FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 1 Sunday Night (Cowboys at Giants)

Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season is capped with a high-profile NFC East showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. The Cowboys are expected to contend for a Super Bowl berth after minor tweaks to a roster that won 12 games a year ago, and the Giants are looking to continue to build on the foundation that Brian Daboll brought in his first year with the team.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5-times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and numberFire has projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

MVP Candidates

You could realistically turn to five MVP candidates on this slate, which means the depth and diversity should make it a good one.

In a bit of surprise to me, Daniel Jones ($16,500) is the highest-salaried player on the slate, but it's hard to dispute Jones' value as a high-floor quarterback. He added 45.2 rushing yards per game on the ground last year and really finished the season strong with two efforts eclipsing 29 FanDuel points in his final three games. He's positioned in an unheralded DFS spot as a slight, 3.5-point underdog, according to the NFL Week 1 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

I'd still imagine Dak Prescott ($16,000) will be the more popular option as a favorite, and Prescott's underrated 2023 saw the Cowboys as third-highest scoring offense in the league last year. With fewer reliable options in the backfield, Dallas might lean heavier on the pass in 2023 than Mike McCarthy would like you to believe. Both quarterbacks are in play at the multiplier and not particularly intrusive to stack in cash games.

Though the Cowboys added a nose tackle in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP) model pegged Dallas as the 12th-best defense against the rush last year, but they were 4th-best against the pass. If that's still the path of least resistance, Saquon Barkley ($14,500) could be a sneaky MVP choice. Barkley could eclipse his gargantuan 2022 role in this contract year while having already played 80.1% of the snaps and receiving 26.8 adjusted opportunities per game a season ago.

Then, there are two other Dallas options I'm a bit more skeptical about at MVP that are still great flex options.

Tony Pollard ($13,500) has two key concerns. First, he's returning to action on Sunday for the first time since breaking his leg in last year's NFC Divisional round, and secondarily, I'm not sure Pollard slides right into a Barkley-like role despite Ezekiel Elliott's departure. Pollard, at just 209 pounds, has eclipsed 15 carries in a game just three times in his NFL career. He still figures to see plenty of passing work (3.4 targets per game in last year's backup role), but I prefer Barkley and the two QBs.

Finally, CeeDee Lamb ($14,000) will be an "other receiving votes" here, but Lamb's days of at least three targets per game more than any other Cowboy aren't set in stone with a totally revamped passing game. Brandin Cooks ($10,500) proved to handle elite work with the Houston Texans last year (7.2 targets per game), and Michael Gallup ($8,000) is now a year removed from his ACL injury and could return to the 2020 version that saw just six fewer targets than Lamb all season.

Flex Breakdown

Cooks and Gallup are both outstanding options down here, but this tier got quite a bit thinner on Friday.

Darren Waller ($12,000) made a huge splash this preseason, but the former pro bowler's decline due to injuries took another dubious turn with a hamstring issue that crept up late this week. He's questionable to even play in this one, and if he sits, it likely thrusts Daniel Bellinger ($7,500) into an every-down role that he occupied last season. If Waller is good to go, he appears to be Jones' top target.

His absence would make the G-Men's pass-catching group a total wild card. Isaiah Hodgins ($11,000) rightfully has the highest salary after leading New York in targets per game last year (5.2) of their three listed starters. Darius Slayton ($9,000) lagged behind him on the Giants (4.7), and I'm not expecting a monstrous breakout from Parris Campbell ($10,000) after he saw just 5.4 targets per contest for the Indianapolis Colts a season ago.

This could be a bit like the Kansas City Chiefs' muddy hierarchy on Thursday without their star tight end, and the "second-stringers" outplayed the starters in that one. It's very possible here when Sterling Shepard ($7,500) was New York's undisputed top target (8.0 targets per game) before his 2022 ACL injury, and rookie Jalin Hyatt ($7,000) already caught a bomb in preseason and brings that vertical threat to every snap. Maybe one of those two shines with limited opportunities.

I prefer Cooks to Gallup (and Lamb at salary) when it appears Brandin should hold a three-down role. The final pass-catcher in the equation is ostensibly Jake Ferguson ($8,000), who ran away with the Cowboys' starting tight end job. They funneled 6.3 targets to Dalton Schultz last year, and Ferguson has a similar athletic profile as a three-down tight end. It wouldn't be shocking to see him catch a touchdown. Backup Peyton Hendershot ($5,000) also caught two scores a year ago, so the vulture is on the table.

The last position player I'd consider is Deuce Vaughn ($6,000). Though listed third on the depth chart, the electric, change-of-pace rookie seems to have more potential equity to score than Rico Dowdle ($5,500), whose roster spot appears to be more in line of an early-down back should Pollard suffer an injury.

These two squads were top five in converting redzone opportunities to touchdowns a year ago, so this doesn't profile to be an excellent game for kickers, but the weather should be decent enough to keep Brandon Aubrey ($9,000) and Graham Gano ($8,500) in the fold. Without defined market shares in Week 1, taking some points from kickers is hypothetically a more viable play -- especially in cash games.

A year ago, the Dallas D/ST ($9,500) led the NFL in pressure rate (38%), so their defense has a unique ability to score points with sacks. They're one of the few difference-making units that require some consideration -- especially with this game holding a low, 45.5-point total. Personally, I might sooner turn to the contrarian Giants D/ST ($8,500) if Tyron Smith is unable to suit up through an ankle injury for Dallas. We've seen Prescott and the offense totally melt down if he's unavailable.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.