DraftKings Week 1 Salaries: Patrick Mahomes And The Other QB Prices To Watch For NFL DFS Tournaments (FREE)

With NFL DFS DraftKings Week 1 pricing getting a surprise drop like the latest Drake album, we’re taking an early look at some of the key points that jump out. It’s an early time to think about how lineups in GPPs and cash may shake out given that training camps have just started and we have a full preseason to go. But thanks to the early release of DraftKings Week 1 salaries there should be an edge for players who do their research early and start to think about the angles they may explore for lineups.

Nolan Kelly posted an early look at his NFL DFS picks amongst the RBs in the DraftKings Week 1 salaries so go take a look there to learn more about those options. I’ll dive a little deeper on some of the QBs who may be interesting thanks to their DraftKings Week 1 Salaries, Vegas totals, and some more of the core data we review here at Awesemo.com.

High priced Quarterbacks in DraftKings Week 1 Salaries

Patrick Mahomes

It should come as no shock that Patrick Mahomes is the highest priced QB in the DraftKings Week 1 Salaries despite a matchup with the formerly vaunted Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Mahomes sees a slate high 28.3 implied points in his favor in the matchup with a Jags D who achieved suboptimal results in 2018 despite holding teams to just 311 yards per game.

There has been a lot of beating the drum about Patrick Mahomes’ likelihood to regress but Mahomes thrived in a clean pocket last season with an 83.3% accuracy rate and 134.2 QB rating in those situations. Jacksonville will need to show improvement on a mostly mediocre pass rush defense who had a grade of 78 from PFF if they want to inhibit Mahomes from continuing his momentum from last season.

Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck is a bit behind Mahomes in price with a comparably tough matchup at the LA Chargers. Luck has a much lower Vegas total with 22.3 implied points vs a Chargers defense that was mostly solid but unspectacular last year. Luck’s 39.9 pass attempts per game were the most in the NFL with a mostly short and accurate approach but with the Chargers generally grinding teams down last year with a slow 30.3 second per play pace and a 30:43 time of possession, this may be less of a high octane game that would make Luck’s price a bit tougher to swallow.

Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston is the third most expensive QB in the DraftKings Week 1 Salaries at $6600 and it’s already hard to imagine him not being an extremely popular play given his matchup vs the San Francisco 49ers. The current 24.5 team total for Winston and Tampa Bay feels a bit low in a pick ‘em spot with a combined 49 point over/under given the expected improvements to Tampa’s passing attack with new coach Bruce Arians and an iffy San Francisco D.

San Francisco allowed a league high 6.5% passing TD rate while also posting one of PFF’s worst coverage grades in the league with a 37.5. With a solid swath of weapons and a quality matchup, Jameis looks correctly priced but still extremely viable to kick off the season.

Medium priced Quarterbacks in DraftKings Week 1 Salaries

Jared Goff

Jared Goff looks relatively cheap at $6200 in his Week 1 spot at the Carolina Panthers with a 27 point implied total in his favor. Goff was horrendous under pressure last year with just a 59.8 QB rating. But in the clean pockets he saw a nice 69% of the time he thrived with a 79% accuracy rate and a 117.1 QB rating. In a matchup against a Carolina team who should both be able to put up points and was unable to generate much of a rush with just a 6.2% sack rate and 67 grade in pass rushing from PFF, this could be a strong day to target Goff at a discounted price.

Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield is priced up to the hype in the DraftKings Week 1 Salaries with a slightly higher $6400 price tag in a home game vs the Tennessee Titans. Mayfield was stunningly effective in his rookie year, particularly on the deep ball with a 5.1 attempts over 20+ yards per game with a strong 107.6 QB rating on those attempts.

But even with an additional elite option in Odell Beckham, this could be a tough sophomore start for Mayfield vs a Titans team who really inhibited opponent production in 2018. Tennessee allowed just 6.5 yards per pass with one of the league’s best red zone defenses that held opponents to just 4.2 points per visit. When paired with one of PFF’s best secondaries with a 90.2 coverage grade, this could be tough sledding for Baker at his new price point.

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson is also in this price tier with his $6300 price tag and it’s a spot vs the Cincinnati Bengals where he may be able to build on his remarkably efficient 2018. Wilson’s 26.7 attempts per game were not a lot but Cincy allowed 414 yards per game last season while also allowing opponents to score 46.3% of the time they touched the ball. They also did not keep opponents off the field with a low 27:27 average time of possession. Despite a conservative approach offensively, Wilson had a 128.1 QB rating on deep throws over 20+ yards which he attempted 4.3 times per game. A Wilson/Tyler Lockett stack could be an intriguing lower owned option in Week 1 given low volume numbers and Lockett’s $6000 price tag that may scare players away.

Low priced Quarterbacks in DraftKings Week 1 Salaries

Carson Wentz

Carson Wentz is expected to retake the helm of Philadelphia’s QB role come the season opener and he gets a near slate high 27.8 point implied total at home vs the Washington Redskins. Wentz is priced at $5700 for the matchup despite a mediocre 71 graded pass rush for Washington that should play well with Wentz’s strong stats in a clean pocket with an 81.8% accuracy rate and a 110.5 QB rating.

The addition of DeSean Jackson should also help out the failures Wentz experienced last year at throwing the deep ball with just a 70.8 QB rating on throws over 20+ yards, though Washington did a good job keeping the ball in front of them last year with just 6.8 air yards per target. Washington’s defense wasn’t egregiously bad last year but a high team total and a run game that should be improved offers opportunity for Wentz to have a big day at a salary cheaper than some QBs with far more question marks.

Josh Allen

I’d be doing a disservice to my brand if I didn’t bring up Josh Allen at his $5600 price tag. I was an unabashed Allen lover down the stretch last year and have also talked about him as a potential sleeper in season-long drafts with his mix of unrepentant deep throws and a penchant for squeezing out rushing yards. His week one opponent the NY Jets defended the run well with a 91 rushing defense grade from PFF but they didn’t rush the passer well with a not-so-nice 69 grade and that gives Allen some potential.

Allen has a new weapon in John Brown who can help out on the 5.3 attempts of 20+ yards he threw last year and the 7.4 rush attempts Allen picked up for an average of 7.1 yards per makes him an intriguing option despite his obvious downsides. The low 17.5 point implied total for Buffalo isn’t a big co-sign by Vegas but I promise you I’ll have some Allen in Week 1.

Nick Foles

Nick Foles is on a new team and in a season debut vs Kansas City he could smash his $5300 price tag in the DraftKings Week 1 Salaries. It’s a new offense and one that’s historically relied on the run but the 24.3 implied total for Jacksonville is solid given the 405.5 yards KC allowed per game last year. Even better, Kansas City’s one defensive strength was their 89 graded pass rush according to PFF that likely got worse with the losses of Justin Houston and Dee Ford.

Even if they maintain that efficiency, Foles was actually better under pressure in 2018 with a 90.6 QB rating that was best in the NFL along with a 69.4% accuracy rate. With potential stack targets like Dede Westbrook and Marqise Lee also both priced under $5000 (and a not unaffordable Leonard Fournette too), this could be an intriguing high ceiling and low owned spot to target for Week 1.

Go follow me on Twitter @ChrisSpags and get ready for tons more NFL content to come in written and video form in the coming weeks!