NFL Week 1 salaries have arrived on DraftKings! I’ll be writing up a breakdown of my immediate reactions at each position with some elite plays to pay up for along with some places you can find value. Plenty can change over the next six weeks, but it’s still fun to take an early look at the slate and see where the edges may lie.

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TE

Expensive: Darren Waller ($5,400)

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers

Waller kind of struggled in a pair of matchups against the Chargers last season, although he did finish with a 4-50-1 line in the game in L.A. Still, he only managed to catch six of 16 targets thrown his way in the two games, and the Chargers have only improved on defense.

That said, the addition of Davante Adams ($8,100) is only going to open up more easy looks for Waller this season, following a tough year of being the focal point of the offense. I think Waller is priced down due to a down year, but certainly has the ceiling of the players at his position priced significantly higher. LAC did allow 68.8 yards and just shy of a TD (0.8) per game to the TE position last season.

Value: Mo Alie-Cox ($3,400)

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

Alie-Cox has flashed at times for the Colts, but never fully received an opportunity to be the guy. The Colts have always had other tight ends in the mix, but now MAC gets the chance to enter the season as the starter, and with a huge QB upgrade as well.

As I’ve mentioned in many of these articles, Jonathan Taylor ($9,100) is in a terrific spot in Week 1 against this dreadful Texans run defense. But if you fade him and stack some of Indy’s passing game, Alie-Cox is a great discount. Houston allowed 55.6 yards per game to the TE position in 2021.

DST

Expensive: Saints ($3,700)

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons have a real chance to be the worst team in football this season. A once ferocious passing attack has lost a ton of weapons over the last couple of years, most notably now losing Matt Ryan ($5,500) to the Colts. While top-10 picks have been used to add weapons in the last two drafts, Marcus Mariota ($5,200) wasn’t the guy this team envisioned getting them the ball. The Saints have a pretty solid unit on defense and should be able to force some turnovers and limit scoring.

Value: Lions ($2,000)

Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are getting a bit too much hype heading into this season. While Philly certainly has potential, the Lions proved to be a gritty team last season, losing a lot of games on bad luck and tough bounces. Opening up the season as home dogs feels like a nice spot to try and start the narrative that last season was a fluke and this team can compete. I’m not saying the Lions have a dominant defense in 2022, but for the bare minimum salary, rostering them at home isn’t the worst idea. Week 1 D/ST plays can bring some pretty wild outcomes. Sometimes it can be best to go against the grain.

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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups.

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