The 2023 Sunday Night Football schedule kicks off with an NFC East battle with the Giants hosting the Cowboys. Who should be in your fantasy football lineups as you try to close out your Sunday in style? Here is your fantasy breakdown of Week 1 SNF.
Week 1 SNF: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
- Spread: Cowboys -3
- Total: 44.5
- Cowboys Team Implied Points: 24.25
- Giants Team Implied Points: 21.5
Quarterbacks
Dak Prescott: The sledding for Prescott on the road in divisional games has been tough of late. Real tough. Like, “Don’t you dare go near him” tough. He’s been held under 11.5 fantasy points in four of his past five such games, and the lone exception came in Week 18 of 2021 when your fantasy league was most likely already over.
Daniel Jones: Jones was ineffective as a passer against the Cowboys last season, completing just 41 of 72 passes (56.9%) with one touchdown. We’ve learned that Mr. Dimes is capable of producing fantasy numbers without much in the way of passing production, but Dallas managed to limit him to just 14 yards in their most recent meeting.
The Cowboys blitzed at a below-league-average rate during the second half of last season due to their ability to generate pressure up front, and if that continues, they will have a better chance to spy Jones than most. The Giants signal-caller will be a fringe option most weeks, and, in my ranks, he is on the outside looking in to kick off this season.
Running Backs
Tony Pollard: If me putting air in the tires of Pollard all summer wasn’t enough to get him on your roster, I’m sorry … sorry for you. Pollard’s first game as the leader of this backfield comes against a Giants defense that allowed a league-high 2.4 yards per carry before contact to opposing running backs last season. Build your SNF Same Game Parlay, and get your popcorn ready!
Saquon Barkley: You’re starting Barkley, duh. But for DFS, this may not be the week. Last season, the Giants held possession of the ball for under 27.5 minutes twice:
- Week 3 vs. DAL
- Week 12 at DAL
It obviously only takes one play for Barkley to make paying up for him worth your while. I just thought I’d make you aware that the overall play expectation will be lower this week than most for the G-men.
Wide Receivers
CeeDee Lamb: Under Wink Martindale, the G-men were easily the blitz-heaviest team in the league last season (44.8%, 19 percentage points above the league average), and that just means a lot of Lamb.
Last season, Lamb was targeted on 38.4% of routes when Prescott was pressured — way up from his 23.6% rate otherwise. Not that you need a reason to play Lamb, but … you know … it never hurts!
Brandin Cooks: The public seems to be higher on Cooks than me, and you guys might get it right. But without proof of concept regarding his role on what projects as a run-heavy offense in a week where every team is available, I have a hard time seeing him as a Day 1 fantasy starter.
With Dalton Schultz now in Houston, I do think there’s a reasonably clear path to 6-8 targets a week for Cooks, but I want to see it in a new (likely conservative) offense first.
Michael Gallup: Would the Cowboys have pursued Cooks if they were sold on Gallup as their WR2? Survey says … no. He averaged a career-low 10.9 yards per catch last season and has found paydirt just six times over the past two seasons. I’ll be tracking his usage and playing time, but for the moment, he’s nowhere near fantasy-viable for me.
Giants WR: Isaiah Hodgins is my highest-ranked receiver on this team for the week, but that’s damning with faint praise as he is outside of my top 50 at the position. He came on strong down the stretch of last season, though his two big games were against the same porous Vikings defense (those were his only two games with 45+ receiving yards).
I’d love to offer you a smoking hot take and be 100% confident in telling you which of the 1,000 slot receivers on this roster is going to see significant looks to start the season, but that would be a lie. I have no idea, and I’m not sure the Giants are positive yet, either. Darius Slayton, however, offers a very particular set of skills and that has my attention in DFS.
He and Jalin Hyatt are positioned to see the vast majority of downfield targets in this offense, and that’s not only a spot Daniel Jones is consistently improving on but a spot where the Cowboys can be had (eighth-highest TD rate on balls thrown at least 10 yards downfield).
Neither game-breaking receiver is worth the risk in annual leagues this week, but that conversation changes if you’re swinging for the DFS home run.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller: The Cowboys had five games against strong fantasy TEs last season, and while they surrendered targets at a reasonable rate (one target every 4.9 routes), they gave up just 233 yards and zero touchdowns.
MORE: FREE Fantasy Start/Sit Tool
That said, the TE position operates much like our court of law: “You’re viable until proven not.” Waller’s sheer role projection (and impressive preseason) is enough to make him a starter in his Giants debut, and it doesn’t hurt that the Cowboys did allow the eighth-highest red-zone completion percentage last season (59.6%).
You’ll need to track Waller’s status to make sure he is active, but if you’ve waited this out, he is playing for you if he is ruled active for the G-men.