RADIO
John's top NFL DFS lineup picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Thursday Night Football - Giants vs. Washington. His Week 2 TNF daily fantasy football advice and value plays.
Happy Thursday, Rotoballers! Week two is here, let's get after it! We have a rather interesting matchup tonight, with the lowly Giants heading to DC to take on Washington. We have a total sitting at 40.5, which honestly might be too high for this matchup. Thanks to the advanced analytics of today, I'll do my best to provide you with as much in-depth analysis as possible regarding positional matchups and the like to help put some lunch money in your pocket. NOTE: I usually don't take into account 2021 DVOA stats until about week three, just to give things a bit of time to settle in. I may reference 2021 data here and there, but I won't be taking it as canon, and I would suggest you do the same.
In this article I will be providing you with daily fantasy football picks on FanDuel and DraftKings for the Thursday Night Football slate on September 16th. These lineups can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
If you have any questions you can follow me on Twitter @LucidMediaDFS and fire away, or sign up for a premium RotoBaller NFL package and chat with me and other NFL DFS analysts any time you'd like. Let's make some coin this season gang, and let's get right to it!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
DFS Quarterbacks
Who would've thought Taylor Heinecke would be starting in week two? Granted, it was because of an unfortunate circumstance with Ryan Fitzmagic falling to injury, but here we are. Heinecke gets a favorable matchup, as the Giants finished 2020 with a 13.2% DVOA against the pass. Heinecke has weapons at his disposal as well and could shine for the Football Team tonight.
I'll be honest here, I don't think Daniel Jones is very good. I'm going to have some shares of him tonight in the event that he pulls some magic out -- and the fact that it's a single-game slate -- but I won't be extremely happy about it. The Giants OL stinks, and that's not ideal against a Washington DL that had a 7.9% adjusted sack rate last season. Jones struggles with holding onto the ball as well, averaging more than a fumble a game in the NFL. The absence of Evan Engram won't help either.
DFS Running Backs
The potential 2nd-year breakout comes into a fairly decent matchup, as the Giants had a -0.9% rush DVOA last season. He got 76% of the carries last weekend, and we should see that number improve tonight. In a low-scoring game, I think both teams try to move the ball on the ground, especially Washington, allowing Heinecke to settle in.
Saquon is an interesting case, coming into this one with a questionable tag. He's always a threat to break a slate when he's in there, but how long and how effective will he be if he plays? I won't have too much of Saquon, but will definitely have some.
DFS Wide Receivers
Scary Terry's value took a hit when Fitzmagic went down, but he's a solid option here nonetheless. He only saw four targets last week against LA, but played in 100% of snaps. The targets should increase, but I'd be wary of James Bradberry on the other side. Regardless, he's the top WR in the game tonight.
Dyami Brown should see a nice bit of action tonight after seeing over 92% of snaps and four targets on Sunday. The Giants struggled against WR2s and slot receivers last year, with a DVOA of 3% and 29.9%, respectively. Those numbers regressed last Sunday against Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos. Brown is a fantastic value option on both sites tonight.
DFS Tight Ends
I dig Rudolph tonight on the account that Washington had a DVOA of 4% against tight-ends last year. Evan Engram won't be playing tonight, opening the opportunity for Rudolph to shine tonight. He saw five targets last week, and that should increase tonight.
DFS Defense/Special Teams
Washington D/ST
Pretty simple here. One of the best defenses in the league against a team whose best player is coming into today questionable and a turnover machine at QB. The line should eat and create pressures, sacks, and turnovers. I love Washington's defense tonight and I wouldn't be shocked if they won someone a lot of money at the captain spot.
Other D/ST: Dustin Hopkins, Giants D/ST
Have a good Thursday everyone, see you soon!
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
More Weekly DFS Analysis
