Daily Fantasy: The one Chargers player you need to start in Week 1 on DraftKings

Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor could be a daily fantasy sports sleeper in Week 1.

The Los Angeles Chargers are starting a new era in 2020, doing so against another team turning the page as well. The Bolts open their season in Cincinnati against the Bengals on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. on CBS.

Don’t let these new faces on the field steer you away, either. There are profitable fantasy options in this one for the Chargers, namely under center.

Starting the post-Phillip Rivers era for the Bolts is Tyrod Taylor. While finding himself in and out of the starter role during his career, Taylor has a chance to produce a cost-efficient season opener for your daily fantasy team with a salary of only $5,600.

The focal point of the Bengals’ offseason centered around quarterback Joe Burrow. Fixing an entire roster isn’t going to happen overnight. Plus, Burrow and other additions made by Cincy won’t do much to help a defense that allowed the fourth-most yards last year, 393.7 per game.

The knee-jerk reaction here might be to use the Chargers’ backfield to attack the NFL’s worst run defense in 2019 with running back Austin Ekeler. However, Ekeler has a DraftKings salary of $7,000 (roster limit: $50,000). Savings can be found in Taylor ($5,600).

Not only does Taylor have strong short-options in Ekeler through the air, don’t forget about receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. In Taylor’s spell as a starter with the Bills, he mixed in his very-profitable mobility with a good deep ball. In 2016, he had a 101.5 passer rating on 129 deep passes. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, who spent 2016 with the Bills offense and Taylor, won’t forget that.

Not to mention, the Bengals did allow the ninth-most fantasy points to QBs a year ago.

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Daily Fantasy: The one Raiders player you need to start in Week 1 on DraftKings

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs could be a daily fantasy sports sleeper in Week 1.

The Raiders start the Las Vegas era in their franchise history about as far away from their new home as one could imagine. The Carolina Panthers host the Raiders at 1 p.m. on Sunday on CBS.

When searching for a reliable daily fantasy football option here, finding a loophole or two can pay off. But not overthinking things can work just as well and as long as the Raiders do that on the field, you’ll be happy you did the same in fantasy.

Heading from out west to the East Coast, handing the ball to running back Josh Jacobs is the easiest and smartest play for the silver and black against the Panthers. Carolina turned the page on head coach Ron Rivera and Cam Newton this offseason, turning the keys over to Matt Rhule and Teddy Bridgewater, respectively.

Tough to imagine those two making much of an impact on the defensive front for Carolina, though. Jacobs isn’t the most cost-efficient running back you’ll find this week on DraftKings as his salary is $6,800 (roster limit: $50,000). But signs point to that being a smart investment.

Jacobs had a stellar 1,000-yard rookie season and is now healthy. He’s facing a Panthers defense that was the NFL’s worst run defense last year, which also allowed the league’s most points to running backs in fantasy (510.4). The Panthers did make efforts to improve their D-line, but primarily with a pair of rookies in Derrick Brown and Yetur Gross-Matos. They’ll need to adjust to the pro game and Jacobs should exploit that.

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