NFL DFS Lineup Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel: Preseason Hall of Fame Game (8/6/26)

August 6, 2026

The top daily fantasy football lineup picks for DraftKings, FanDuel -- NFL preseason Hall of Fame Game on August 6, 2026. Doug's NFL DFS analysis and sleeper picks.

Every year, right around this time, I feel like that scene from "The Office" where Michael Scott says, “Oh my God, it’s happening. Everybody stay calm.” The problem is, I can’t stay calm. The NFL is back, and it feels so very good. I don’t care that it’s the preseason. I don’t care that it’s the Arizona Cardinals. It’s football; we can play DFS, and that’s really all that matters.

Settle in, folks, because we have a long way to go before the regular season kicks off, and this is the first of four big articles I’ll be posting to help you with your preseason NFL DFS lineups. I’ll be back each Saturday for the week's biggest slate to help you set your lineups. Sign up for our premium membership (promo code: DOUG), and you can hang with me in our Discord (I’ll be there daily, I’m sure). 

Here you will be provided daily fantasy football picks on FanDuel and DraftKings for the Thursday Hall of Fame Showdown slate on 8/6/26. Thanks for reading, and good luck, RotoBallers!

Preseason NFL DFS Captain Picks

Many lineups are going to feature some combination of both defenses, both kickers, and both quarterbacks since the playing time for those players is the most well-known. Snap volume leads directly to value in the preseason, so the more projectable a snap count is, the more likely that player is going to be among the highest scorers. 

To differentiate your lineup and not have to split a first-place prize with hundreds of other people, get a little different with only one defense, or possibly use a position player as your captain and hope they can put up 10 points at a low ownership. The difference between taking down a tournament with only a handful of other people and having to share the top prize with many others could be only a point or two.

Carson Beck (ARI - QB)

New Arizona head coach Mike LaFleur has already named Carson Beck as his starter for this game. Before getting the head job in Arizona, LaFleur was the offensive coordinator for Sean McVay and the Rams. The Rams are a very unique team in that they often use just one quarterback for an entire preseason game. They did this for every game last year, with Stetson Bennett IV starting the first two games and Dresser Winn taking every snap in the finale. 

With Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II both known quantities, and an extra game to evaluate fourth-string quarterback Kedon Slovis, it’s likely that LaFleur will continue this trend and give Beck the keys to the castle for the entire game. 

TRENDING: Carson Beck has been PUTTING ON A SHOW at Cardinals training camp.

Beck has reportedly been “piercing” through the Cardinals secondary with tough intermediate passes.

It’s been reported that Beck has looked like a “completely different” QB since the first day of… pic.twitter.com/rO6ofVF4EW

— Rookie Watch (@RookieWatxh) August 5, 2026

The other thing playing in Beck’s favor is that the Rams ran one of the fastest offenses in the NFL last season, averaging about 64 plays per game. In the first two preseason games last year, L.A. averaged nearly 70 offensive plays per game. In a Showdown setting, that’s a massive bonus and makes Beck the far and away highest projected scorer on the slate.

Haynes King (CAR - QB)

Carolina rookie QB Haynes King is slated to come into the game after Kenny Pickett finishes his time under center. Pickett is a known quantity in the NFL. With Carolina getting an extra game, his time will likely be limited to a few series, with King getting to play every snap the rest of the way. 

Like with Beck, this makes him one of the most valuable players on the entire slate. King is not known for his passing prowess, coming from a run-heavy Georgia Tech offense, but he’s a beast on the ground, averaging nearly 80 yards per game rushing as a senior with 15 touchdowns. 

That ability to get out of the pocket and get yards with his legs gives him a higher ceiling than Beck, though he will be somewhat stunted by a slow offense, as Carolina averaged under 60 plays per game last year. That said, every yard matters in a showdown and one long run from King could make him the high scorer on this slate. 

Ja'Seem Reed (CAR - WR)

Ja’seem Reed was on the Panthers practice squad last year, giving him a leg up on players new to the team. Knowing the team’s playbook gives Reed an advantage over guys like Elijah Cooks and Roc Taylor, both of whom were signed just this past week.

Reed has been a standout in camp and has caught the eye of head coach Dave Canales, who said of Reed, “He’s a guy we can count on. He’s really making a case for himself.”  

Tetairoa McMillan and Coker won’t see time, and third-year receiver Xavier Legette is just coming back after a concussion scare on Tuesday. This leaves Reed with veterans Brycen Tremayne, Jimmy Horn Jr., John Metchie III, and David Moore as the best options for the passing game. 

Ja'Seem Reed. Stock up by the day #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/ng05nKI1LA

— Joey Ellis (@Jellis1016) August 4, 2026

Reed is the least experienced, but he may be the most explosive, and he surely has the most to prove. He’s an interesting dart to differentiate your lineup away from the other four receivers who will be more well-known to the general DFS public. He’s my pick to be the long shot who can totally break the slate.

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Preseason NFL DFS Flex Picks

Carolina Panthers D/ST and Arizona Cardinals D/ST

Rostering one of these defenses is very dull, but the simple fact of the matter is that those units are the only “players” we can assure will be available all game, and there’s value to that. The biggest issue I have with using these defenses is that they will likely be among the most widely rostered “players,” and you won’t be able to separate from the field in a tournament if you roster them and they perform well.

Bam Knight and Corey Kiner (ARI - RB)

The Cardinals have already ruled out rookie Jeremiyah Love. With Tyler Allgeier being listed atop the depth chart, he won’t play in this game, either. James Conner is old and coming off a major injury, so he won’t play in this game. Veteran Trey Benson was banged up over the weekend, so it’s unlikely that the team will give him much work, either. 

That leaves just three other running backs on the Arizona roster, and one of them, Evan Hull, was signed only on Monday. Bam Knight and Corey Kiner, by process of elimination, should get the majority of the work in this game at the running back position. 

Knight is the known quantity, having started NFL games in his career, while Kiner is the project with just 12 NFL snaps to his name. Knight is by far the safer play given his history, but Kiner is more of a home run player who averages nearly a yard more per carry. Both are playable, but in a pinch, I prefer Kiner given his relative inexperience, thus making an evaluation of him by the coaching staff far more important.

Simi Fehoko (ARI - WR) and Jalen Brooks (ARI - WR)

Simi Fehoko and Jalen Brooks are two names that will sound very familiar if you’ve been playing preseason DFS over the past two seasons, as they were regular contributors for the Dallas Cowboys. They both now suit up for the Cardinals and have been getting some work with the starting unit when Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson are on the sidelines. 

With the team giving Beck the start, it will want to surround him with as much talent as possible, which leads us to this pair as perfect stacking options. Arizona has quite a few more receiving options available in this game than Carolina does, which means it’s unlikely that any will get a massive target share. 

Instead, we are looking for experience to lead the way and, hopefully, an early score to lock in a double-digit fantasy-point game. Of the two, I prefer Fehoko as he’s actually performed in regular-season NFL games and should rise above whatever backup defenders Carolina is putting on the field.

Ryan Fitzgerald (CAR - K) and Chad Ryland (ARI - K)

Neither team has a second kicker on the roster, meaning these two guys are guaranteed to take all the kicks in this game. That certainty is valuable and makes them worthy of heavy consideration for your lineups.

ALSO CONSIDER: Kenny Pickett (CAR - QB), Reggie Virgil (ARI - WR), Xavier Weaver (ARI - WR), Brycen Tremayne (CAR - WR), Jimmy Horn Jr. (CAR - WR), Miles Davis (CAR - RB)

Thanks for checking this out, and good luck!

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