This article is part of our DFS NFL series.
Hall of Fame Game DFS Preview
Football fans rejoice as the preseason action kicks off Thursday night with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans facing off in Canton, Ohio, for the annual Hall of Fame Game. The DraftKings featured slate is the $10 Enshrinement Ceremony contest with $50k to first, while FanDuel has their $9 Preseason Rush contest with $10k up top. Let's take a look at the strategy behind preseason showdown slates and break down who is going to take the field Thursday and the best targets.
Roster Strategy
2023 Hall of Fame Game DraftKings Optimal Lineup
Captain: John Kelly Jr. (RB-CLE) 25.35 points (1.5x multiplier)
Greg Zuerlein (K-NYJ) 15 points
Demetric Felton (RB-CLE) 13.5 points
Austin Watkins (WR-CLE) 11.5 points
Dorian Thompson-Robinson (QB-CLE) 10.88 points
Israel Abanikanda (RB-NYJ) 10.2 points
It never hurts to familiarize ourselves with what happened last year to give a building block of what to start with. The optimal lineup included three RBs (one in the captain spot), a QB-WR pairing and a kicker with four players from winning the team. This shows us that you don't have to use multiple QBs and that using several receivers isn't a necessity. Note that we don't have to worry about salaries with everyone priced the same. The showdown slate uses one captain and five flex spots (four on FanDuel), with a 1.5x multiplier on the captain.
Additional Resources
Quarterbacks
With the Bears announcing that their key starters won't play in the preseason opener, Tyson Bagent will draw the start. He played in five regular season games (four starts) last year as a rookie when Justin Fields went down with a thumb injury, and he was serviceable, most notably throwing for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go along with 70 yards on the ground against the Saints in Week 9. He could see close to a half of action and the rushing upside makes him even more intriguing. Brett Rypien will follow, and rookie Austin Reed should see the fourth quarter. Reed threw for over 8,000 yards and 71 TDs in two years as a starter for Western Kentucky and would be my preferred choice over Rypien.
On the Houston side, HC DeMeco Ryans plans to take a similar approach and rest key starters. That should pave the way for Davis Mills to get the start and see most, if not all of the first half. The 2021 third-round pick threw for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Browns in Week 16 last year in his only game with more than five attempts. Veterans Case Keenum and Tim Boyle could see about a quarter each and it's likely that neither one is highly rostered. Both are worth consideration as contrarian plays, but I think Mills is a great option to build around.
Running Backs
Joe Mixon is dealing with a hamstring injury and won't play, leaving Dameon Pierce to see a sizeable workload Thursday. He's reportedly had a good training camp as he looks to regain the form he showed in his rookie year back in 2022. Sixth-round rookie Jawhar Jordan out of Louisville is another player to keep an eye on. The 5-9 back is a capable pass-catcher and should see plenty of second-half action. Dare Ogunbowale, J.J. Taylor and British Brooks are the remaining backs that should see snaps, but I'd probably only use them if you're doing a lot of lineups and want some exposure to various players.
We know D'Andre Swift won't play, but what about Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson? Their playing time appears to be up in the air. Herbert looks to bounce back from an injury plagued 2023 campaign, and he's shown big play ability (three 20 DK point games last year) and also had a 56-yard TD catch in the preseason opener last year, while Johnson is always a threat to score near the goal line. Travis Homer will likely get some playing time but generally doesn't provide a high ceiling. Interestingly, Felton had a nice showing with the Browns in last year's HOF game and signed with the Bears on Sunday. If he's active, it's possible that he sees a good chunk of playing time, as could undrafted rookie Ian Wheeler from FCS Howard University. This situation seems to be the biggest unknown, so keep an eye on the pregame reports here.
Wide Receivers
We know that DJ Moore and Keenan Allen will not suit up Thursday, and I'd lean towards ninth overall pick Rome Odunze being amongst that group as well. Tyler Scott and Velus Jones are looking to solidify their spots on the Bears 53-man roster and neither one has shown much in the preseason previously and have yet to live up to their draft capital. Nevertheless, they should get plenty of snaps in the first half with Bagent and are rosterable. Nsimba Webster chipped in for 3-37-0 in the preseason finale last year. It's somewhat of a guessing game thereafter, with rookie Peter LeBlanc being the next guy I'd take a dart throw on.
The assumption is that Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins will not suit up, and although last year's preseason star Tank Dell is participating in training camp following a broken fibula in December, I'd be surprised if they felt the need to rush him back to game action right away. John Metchie was reported to look explosive at OTAs as he looks to be fully healthy. Xavier Hutchinson had a solid preseason last year and was more involved as the season went on. Ben Skowronek has also had a good camp thus far and flashed at times for the Rams previously. This is somewhat of a take your pick here. If you're looking for the QB-WR combo, Metchie is the most likely to play with Mills.
Tight Ends
The TE position is generally one to avoid altogether in the preseason as you're just not going to get the targets you need for them to be viable enough to roster. For the Bears, I wouldn't be surprised if Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis all sit this one out. That leaves Stephen Carlson as the top option, and he had a 3-41-0 line in the preseason finale last year. For Houston, fourth-round rookie Cade Stover is the guy I would target if I had to, as he's a pass-catching tight end with potential.
Kickers/DST
We can't forget about kickers and defenses, especially considering that these are the two positions that we don't have to worry about when it comes to playing time and have the safest floor projections as a result. Cairo Santos is the lone kicker on the Bears roster, and he made 92.1 percent of his field goals last year including 7-of-8 from 50+. Ka'imi Fairbairn missed just one kick last year and either one (or both) make sense to use. Neither defense in last year's HOF game was in the optimal lineup, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider using them with the over/under at a lowly 31.5. The Texans are the slight favorite and with the Bears having a worse QB room, I'd lean towards Houston's defense over Chicago's.
