Best NFL Survivor Pool Picks for Week 1

While the hectic NFL offseason may have caused havoc or even cancellations in your fantasy football leagues, most NFL survivor pools have been unaffected, as they don't require any offseason preparation.

The lack of preseason and shortened offseason means we could be in for some surprises early in the 2020 NFL campaign, making this year a tricky one for survivor.

With that in mind, here are the best NFL survivor pool picks for Week 1.

3. Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets, Sunday, 1 p.m.

The Buffalo Bills project to be better than the New York Jets by a huge margin again this year after establishing their superiority in 2019. Week 1 gives us an especially good opportunity to take advantage of that, as injuries have the Jets incredibly thin at WR, making this an even better matchup for a Buffalo defense that ranked seventh in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric in 2019. Playing at home is icing on the cake, as the Bills' next easy matchup (the Miami Dolphins in Week 2) is a road game.

2. Kansas City Chiefs vs Houston Texans, Thursday Night Football

The Kansas City Chiefs are likely to be one of the more popular picks in Week 1, and for good reason. The defending Super Bowl champs are up against a Houston Texans team that lost one of their best playmakers this offseason. Thursday's game also features the most lopsided point spread of the week, with the Chiefs sitting as 9-point favorites. There's obviously some downside in using the defending Super Bowl champs in Week 1, though, especially when they may have easier matchups coming in Week 2 (at Los Angeles Chargers) and Week 5 (vs Las Vegas Raiders).

1. New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1 p.m.

There's plenty of uncertainty in Foxboro this year as Cam Newton takes over at quarterback. Combined with a tough early-season schedule that features matchups with the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers in the first six weeks, that means the New England Patriots won't often be in consideration as a survivor pick. They're 6.5-point home favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook this week, however, and they shouldn't have too much trouble with the rebuilding Miami Dolphins. As a big favorite that you're not likely to want to use until much later in the season, the Patriots are a safe and strategic pick for Week 1.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.