Teams that struggled offensively in Week 1 will get the Week 2 NFL schedule underway when the New York Giants face the Washington Football Team at 8:20 p.m. ET on Thursday Night Football. The game will bring plenty of challenges for daily Fantasy football players who are setting their NFL DFS lineups for Giants vs. Washington on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. New York mustered just 13 points in a Week 1 loss to Denver, while Washington scored just 16 against the Chargers. The Football Team will be without starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who injured his hip in the opener.
Does that mean new Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke should be part of your NFL DFS strategy for Thursday Night Football? Which players in the NFL DFS player pool should you target for Week 2 and beyond? Before locking in any NFL DFS picks for Giants vs. Washington on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS advice, player rankings, stacks and top daily Fantasy football picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.
McClure is a predictive data engineer and pro DFS player with almost $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action in every game, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best DFS values that he shares only with members at SportsLine.
In Week 1 on Sunday Night Football, McClure had Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford as one of his top NFL DFS picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings. The result: Stafford had 321 passing yards and three touchdowns, returning 24.34 points on FanDuel and 27.3 points on DraftKings. Anybody who had him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to Giants vs. Washington and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks for Thursday Night Football. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Washington vs. Giants
One of McClure’s top NFL DFS picks for Thursday is Washington running back Antonio Gibson. The second-year back accounted for nearly half of Washington’s scrimmage yards in Week 1, as he rushed for 90 while also catching three passes for 18. No other WFT running back had more than two carries, so Gibson is the clear lead-back after offseason speculation that Washington may reduce his snaps.
Gibson’s 20 carries tied a career-high, but even more encouraging was that he was targeted a team-high five times. Backup running back J.D. McKissic led the NFL last season with the most targets among running backs (110), but he only had one pass thrown his way in Week 1. With a backup quarterback, there could be plenty of short check-down passes to Gibson, so you can see why McClure is high on him for Thursday.
Part of McClure’s optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Giants receiver Sterling Shepard, who had seven grabs for 113 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. The former second-round pick out of Oklahoma has struggled to stay on the field due to injuries throughout his six-year NFL career, but he reminded NFL DFS players of his upside when healthy in Week 1 by posting a strong 7-113-1 receiving line in the loss at Denver. The highlight of his day was a 37-yard touchdown reception.
Now, Shepard takes on a Washington defense that was shredded by the Chargers in Week 1. Los Angeles had over 300 passing yards and both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams recorded at least eight catches. That bodes well for Shepard’s upside on Thursday, making him a must-roster option for NFL DFS lineups.
How to set NFL DFS lineups for Giants vs. Washington
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Thursday Night Football. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
So who is Mike McClure putting in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Washington vs. Giants? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a daily Fantasy expert with nearly $2M in winnings, and find out.
