New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) warms up before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

When making NFL DFS (daily fantasy sports) lineups in Week 1, players like Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Amon-Ra St. Brown don’t need an explanation as to why they’re fantastic plays. On the other hand, there are other players in NFL DFS who may go overlooked and can help differentiate our lineups from others.

While looking at players’ salaries on both FanDuel and DraftKings, here are the top five underrated NFL DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) plays for Week 1.

All stats are from Fantasy Points Data unless stated otherwise.

Across the nine starts Tyler Shough made for the New Orleans Saints last season, he was QB12 in fantasy points per game (17.9). Shough was also tied for the ninth-most rushing attempts (42) and had the fourth-highest completion percentage over expected (CPOE; +6.3%) among QBs with 200-plus dropbacks during that span.

Besides the Detroit Lions being hampered by injuries on defense to begin 2026, they were 10th in fantasy points per opportunity allowed (0.49) in 2025.

The Kyler Murray era for the Minnesota Vikings will begin in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, and All-Pro Micah Parsons won’t be active for the Packers. With Murray hindered by injuries last season, it’s worth noting that he was the QB12 in fantasy points per game (18.4) while earning the 14th-most fantasy points per opportunity (dropbacks + designed rushing attempts; 0.49) in 2024.

Given the salary differences for Murray on FanDuel and DraftKings in Week 1, he’s a much better option on the green site.

Similar to Murray, Bucky Irving was affected by injuries in 2025, which led to him being RB18 in fantasy points per game (14.0). Even though Irving was just 25th in red-zone rushing rate (45.0%) a season ago, the other two RBs on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had red-zone carries last year (Rachaad White, Sean Tucker) are either not on the team or uncertain to play in Week 1.

The addition of All-Pro interior defender Dexter Lawrence will undoubtedly help the Cincinnati Bengals, but they were 32nd in fantasy points per touch (1.03) allowed to RBs in 2025.

In his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025, DK Metcalf tallied the highest route rate (85.5%), target rate (21.1%), and highest air yards share (40.6%) on the team. Metcalf also registered the 22nd-most fantasy points per game (12.5) and 25th-most fantasy points per route run (0.42) last season.

While Michael Pittman Jr. is another receiver to feed in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, the Atlanta Falcons coughed up the second-most fantasy points per game (23.7) to outside WRs in 2025. Metcalf ran 78.8% of his routes from the outside a season ago.

The surprising news of Brock Bowers getting a meniscus trim ahead of Week 1 and missing time for the Las Vegas Raiders opens the door for Tre Tucker to see more volume. Just last year, Tucker had the highest route rate (92.2%), second-highest target share (17.5%), and highest air yards share (29.1%) on the Raiders.

The Miami Dolphins now have head coach Jeff Hafley calling the shots, but they permitted the 13th-most yards per target (8.3) and 7th-most receiving touchdowns (17) to WRs a season ago.