DraftKings NFL DFS Cheat Sheet: Week 1 Picks And Stacks
By Sam Smith
September 7, 2026
The free DraftKings NFL DFS cheat sheet from Stokastic opens on a 12-game Week 1 main slate Sunday, Sept. 13. It eats the Jahmyr Gibbs chalk and hides the real edge at tight end; I turn the top stack into a full build below.
The Quick Answer
Play Gibbs: first in projection at 23.2, 45.1% owned, and the Sims still push him to 54.0% top-150 exposure. Spend your leverage on two tight ends, Trey McBride (31.7%) and Dalton Schultz (24.2%). Stack Jacoby Brissett or C.J. Stroud, the top QB+2 shapes at 13.3% and 12.7%. The full board, and what it says about your FLEX, is below.
The Week 1 Board For Sunday, Sept. 13
| Panel | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Projections (Proj FP) | Jahmyr Gibbs 23.2 | Ja'Marr Chase 21.8 | Justin Herbert 21.7 | Josh Allen 20.8 | Bijan Robinson 20.5 |
| Highest Ownership (Own%) | Jahmyr Gibbs 45.1% | Chris Olave 37.5% | Ja'Marr Chase 32.0% | Bijan Robinson 24.5% | Devaughn Vele 18.2% |
| Top Values (Value) | Justin Herbert 3.6 | Tyler Shough 3.4 | Jacoby Brissett 3.4 | Trevor Lawrence 3.3 | C.J. Stroud 3.3 |
| Top Exposures (Exp%) | Jahmyr Gibbs 54.0% | Trey McBride 43.3% | Chris Olave 42.7% | Dalton Schultz 37.3% | Ja'Marr Chase 37.3% |
| Leverage Plays (Lev%) | Trey McBride 31.7% | Dalton Schultz 24.2% | MarShawn Lloyd 18.2% | Drake London 14.0% | Devaughn Vele 13.8% |
| Top QB+2 Stacks (Stack%) | Jacoby Brissett 13.3% | C.J. Stroud 12.7% | Kirk Cousins 7.3% | Justin Herbert 6.0% | Jalen Hurts 6.0% |
Panels as of Sept. 7; re-check before lock. McBride's row is the story: 43.3% exposure at $6,800 and top leverage at 31.7%. Leverage is exposure minus projected ownership, so the Sims see him near 12% owned. The Stokastic Sims play the slate tens of thousands of times with ownership modeled as a distribution, and with Week 1 projections still leaning on last season and camp, that sim-built exposure outranks the raw list.
Two Tight Ends And The Full-PPR Bonus
DraftKings is full PPR with 3-point bonuses at 100 rushing, 100 receiving and 300 passing yards; the last one is why a QB+2 pays more here than on FanDuel. McBride ($6,800) is the receiving-bonus case. Schultz ($3,400) is the anomaly: a $3,400 tight end in 37.3% of top-150 lineups means the Sims see a role his price has not caught up to. Play both and one is your FLEX: the FLEX call is a second tight end, not a fourth receiver.
Worked Example: Brissett's Stack To A Lineup
Brissett at 13.3% is my Week 1 entry under the $50,000 cap:
- Stack: Brissett ($5,100), McBride ($6,800) and one more Arizona pass catcher from the NFL DFS projections, ownership and stacks in the DataHub; the board does not rank Arizona's receivers.
- Chalk: Gibbs ($8,000) and Chase ($7,800); fading exposure that runs above ownership is leverage you are not paid for.
- FLEX: Schultz ($3,400).
- Funding: $31,100 spent, $18,900 left for that Arizona receiver, a back, one more receiver and a defense; MarShawn Lloyd ($4,800, 18.2% leverage) is the back.
Confirm Brissett's and Lloyd's roles before lock. The mirror build is Stroud ($5,200) with Schultz and a Houston pass catcher, McBride at FLEX. The cheat sheet is free every week. Code CHEAT takes 15% off your first payment on the paid Stokastic NFL DFS packages, home of the full Sims, Ownership Projections and the ROI-ranked lineup pool behind these panels.
- FanDuel NFL DFS Cheat Sheet: Week 1 Picks And Stacks
- How To Make Your Own NFL DFS Projections
- DraftKings PGA DFS Cheat Sheet: Sims, Projections And Ownership
- DraftKings MMA DFS Cheat Sheet: Sims, Projections And Ownership
- DraftKings MLB DFS Cheat Sheet: Projections, Ownership & Stacks For August 3
Where My Entries Land
Gibbs at 45.1% owned is the rare chalk the Sims want even more of, so Week 1 is a win-at-tight-end week, not a fade-the-chalk week. My last seat, Drake London or Devaughn Vele, goes to Vele: more owned at 18.2%, but $3,500 with near 32% exposure, and he plays in the Gibbs game, New Orleans at Detroit, where the version that pays is Detroit leading and the Saints throwing. London is the swap when Chase comes out; start there from the Week 1 pricing breakdown. 21+.