness and big-play potential will be on display this Saturday. You can see the rest of Kaylor’s NFL DFS picks here.
How to build Saturday preseason NFL DFS lineups
Kaylor is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers on Saturday. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and the rest of Kaylor’s NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine.
So who is Jimmie Kaylor including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Saturday, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice and stacks, all from a DFS expert who already won a single-game millionaire maker tournament, and find out.
