Cowboys at Eagles Single-Game FanDuel NFL DFS Picks for Thursday Night Football

We're here. The NFL season starts tonight.

Things begin with an NFC East clash between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

For those unfamiliar with single-game NFL DFS on FanDuel, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, but beginning in 2025 on FanDuel, their salary also increases 1.5 times.

Here are players worth considering for tonight's game.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Cowboys at Eagles NFL DFS Picks

MVP Candidates

Jalen Hurts ($18,300 MVP/$12,200 FLEX) -- While you can make a pretty great MVP case for Saquon Barkley, I prefer Jalen Hurts. Not only does using Hurts at MVP save you some salary, Hurts might not be quite as popular at MVP as Barkley is, although Hurts will surely be popular. The Eagles' QB carries -165 anytime touchdown odds and has the upside to run for multiple scores thanks to the tush push. Plus, you can pair him with pass-catchers and fade Barkley all together if you want to go all-in on Philly's passing game, which would be a way to be different but still load up on the Eagles.

Saquon Barkley ($21,600 MVP/$14,400 FLEX) -- Using Barkley in the multiplier spot takes quite a commitment due to his $21,000 MVP salary. But he's salaried this way for a reason as he's -210 to score a touchdown and his rushing plus receiving yards line is 111.5 yards. Dallas' defense could take a step back this season, and Barkley showed last year that he's capable of shouldering huge workloads (378 total touches). He's an outstanding MVP pick.

Dak Prescott ($16,200 MVP/$10,800 FLEX) -- Whenever a quarterback is going to mostly go overlooked as an MVP option, I'm intrigued. Most of the time, that means I have to talk myself into a meh QB -- not someone the caliber of Dak Prescott. Even though Dak doesn't run much these days, his ceiling might be a little higher this year thanks to some additions in the passing game and a Dallas defense that could struggle, potentially forcing Dak and company to air it out.

Flex Targets

CeeDee Lamb ($12,000) -- After a 2023 campaign in which he led the league in catches (135), CeeDee Lamb took a step back a year ago, finishing with 101 grabs for an average of 79.6 yards per game. Most of Lamb's drop in production was tied to Prescott playing only eight games. It's a difficult matchup at the Eagles, a defense that held Lamb to just 21 yards last year in the one meeting Lamb had with Philly. But I'm interested in a Dak-Lamb stack.

DeVonta Smith ($9,600) -- We have to trim salary somewhere, and I'm willing to target DeVonta Smith over A.J. Brown ($11,200) to do just that. Smith exploded for 120 yards and 2 TDs in his second game against Dallas last season, and he usually plays a similar number of snaps -- or more -- than Brown does. Smith's TD odds (+180) are close to Brown's (+150), although Brown's receiving yards prop is 16.0 yards higher.

Jake Ferguson ($5,000) -- Jake Ferguson is my favorite value play tonight. At this time a year ago, Ferguson was an ascending TE who was fresh off a five-score, 761-yard season. He faceplanted in 2024, though, failing to find the end zone and going for just 494 yards. But Dak's injury was a big part of that, and Dak clearly likes him as Ferguson averaged 7.4 targets per game over the seven games in which both he and Prescott played, compared to 4.8 looks per game in Ferguson's seven other contests.

Jaydon Blue ($2,400) -- I don't have much of a clue about how the Cowboys' backfield will look in Week 1, but Jaydon Blue's clearance-rack salary has him on my radar. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders might get the first cracks at being Dallas' lead back. Neither are super stiff competition, though, so there's a chance Blue, a rookie, has a role right away. He could make hay in passing situations as Blue's 11.3% target share from his final collegiate season is an 86th-percentile mark, per PlayerProfiler.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.