DFS Thursday Night Football Breakdown: Packers vs. Commanders

Thursday Night Football brings another marquee matchup this week with the Packers hosting the Commanders. Both teams won in Week 1, continuing to build on their success from last season. This game also brings another Thursday Night Football DFS slate. Let's dig into each position for the single-game contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Quarterback

Thursday night DFS brings two excellent quarterbacks to the table. Jayden Daniels ($11,000 DK, $13,600 FD) showed his rushing upside again in Week 1, turning 11 carries into 68 yards against the Giants, and he threw for 233 yards and one touchdown in the win. The Packers have a scary defense with Micah Parsons now in the fold, but Daniels' ability to contribute with his legs makes him an appealing DFS option, regardless of matchup.

Although Jordan Love ($10,000 DK, $11,800 FD) only threw for 188 yards against the Lions on Sunday, he finished with two touchdowns. It's worth noting that the matchup with the Lions was played in Green Bay, which is where the Packers will also be this week. Love recorded 16 passing touchdowns at home last season, compared to nine on the road. The downside with Love is that he only ran for a total of 83 yards last season, so he needs to rack up touchdowns to provide value.

Running Back

Josh Jacobs ($10,600 DK, $12,400 FD) stands out among the running backs in this game. He finished Week 1 with 66 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, and no other Packers running back had more than one carry in the game. That continued a trend last season that saw Jacobs log at least 17 carries in 11 of 17 games. There aren't any other running backs on the Packers to consider for this slate, even as a dart throw.

Things aren't as cut-and-dry at running back for the Commanders: Austin Ekeler ($6,800 DK, $7,800 FD), Jacory Croskey-Merritt ($7,000 DK, $8,600 FD) and Jeremy McNichols ($2,800 DK, $3,000 FD) all received carries in Week 1. Croskey-Merritt led the way, turning 10 carries into 82 yards and a touchdown, while Ekeler was more of a factor in the passing game, posting three receptions for 31 yards. Ekeler is off the injury report after battling a shoulder injury earlier in the week, so he and Croskey-Merritt should continue to split the majority of the backfield work.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

The Giants shut down Terry McLaurin ($9,000 DK, $11,400 FD) in Week 1, holding him to two catches for 27 yards on only four targets. That number might seem low, but he had six or fewer targets in a game eight times last season. The Commanders gave more opportunities to Deebo Samuel ($8,600 DK, $10,200 FD) against the Giants, leaving him with seven receptions for 77 yards on 10 targets. Samuel also turned his lone rushing attempt into a 19-yard touchdown. McLaurin is likely to face the opposing team's best cornerback more often than not, so Samuel could continue to benefit from weaker coverage.

No Packers wide receiver received more than five targets in Week 1. The leader was Romeo Doubs ($4,000 DK, $4,200 FD), who caught two of four targets for 68 yards. Jayden Reed ($8,200 DK, $9,800 FD) led the team with five targets, finishing with three catches for 45 yards, rookie Matthew Golden ($6,400 DK, $5,600 FD) caught both of his targets for 16 yards, while Dontayvion Wicks ($3,600 DK, $3,600 FD) turned his two targets into two receptions for 30 yards. Love is not afraid to spread targets around, so this will likely to continue to be a murky situation. Reed is risky at his expensive salary.

Tight end Tucker Kraft ($5,400 DK, $5,000 FD) caught another touchdown pass in Week 1 after posting seven scores last year. Of his 70 targets last year, 15 came inside the red zone. His yardage upside isn't great, but his role in the Packers' potent offense makes him worth the risk. On the Commanders side of things, Zach Ertz ($5,800 DK, $5,200 FD) also reached the end zone in Week 1 after recording seven touchdowns last year. Of his 91 targets last season, 21 came inside the red zone. It's not a crazy idea to consider taking a chance on both Kraft and Ertz.

Kicker

Matt Gay ($4,600 DK, $6,400 FD) did not attempt a field goal for the Commanders on Sunday, but converted all three of his extra points. Last season with the Colts, he did not miss a single field goal attempt of under 50 yards. However, he went just 3-for-9 on attempts of at least 50 yards. Brandon McManus ($5,000 DK, $7,000 FD) converted both of his field goal attempts in Week 1 after making 20 of his 21 attempts last season. That included him making all three of his kicks from at least 50 yards.

Defense/Special Teams

The Commanders' ($4,400 DK, $6,200 FD) defense looked great last week, but facing the Packers should be much more difficult than a Giants team that continues to have offensive line and quarterback issues. The Commanders allowed 23.0 points per game last year, compared to the Packers ($4,800 DK, $7,400 FD) 19.9. Another positive for the Packers' defense is that they had 17 interceptions last year, which tied for the third-most in the NFL.