NFL DFS Preseason Week 1 Thursday Picks: Build Around Luke Altmyer and the Lions

We’re officially in Week 1of the NFL preseason. This is our first multi-game NFL DFS slate of the 2026 preseason, with six games to dive into for Thursday night's slate on DraftKings.

I'm going to break down a few standout plays at each position and look at team news to see who'll be playing the most snaps. Preseason NFL DFS is all about snaps and who's going to be on the field the most. Star players can be playable with fewer snaps, but generally, we are looking to roster the players who will be out on the field the most.

QB Picks For Thursday's DraftKings Preseason NFL DFS Slate

We're going to start with the Detroit Lions QB room, which projects to give Luke Altmyer a majority of the snaps Thursday vs. the Bengals. Jared Goff hasn't played a preseason game in four years, and that's not going to change here. Josh Dobbs was signed last week, but Head Coach Dan Campbell said that Altmyer will be getting the majority of the work. Being the QB projected to take the most snaps of the entire slate, this makes Altmyer stand out as an elite play; he will be very high-owned.

The next standout is Trey Lance for the Los Angeles Chargers. Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said that some starters will warm up and not play, so we can expect Justin Herbert to be a part of that group. That just leaves Lance and DJ Uiagalelei. The projected runout is for Lance to get about 2.5-3 quarters, and then Uiagalelei the rest. This makes both QBs look good, but Lance stands out as one of the best QB options here.

Lastly, we're going to look at the Indianapolis Colts, who have two QBs that look good here. Anthony Richardson is expected to start the game and play the first half, with Riley Leonard coming in and getting the rest of the work. The easy projection is to have them both playing a half, but there is a chance that Leonard comes in before the second half starts. Both Richardson and Leonard look like good options here, with a slight lean to Leonard.

Running Back Targets For Thursday's NFL DFS Preseason Slate

My first running back looks are going to come from the San Francisco 49ers. With the first five running backs on their depth chart out with injuries, including Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk, this leaves Patrick Taylor, Khalil Herbert and Sincere McCormick. Taylor looks the best in this group and is expected to be on the field to start the game and be highly involved. Following him will be McCormick and Herbert, who will mix in early and are also projected to get most of the second-half work. All three are playable here, with Taylor looking the best, followed by Herbert, then McCormick.

Next is the Indianapolis Colts, who are also without their top RB options for Thursday. With Jonathan Taylor and DJ Giddens sidelined, this leaves Seth McGowan and Ulysses Bentley as the main candidates. These two should get a vast majority of the opportunities in this game. Anderson Castle and Roydell Williams are on the roster, but there has been no word on them from training camp. We can probably expect them to sprinkle in a little bit, but neither should get a considerable amount of work here. McGowan and Bentley IV both stand out here as great RB plays.

To finish off the running back plays, let's look into the Green Bay Packers. Josh Jacobs and Chris Brooks will be out, leaving three RBs to get the majority of the work. The first out there should be MarShawn Lloyd. Reports say he’s been looking good in training camp and has a real shot at meaningful snaps during the regular season. Following him will be Pierre Strong and Damien Martinez. These two should get the majority of snaps throughout the game, making them both look like strong options. Jaden Nixon should mix in towards the end of the game, but isn't playable here.

Wide Receiver Picks For DraftKings NFL DFS Preseason Slate On Thursday

We seem to always get the same few teams with enticing WR rooms to start preseason, and the trend continues. First is the Detroit Lions, who are going to be led by preseason legend Tom Kennedy. Kennedy has been a standout option for many preseason campaigns now, and this tradition continues. All of Detroit's key players are out, leaving lots of opportunities for the backups. Alongside Kennedy at the top will be Dominic Lovett and Cedrick Wilson. All three look like phenomenal roster clicks, along with having an enticing QB to stack them with.

The next couple WRs I'm looking at are from the Arizona Cardinals. They will have their starters limited to one, maybe two drives, according to Head Coach Mike LaFleur. Once the starters come out, this is going to leave two WRs in great spots to get opportunities. That is Xavier Weaver and Reggie Virgil, who respectively led the team in routes and snaps in the Hall of Fame game last week. Both should get good targets and stand out as great cash plays for this slate.

A couple of standalone WRs that also stand out are Efton Chism, who should play a big role Thursday for the Patriots, and Coleman Owen for the Colts.

Tight End Targets For Thursday's DraftKings NFL DFS Preseason Games

Tight end is a spot that usually boasts a couple of high-owned safe cash plays. Many people don't think it's worth taking the risk and getting burned by a chalky play scoring a touchdown. It is a very volatile position, so it fully depends on how you want to play in terms of risk aversion. Going the chalk route is safe, as a low score won't hurt you as much in comparison to fading a high-owned tight end who does well. However, there are definitely ways to get different that could pay off in a big way. This slate has two standout plays at TE

First is going to be Jackson Meeks for the Detroit Lions. He is one of three active TEs for the Lions on Thursday. Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright and Tyler Conklin are out, leaving the door wide open for Meeks, the WR-turned-TE, to showcase himself. He stands out as the best overall option at TE here.

Next is Tanner Hudson, playing on the opposite side of this Lions vs. Bengals game. Hudson has been a reliable click in past preseasons, being arguably the best overall preseason DFS tight end since he was drafted. The Bengals do have quite a few TEs active here, but this shouldn't stop Hudson from being very involved and playing a ton of snaps. He looks like a great option here.

Defense (DST) NFL DFS Picks For Thursday's DraftKings Slate

Picking a defense in preseason DFS comes down to two things. First, the total of the game. The lower the total, the fewer points will be scored, which keeps your defense's fantasy points higher.

Second is who the opposing QBs are. Many teams will play multiple backup QBs for the entirety of the game, with supporting casts whom they are not familiar with. This can lead to a lot of turnover and sack opportunities for the defense. This slate actually has a relatively decent grouping of QBs playing. Taking a shot on any defense that doesn't negatively correlate with the rest of your lineup will look like a good option here.

This is a great slate to start the 2026 NFL Preseason, with many teams looking to give guys meaningful snaps, which we love to see. Good luck in your lineup building, and let's win some contests!

Players Mentioned in this Article

LukeAltmyer
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Published Aug 13, 2026, 1:23 PM ETUpdated Aug 13, 2026, 1:23 PM ET