NFL DFS, Seahawks vs. Patriots: Optimal daily Fantasy picks, lineup advice for 2026 NFL Kickoff Game — SkimNews
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- A.J. Brown is among Mike McClure's top NFL DFS picks for the 2026 NFL Kickoff Game after arriving in New England as a three-time Pro Bowler with four straight 1,000-yard seasons, following 155 yards in his Eagles debut and 100 yards in his first Titans game.
- Jadarian Price is also being rostered by McClure as Seattle's lead back after Kenneth Walker III (Super Bowl MVP with 161 total yards in this same matchup) departed for Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in January; Price was a 2026 first-round pick out of Notre Dame after 1,400+ rushing yards and 20 total touchdowns in his final two college seasons.
- Seattle's defense ranked No. 1 in scoring in 2025 but allowed opposing wide receivers to find the end zone at a rate only five NFL teams were worse at preventing — the matchup Brown is set to exploit.
- New England's defense allowed the sixth-most Fantasy points to running backs in 2025, the weakness McClure expects Price to attack.
- Seattle enters as a 3.5-point favorite over New England with the over/under at 44.5 for the Wednesday, Sep. 9, 8:20 p.m. ET opener, a rematch of Super Bowl 60.
- Mike McClure, SportsLine's DFS expert with more than $2 million in career winnings, runs a snap-by-snap simulation model; he tied for first in the 2023 DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and won the FanDuel Million once.
Why it matters: DFS players building Kickoff Game lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings get a model-driven shortlist from McClure, with the article explicitly arguing that Seattle's overhauled backfield (Walker gone, Charbonnet injured) and a New England defense that allowed the sixth-most Fantasy points to RBs in 2025 create a clear path for rookie Jadarian Price to outperform his salary, while A.J. Brown's track record against a Seattle secondary that leaked WR touchdowns makes him a safe anchor.
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