Fox SportsSep 11, 2026
FOX Sports Research's Week 1 daily fantasy column names its favorite DFS values at each position — Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, Saquon Barkley, Ashton Jeanty, Justin Jefferson, Chris Olave, Tetairoa McMillan and Trey McBride — plus the Bengals as a cheap punt defense, arguing each will outproduce their FanDuel salary.
Published in writing · Fox SportsRead the original
What Fox Sports said
From the top players worth their high price tags to cheaper options who could outperform their salaries, here are our favorite DFS plays for Week 1's Sunday slate.
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- Fox Sports
- The piece
- 2026 NFL Week 1 Daily Fantasy Football Picks: Best DFS Plays, Values
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How the call scored
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.
The call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Fantasy Defense CallsCincinnati Bengals
“At this price, we're willing to take a chance on the upgraded unit against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Derek Brown · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
Brown picked the Bengals to beat the Falcons in Madrid, the Packers to win outright in New England and the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night. They were bullish on Jonah Coleman's rest-of-season value, expected Jonathan Taylor to play for the Colts, floated a Breece Hall trade, and did not expect DJ Reed to play in Week 9.Eric Mangini · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
Mangini picked New England to beat Green Bay by more than a field goal, flagged Tampa Bay as their upset alert over Chicago, expects Kansas City to handle the Jets, took Buffalo over Minnesota, backed Cincinnati over Atlanta in Madrid, and updated their Super Bowl to Rams–Bengals.Rich Eisen · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
Previewing the Bengals-Falcons game in Madrid, Eisen expects Cincinnati to fall behind by two scores before Joe Burrow brings them back to win.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Cincinnati Bengals · Close 64
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.
More fantasy defense calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Jacob Herlin · Fantasy Defense Calls · Cleveland Browns · Hit 100
Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. They also expect Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter.Jake Ciely · Fantasy Defense Calls · Kansas City Chiefs · Hit 92
Seeley caps Kendrick Bourne as no more than a fantasy WR4, expects Adonai Mitchell to be the clear No. 2 in their passing game once healthy, believes Jordan Tyson should take over the No. 2 receiver role on talent, and names the Chiefs their top fantasy defense for Week 6 against the turnover-prone Chargers.Pat Fitzmaurice · Fantasy Defense Calls · Kansas City Chiefs · Hit 92
Fitzmaurice expects Woody Marks to have the Texans backfield to themselves and handle the vast majority of carries while David Montgomery is out, likes Jaleel McLaughlin's chance to lead the Browns backfield given the injuries there, sees Kendrick Bourne as Arizona's clear No. 2 receiver after the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade, and thinks Jordan Tyson is more likely to return in Week 9 than Week 7. They also call the Chiefs far and away the best streaming defense.Evan Silva · Fantasy Defense Calls · Baltimore Ravens · Hit 83
In their 2020 fantasy defense/special teams rankings, Silva puts the Steelers first, the 49ers second and the Ravens third, citing pass rush, favorable early schedules and game scripts.Andrew Erickson · Fantasy Defense Calls · San Francisco 49ers · Waiting
In his Week 2 'Beyond the Waiver Wire' column, Erickson makes a long series of buy/sell/add calls on individual players (sleepers vs. busts), plus a few specific role, availability and outlook predictions — notably that Jahmyr Gibbs scores again Thursday night, that Drew Lock remains Seattle's starter, and that Kenneth Walker III leads the NFL in rushing yards.Derek Brown · Fantasy Defense Calls · Dallas Cowboys · Waiting
Brown predicts Jordan Mason tops 1,000 rushing yards, picks the Bengals and Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl with top-12 fantasy defenses, and touts Parker Washington, Christian Watson, Casey Concepcion, Dontavion Wicks, Malik Willis, Jordan Love and Tyler Shuck as values while souring on Brian Thomas Jr.'s early season.