The 2025 NFL season kicks off Thursday with an NFC East battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles will begin their title defense, while the Cowboys will move forward after trading Micah Parsons to the Packers.
The matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys also gives us our first Thursday Night Football DFS slate of the season. Let's dig into each position for the single-game contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Quarterback
Thursday night DFS leaves us with just two quarterback options. Jalen Hurts ($11,000 DK, $12,200 FD) comes with the highest floor because of his rushing prowess. Last season, he ran for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has posted at least 605 rushing yards and at least 13 rushing touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. While he doesn't always rack up a ton of passing yards, he did finish last season with a career-high 68.7 percent completion rate. The one time he played the Cowboys last season, he finished with 202 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 56 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The Cowboys allowed 27.5 points per game last season, and their defense will have a hard time improving with Parsons no longer in the picture. That should mean plenty of pass attempts for Dak Prescott ($9,000 DK, $10,800 FD) as their offense tries to keep pace. While Prescott was limited to eight games because of injury last season, he has recorded at least 30 touchdowns in each of the last three seasons that he has played at least 16 games. The Cowboys don't have great running-back options, which should also leave them with a pass-heavy attack this season.
Running Back
Saquon Barkley ($11,200 DK, $14,400 FD) started off last season on a high note, recording 132 total yards and three touchdowns against the Packers. He ended up with a historic campaign, rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 scores. Although he didn't record a rushing touchdown in two games against the Cowboys, he combined for 233 rushing yards. Barkley had 345 rushing attempts last season, so don't expect his backups Will Shipley ($2,000 DK, $3,400 FD) and AJ Dillon ($3,000 DK, $2,000 FD) to see the field much.
There is no question who is the top running back for the Eagles. The same can't be said for the Cowboys, who will likely split carries between Javonte Williams ($5,400 DK, $6,600 FD), Jaydon Blue ($5,000 DK, $2,400 FD) and Miles Sanders ($4,000 DK, $4,000 FD). Blue and Sanders dealt with injuries during the preseason, so Williams should start. Williams has a salary that is cheap enough on both sites to warrant consideration. Blue also comes with upside, especially at his very cheap salary on FanDuel.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Brown ($9,400 DK, $11,200 FD) also began last season in style, catching five of 10 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown. In two games against the Cowboys, he had eight receptions for 145 yards and one touchdown. The only concern that comes with Brown is that, if the Eagles race out to a big lead early, he might not see many targets down the stretch as they use their rushing attack to run out the clock. He did have fewer than 70 receiving yards in five of his 13 games last season.
Brown does come with a higher floor than DeVonta Smith ($8,400 DK, $9,600 FD), who was very much feast-or-famine last season. He had five games with at least 84 receiving yards last season, as well as four games with fewer than 40 receiving yards. In Week 10 against the Cowboys, he caught two of three targets for 14 yards. When he faced them in Week 17, he caught six of seven targets for 120 yards and two touchdowns. That's a perfect example of the extremes that he brings to the table.
The Cowboys don't have a great running back depth chart, but their wide receiver duo of CeeDee Lamb ($10,800 DK, $12,000 FD) and George Pickens ($8,000 DK, $8,400 FD) is among the most dangerous in the league. Even with Prescott missing so much time last season, Lamb finished with 101 receptions, 1,194 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He has been targeted at least 152 times in each of the last three seasons. Between him and Brown, Lamb is the more appealing option for DFS. A case could even be made for deploying Pickens over Brown, given their differences in salary. Pickens comes with big-play upside, averaging at least 15.3 yards per reception in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. Despite lackluster options at quarterback for the Steelers last season, Pickens had an average depth of target of 13.1 yards. If the Cowboys fall into a big hole early, both Pickens and Lamb could see plenty of targets.
The addition of Pickens limits the upside of Cowboys' tight end Jake Ferguson ($5,200 DK, $5,000 FD), who didn't record a touchdown reception last season. In two games against the Eagles, he combined for seven catches for 42 yards. Eagles' TE Dallas Goedert ($6,400 DK, $7,400 FD) has never caught more than 59 passes in a season for his career. Last season, he had a 5.8 percent drop rate that ranked in the 30th percentile among tight ends. It's difficult to feel good about deploying Goedert, especially given his salaries on both sites.
Kicker
Brandon Aubrey ($4,800 DK, $6,200 FD) is as good as it gets in the kicker department. In two seasons in the NFL, he is 24-for-27 on field goal attempts of at least 50 yards. The Cowboys gave him a lot of opportunities to contribute last season, leaving him with 47 field goal attempts and 30 extra point attempts. Jake Elliott ($4,400 DK, $5,800 FD) had 36 field goal attempts last season, but sailed past Aubrey with 48 extra point attempts. The downside with Elliot was that he was 1-for-7 on attempts of at least 50 yards last year. He made just 77.8 percent of his total field goal attempts.
Defense/Special Teams
The Eagles ($4,600 DK, $7,800 FD) allowed 17.8 points per game last season, which was the second-lowest mark in the NFL. They generated 13 interceptions, which was the same amount that the Cowboys ($3,600 DK, $5,400 FD) recorded. The Cowboys had the third-most sacks in the NFL (52) last year, but that number could be on the decline with Parsons gone.
