The Pittsburgh Steelers’ combination of cornerbacks could prove dangerous for quarterback Daniel Jones. He won’t want to throw at cornerbacks Joe Haden, an established veteran, or Steven Nelson, an underrated performer and probably the team’s top player at the position. But it’s likely the Giants will fall behind — and that means they’ll throw the ball.
So the one New York player you need to start in Week 1 on DraftKings is tight end Evan Engram, who is the eighth-ranked tight end with a salary of $5,200. He’s the best Daily Fantasy play on a New York team that will probably struggle in Week 1 under new coach, Joe Judge. Though the team will struggle as whole, Engram will not.
He is one of the more talented tight ends in the NFL — it’s just that he hasn’t been healthy for much of his career. In 2019, he suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury, but seemed to be dealing with no ill effects during training camp. Even so, Engram finished with 44 receptions, 467 receiving yards and three touchdowns in eight games last year. It would’ve made him one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends, if he had doubled those stats over 16 games.
It’s likely that Engram is going to see plenty of targets with the receiving corps tied up by the cornerbacks. It’s possible that receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton get bottled up. In turn, it’s likely that Daniel Jones doesn’t have a fantastic day throwing. Running back Saquon Barkley, meanwhile, comes in with a tremendously costly salary of $8,500. Engram is the less-obvious but high-potential for the Giants in Week 1.
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