NFL

FanDuel Daily Fantasy Football Preseason Helper: Week 2

Typically, in Week 2 of the preseason, teams will play their starters around a quarter. However, that's not always the case, so it's necessary to sift through the news and figure out which players may project for high volume.

FanDuel's Thursday Night Preseason NFL slate gives us five games. Since every player on the slate has the same price tag, salary cap is not an issue.

With that said, let's get into several players who stand to benefit from injury situations and/or project to play a lot of snaps tonight.

Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold -- Brian Costello of the New York Post speculates that Darnold may play around a quarter and a half. The second-year pro was highly efficient in last week's preseason opener, completing four of his five passes for 68 yards and one touchdown on his only drive.

Dwayne Haskins -- Haskins struggled in his preseason debut as he threw two interceptions. However, look for him to bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals' backups, who allowed a combined three touchdown passes to the less-heralded combination of Kyle Shurmur and Chase Litton. Haskins figures to split snaps with Case Keenum. (Colt McCoy is expected to sit out once again, and Jalen McClendon may get mop-up duty in the fourth quarter.)

Cody Kessler -- This will be a big game for the former USC Trojan. With the Philadelphia Eagles down to two quarterbacks tonight (Nate Sudfeld is injured and Carson Wentz expected to sit out) look for Kessler to get plenty of snaps under center before giving way to Clayton Thorson. Also working to Kessler's benefit is that Thorson looked completely inept in the team's first preseason game, completing just two passes on nine attempts for seven yards and one interception.

Others to consider: Kyler Murray, Case Keenum, Trace McSorley, Cody Kessler, Ryan Finley, Aaron Rodgers.

Running Backs

Dexter Williams -- The sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame rushed 14 times for 62 yards in last week's Green Bay Packers win over the Houston Texans. With both Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams dealing with injuries, Dexter should see plenty of action once again.

Devante Mays -- Mays appears to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the Jaguars' depleted backfield. With Leonard Fournette likely to play a minimal amount in this game, along with Thomas Rawls and Ryquell Armstead potentially nursing injuries. That leaves just Mays and Alfred Blue. Mays figures to see plenty of snaps after rushing for 20 yards on 8 carries in last week's game. He also caught one pass for two yards on three targets in that one.

James Butler -- Butler saw plenty of action in Week 1 of the preseason. The 24-year-old running back ran for 29 yards on 11 carries along with catching 4 passes for 25 yards on 7 targets. He played 62% of the team's offensive snaps. In the 2018 preseason (Jon Gruden's first season by the Bay), the Oakland Raiders gave backup running back Chris Warren a whopping 60 carries in four preseason games. It's possible that the team rides Butler in the preseason just like they did with Warren a year ago.

Others to consider: Brian Hill, Qadree Ollison, Josh Adams, Jordan Ellis, Justice Hill, Elijah McGuire.

Wide Receivers

Davante Adams -- Coming off a career year in 2018, Adams figures to be on the field for the first quarter alongside Aaron Rodgers in this week's game. In one quarter, Adams could easily post a top-three stat line on this slate.

Miles Boykin -- In last week's win, Boykin led the Baltimore Ravens with four receptions on nine targets. His nine targets in last week's game was the most out of any player on today's slate. The Ravens are raving about the former Notre Dame standout.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside -- The second-round pick was on the field for 51% of the team's offensive snaps in last week's game. Whiteside managed to catch 2 balls for 23 yards on 4 targets. The Philadelphia Eagles are particularly excited about the rookie pass catcher, and he has every incentive to deliver tonight as he battles Nelson Agholor on the depth chart.

Others to consider: Tyler Boyd, Greg Dortch, Deonte Thompson, Pharoh Cooper, Darvin Kidsy.

Tight Ends

Josh Perkins - Perkins played 44% of the team's offensive snaps in the preseason opener. He should see plenty of playing time with Dallas Goedert, and Richard Rodgers out with injuries.

Drew Sample - The Cincinnati Bengals are really thin at tight end. Sample, a 2019 second-round pick, figures to see plenty of action after posting one reception for seven yards on three targets in the Bengals' preseason opener. After tight end C.J. Uzomah parts with the starting offense, it's possible that Sample and Mason Schreck will be the only healthy tight ends active for Cincy.

Others to consider: Robert Tonyan, Jimmy Graham, Matt Flanagan, Ricky Seals-Jones, Caleb Wilson.



Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.