Maximus (Steve Kleisath) is a Fanduel focused player who specializes in smaller-field contests under 1,000 entries
Welcome to my inaugural article!
Week 1 is always unique as there is value everywhere, as both sites offer soft pricing on players in the contests to draw as many people in as possible to fill their big “lottery” style, large field contests to start the season. This is the one week where you may find yourself with salary left over still after constructing a balanced team.
Fanduel is offering a “No Sweat” Sunday Million contest for $5 per entry up to 150 teams, where all entries that do not make the minimum cash line get their entry fees returned as a credit to continue playing on the site. You can’t beat high reward and no risk.
Let’s dig into some positions and spots I am gravitating towards as I transition out of drafting Best Ball teams and into the weekly grind of DFS…
The third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Drake Maye enters his second year with the New England Patriots under new head coach and former Patriots hero Mike Vrabel as well as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Maye should have a better offensive line to operate behind, as the Patriots addressed their area of weakness by selecting Will Campbell 4th overall in the NFL Draft and adding multiple free agent signings. New England also added dynamic RB TreVeyon Henderson and free agent WR Stefon Diggs. The Patriots are a home favorite in Week 1 with a healthy 23.5 team total, and Maye is a dual-threat QB with rushing ability, which is another aspect that is ideal on FanDuel.
The 49ers are coming off a disappointing season, which was in part due to a litany of injuries. That beat has continued through training camp and the preseason this year. On the flip side, they have a much easier schedule on paper this season as a result of last season’s struggles, a healthy CMC and George Kittle, and Kyle Shanahan still at the helm. The WR room will be without Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and Demarcus Robinson (suspension), while Jauan Jennings (calf/contract) is also a question mark. This makes Ricky Pearsall, who has benefitted from getting the most reps with Brock Purdy the last few weeks, the de facto WR1 and leaves him criminally underpriced for his role and target potential in this offense for the foreseeable future.
With Evan Engram leaving for the Denver Broncos and no real competition behind him, Brenton Strange sets up for a productive season under new head coach Liam Coen. Strange should be on the field nearly every snap, which makes him a steal at his price in what should be a bounce back season for Trevor Lawrence. There is sneaky shootout potential in this game against a Panthers team with an improved QB of their own and a defense that still has a lot of questions.
