Tonight, the Washington Football Team is hosting the New York Giants for the Week 2 Thursday Night Football opener, and Yahoo Fantasy is making its NFL DFS debut in the NFL single-game format. The general concept of creating a team remains the same, but this is a one-game player pool. The twist is that any position player can be rostered, and one is designated to receive a 1.5x multiplier on their Yahoo fantasy points. Using Awesemo’s expert NFL projections and rankings, these are the top Yahoo NFL picks for the Thursday Night Football game tonight.
Yahoo NFL Picks: Week 2 Thursday Night Football
Top SUPERSTAR Options
The SUPERSTAR position will get a 1.5x multiplier on their Yahoo points in the single-game format.
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team – $23
Counting his playoff start last year, this will be the 10th NFL game for Taylor Heinicke. That said, he has been on various practice squads and been on active rosters for multiple teams over the last five years. That gives Heinicke a broader background and experience set that may not be the baseline for other “inexperienced” starting signal-callers.
Coach Ron Rivera has become an excellent in-game coach and has reinvented his strategies since being “Riverboat Ron” of seasons past. Heinicke will be put in a position to succeed tonight, and while what transpires will be on his shoulders, he is most definitely not being thrown to the wolves.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants – $20
This is a tough matchup for the Giants as the Washington Football Team has an excellent defense against the rush and the pass. Another tricky element is how much Saquon Barkley will play tonight on short rest, barely a year removed from a major season-ending injury. While Daniel Jones may be asked to carry the team tonight, we are likely to count on him getting by on volume rather than efficiency. Danny Dimes is a bit of a wild card. He tends to be fearless – or some would say overconfident – however, between his rushing upside and the chance for a negative game flow, he could see many opportunities tonight.
Yahoo NFL Core Picks
Antonio Gibson, Washington Football Team – $24
On Sunday, second-year man Antonio Gibson was on the field for two-thirds of the snaps compared to one-third for J.D. McKissic. We know that Gibson should approach 20 touches as it is likely that he will be called upon to help keep the pressure off of Heinicke. The half-point per reception scoring format on Yahoo tends to increase the value of touchdowns and yardage when proportionally compared to full-PPR scoring systems. Even with McKissic likely getting the first crack at the passing downs, Gibson is a core option and even worthy of being the designated Superstar.
Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team – $23
Clearly, there is no discount on this salary for third-year man Terry McLaurin. In reality, he will need to find the end zone or top 100+ yards to justify this salary cap hit. However, that should also be the assessment of The Masses, which will likely serve to keep his popularity in check. McLaurin has shown that he can score from anywhere on the field with his speed. Even more important is that he has become an accomplished receiver who can work the entire route tree and has excellent hands. Considering that his target competition will be rookie Dyami Brown and journeyman Adam Humphries, McLaurin is well-positioned to succeed. Tight end Logan Thomas $17 is the pivot option away from McLaurin if his popularity picks up traction before kickoff.
Yahoo NFL Value Picks
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants – $13
This is a no doubt bargain for Sterling Shepard, who has seen 31 targets in his last three regular-season games. The six-year veteran has played his whole career with the giants, and while he has never quite been the focal point, he has been a dependable option. Kenny Golladay $20 is, of course, the bigger name. However, at his salary, he needs a touchdown to be a factor tonight. Heck, even going with Darius Slayton $11 is a better point per dollar play than Golladay.
Kyle Rudolph, New York Giants – $10
This is an easy recommendation as Evan Engram is still sidelined with his injury. In Week 1, Kyle Rudolph had five targets for his new team, and if he sees something in that range tonight, he has an excellent chance of being a difference-maker in all formats on Yahoo.
Final Thoughts
For the Giants, this all comes down to the availability of Barkley. It is hard to see him with more than a dozen opportunities while playing about half of the snaps against a stout defense, even if he is active. For him to be a factor as the most expensive option on Thursday, he will need to come close to 20 fantasy points, which on likely limited touches means he will need two touchdowns in a game where his team is projected to score just 18.5 points.
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