Best NFL DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for Sunday’s Slate

Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is finally here, and Sunday’s slate is loaded with storylines that matter for NFL DFS lineups on both DraftKings and FanDuel. From a Vikings-Packers rivalry opener to a shorthanded Raiders passing game to a Panthers backfield trying to establish itself against Chicago, there’s no shortage of value plays buried in the marquee matchups.

For this Sunday NFL DFS slate, we’re targeting a mix of proven volume and situational opportunity created by injuries. That means leaning into a couple of premium plays with clear paths to a ceiling game, mixing in a true value quarterback, and rounding out the build with skill players stepping into bigger roles than usual. Here are five of our favorite DraftKings lineup and FanDuel picks for today’s action.

Kyler Murray, QB — Minnesota Vikings ($5,500 DK / $7,200 FD)

Murray makes his Vikings debut Sunday in a rivalry spot at home against the Packers, and the price tag doesn’t reflect the opportunity in front of him. At $5,500 on DraftKings, he’s tied for the cheapest true starting quarterback pick on the entire slate, yet he carries one of the highest ceiling projections at the position because of his rushing floor. Murray has always offered a real weekly rushing rug through his career, and that dual-threat element pushes his DFS projection well above what his salary suggests — he’s been pegged as the top value play at quarterback across multiple projection models for Sunday.

Vikings-Packers projects as a competitive, moderately high-scoring divisional game, which is exactly the kind of script that keeps a scrambling quarterback involved on early downs and in shootout residue late. For cash games, Murray offers rare floor-meets-ceiling value at his price point, and in GPP lineups he’s a legitimate way to save salary at quarterback while still rostering someone who can hit 25-plus fantasy points if the legs get going.

Chuba Hubbard, RB — Carolina Panthers

Hubbard opens the season as Carolina’s clear early-down back against a Bears defense that ranked 27th against the run a season ago, allowing 134.5 rushing yards per game and 15 rushing touchdowns. Head coach Dave Canales confirmed this week that Hubbard is expected to be ready for the opener, and while Jonathon Brooks will siphon off some passing-down work, Hubbard projects for the bulk of early-down carries in a committee that still favors him for early volume.

Last season Hubbard logged 134 carries for 511 yards and added 30 catches for 223 yards and three receiving touchdowns, showing he’s capable of contributing as a receiver even in a shared role. Against a Chicago front that struggled badly to stop the run in 2025, Hubbard is priced as a value RB2 option with real touchdown equity in a game where Carolina will need to lean on the ground game to control tempo. He’s a strong bridge piece for lineups that spend up elsewhere at receiver or tight end.

Tre Tucker, WR — Las Vegas Raiders ($4,000 DK)

Tucker enters Sunday as the clear beneficiary of Brock Bowers’ absence. The star Raiders tight end underwent a meniscus trim and is expected to miss multiple weeks, and that void pushes even more volume toward Tucker, who is already Las Vegas’ presumptive No. 1 wide receiver. Tucker posted career highs last season with 57 catches, 696 yards and five touchdowns on 92 targets across 17 games, and he now steps into a Week 1 home matchup against Miami as the unquestioned top target for new starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.

At just $4,000 on DraftKings, Tucker represents one of the better value plays anywhere on the board — projection models have him pegged near a 3x value multiplier, among the highest on the slate. With Bowers sidelined, Tucker should see a bump in both target share and expected touches near the goal line, giving him a solid floor with real upside if Las Vegas’ passing game clicks against a Dolphins defense that struggled last year.

Michael Mayer, TE — Las Vegas Raiders ($2,900 DK)

Staying in that same Raiders passing game, Mayer is the direct beneficiary at tight end with Bowers out. Mayer has been officially confirmed as Las Vegas’ starting tight end for Sunday, and the sample size from last season is encouraging: in four games without Bowers a year ago, Mayer caught 18 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown on 24 targets, averaging just under 14 PPR points per game while playing over 90 percent of the offensive snaps in each of those contests.

At $2,900, Mayer is the top-projected value play at tight end on the entire Sunday slate, and he offers rare game-to-game predictability for the position — a near-every-down role with real target volume behind Tucker in the pecking order. Cash game players in particular should love the combination of a locked-in role and rock-bottom salary, and pairing him with Tucker gives lineups two low-cost, high-floor pieces from the same Raiders passing attack.

Ladd McConkey, WR — Los Angeles Chargers ($5,900 DK)

McConkey rounds out the group as the higher-priced, high-floor flex piece. The Chargers are big home favorites over the Cardinals on Sunday, and Los Angeles projects to be one of the more efficient offenses on the slate with Justin Herbert distributing the ball. McConkey has established himself as Herbert’s most trusted target, and while some models see leverage in pivoting toward the cheaper Quentin Johnston, McConkey’s target floor makes him one of the safer plays at the position for lineups prioritizing consistency over pure ceiling.

With the Chargers favored by a touchdown or more and expected to control the game script, McConkey should see a steady diet of targets in the short and intermediate areas of the field, giving DFS players a proven floor play who still has upside if Los Angeles pulls away and starts feeding him in garbage-time situations. He also pairs naturally with Herbert if you want to build a game stack around the Chargers’ high-scoring projection.

Building Your Lineup

The clearest stacking angle on today’s slate runs through the Raiders passing attack — Tucker and Mayer together soak up a huge share of Las Vegas’ targets with Bowers out, and rostering both lets you build a value-heavy core that frees up salary for a premium running back elsewhere. If you want exposure to the Chargers’ favorable game script, pairing Herbert with McConkey gives you correlated upside without needing to pay up at running back. Once you’ve locked in your roster, run it through a betting calculator to sanity-check your overall risk for the day.

Murray at quarterback is a strong way to save cap space in cash games while still rostering real ceiling, and Hubbard offers touchdown equity against a defense that struggled against the run all of last season. If you’re also tracking today’s board for straight betting, our live NFL odds page has the latest lines across every game. Because Tucker and Mayer both figure to carry meaningful ownership given the obvious opportunity created by Bowers’ injury, GPP players looking for leverage should consider pivoting off one of them in favor of a cheaper receiver elsewhere and using the salary saved to pay up at running back. For those hunting DraftKings lineup and FanDuel picks built around real opportunity rather than name value, this five-player core is a strong foundation for both cash games and larger-field GPP picks today.