Week 1 FanDuel NFL DFS Salaries: Which Value Picks Stand Out Initially?

There is still a month to go until the first week of the 2025 NFL season kicks off, but FanDuel has released the salaries for all players on the Week 1 NFL DFS main slate already. It's never too early to start thinking about how we want to attack the first main slate of the year, and this is a perfect time to take advantage of potential salary discrepancies for certain players.

While taking a peek at the Week 1 salaries on the FanDuel NFL DFS site, let's look at which players appear to have a lower salary than they should and discuss their matchups to begin the season.

Under-Salaried NFL DFS Plays for Week 1

Brock Purdy, QB, 49ers ($6,900)

From a real-life perspective, Brock Purdy is a far-from-exciting option at quarterback, but he's been pretty productive in the DFS streets in recent years. After finishing as the QB6 in FanDuel's NFL DFS scoring for the 2023 campaign, Purdy was the QB13 a season ago.

Despite Purdy still operating in Kyle Shanahan's offense and having solid DFS production in recent seasons, he's currently tied for the 16th-highest salary among QBs in Week 1 with Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson. Although Purdy's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on the road to begin the 2025 season isn't overly enticing, the San Francisco 49ers are favorites in that contest, and he scored 19-plus FanDuel points (FDPs) in both meetings versus Seattle last season.

What makes Purdy even more intriguing in Week 1 is the fact that George Kittle is the highest-salaried WR/TE on the 49ers in Week 1 at $6,500, making San Fran an easy team to stack to kick off the year. With Purdy having a lower salary than Sam Darnold ($7,500) and rookie Cameron Ward ($7,100) on FanDuel, it's hard not to think that he isn't a fantastic value option in Week 1.

Chase Brown, RB, Bengals ($6,900)

In the latter part of the 2024 season, there weren't many RBs more productive in DFS than Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals. Upon fully taking over Cincy's backfield in Week 9 of last year, Brown was the RB10 or better in NFL DFS for six consecutive weeks, handling 21-plus carries and targets in seven of his final eight games.

Entering the 2025 campaign, Brown figures to be the featured back once again in a high-octane Bengals offense that still features Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Nevertheless, FanDuel has handed him the 13th-highest salary among RBs on the opening main slate after he was consistently carrying a salary of $8,000 or more down the stretch a season ago.

Facing the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 isn't the most ideal matchup, but the volume and red-zone role for Brown are impossible to ignore in any matchup at this salary. Additionally, there is less of a chance for any back on the Bengals to steal touches from Brown early in the season following the recent release of veteran Zack Moss.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders ($6,400)

The next four players mentioned in this article are all rookies -- as first-year players tend to have lower salaries early in the season -- and one of my favorite debutants to target in Week 1 is Ashton Jeanty of the Las Vegas Raiders. With new head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly using the sixth-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Jeanty, I don't expect there to be a limited workload in store for the rookie rusher to begin the year.

To conclude his collegiate career at Boise State in 2024, Jeanty paced all college backs in rushing attempts (375), rushing yards (2,595), rushing touchdowns (29), yards after contact per attempt (5.25), missed tackles forced (152), and runs of 10-plus yards (63), via PFF. Amid a time of year where fantasy football drafts are happening frequently, Jeanty currently has an average draft position (ADP) of 10.3 (according to FantasyPros' Consensus ADP for half-PPR leagues), so many are taking him in the first round due to the expected volume he'll receive as a rookie.

Even in a perceived tough matchup against the New England Patriots in Week 1 with new head coach Mike Vrabel taking over in Foxborough, I'm a bit bullish on the Raiders' offense in 2025 with Geno Smith providing the team with some reliability under center for the first time in years. If Jeanty is as good as advertised early in the season, we aren't going to see him with a sub-$7,000 salary for much longer.

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers ($5,600)

The rookie wideout that is easiest to project volume for is Tetairoa McMillan of the Carolina Panthers. On an Arizona team that finished with a disappointing 4-8 record in 2024, McMillan still impressed with the 9th-most receptions (84), 2nd-most receiving yards (1,316), and 17th-most yards per route run (2.87) among college receivers with 50-plus targets.

After being selected with the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft, McMillan figures to become the go-to option for Bryce Young in Carolina's aerial attack immediately. In head coach Dave Canales' first year calling plays in 2024, 34-year-old Adam Thielen led the Panthers in receiving with only 615 receiving yards, so it shouldn't take much for McMillan to earn a decent-sized role in this offense.

Ahead of a Week 1 matchup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars -- who were 29th in FDPs allowed to WRs in 2024 -- McMillan possesses the 32nd-highest salary at the WR position for the first main slate of the season. If Young is able to perform like he did to finish last year, McMillan has a chance to get off to a fast start and provide plenty of value to kick off the upcoming campaign.

Matthew Golden, WR, Packers ($5,400)

I'm not someone who tends to put too much weight into reports during training camp, as teams often try different things out this time of year and situations can rapidly change. That being said, rookie Matthew Golden could emerge as the No. 1 wideout for the Green Bay Packers immediately.

The Packers recently held a Family Night where the team scrimmaged, and Golden saw the most snaps out wide among Green Bay's wideouts, indicating that he could be on the field in two-receiver sets alongside Romeo Doubs in Week 1. While Golden's production in 2024 doesn't jump off the page, quarterback play was an issue at Texas, and he still excelled at generating explosive plays through the air.

Among college receivers with 10-plus deep targets (targets of 20-plus yards) a season ago, Golden had the 12th-highest catch rate (59.1%) in those situations, which should make him an ideal fit for quarterback Jordan Love. The Week 1 clash between the Packers and the Detroit Lions has the highest total (49.5) on the main slate, and the Lions coughed up the second-most FDPs to WRs in 2024, making Golden an intriguing option with the 35th-highest salary at the receiver spot.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Buccaneers ($5,000)

As the regular season approaches, I'll continue to bang the drum for Emeka Egbuka as one of the best late-round receivers to target in fantasy football. With veteran Chris Godwin still recovering from a season-ending ankle injury and reportedly undergoing another ankle procedure in the offseason, his status for Week 1 is uncertain, paving the way for Egbuka to hit the ground running to begin his rookie campaign.

Besides Egbuka being a wideout who excels out of the slot (80.9% slot rate at Ohio State in 2024), the Buccaneers finished last season with the ninth-highest pass rate over expected (+0.0%) in the NFL, and I don't expect that to drastically change despite Liam Coen no longer being the offensive coordinator. In addition to Baker Mayfield (QB3 in FanDuel NFL DFS last year) still being under center, Tampa Bay will be without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs to begin the 2025 campaign, which could result in someone like Egbuka earning a decent amount of volume on quick throws.

To begin his rookie season, Egbuka will square off against an Atlanta Falcons squad that was 30th in FDPs allowed to WRs in 2024, primarily due to their inability to generate pressure on opposing signal-callers. At the moment, the Bucs-Falcons showdown in Week 1 holds a healthy 48.5-point total (second-highest on the main slate) -- with Atlanta being just 1.5-point underdogs at home -- so Egbuka is seemingly severely under-salaried in a potential shootout at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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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.