DraftKings DFS Picks: August 16, 2025

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The NFL overlords have blessed us with 11 total preseason games on Saturday, so make sure to tell your family that you are too busy to do anything tomorrow!

DraftKings hasn't released each slate yet, but I suspect it'll look something like this:

• Early slate: 5 or 6 games (49ers/Raiders starts three hours later than the rest, so they may leave it off and keep it as Showdown-only)

• Late slate: 4 or 5 games (similar to above, where Cardinals/Broncos starts 2.5 hours after the rest of the games)

In the spirit of making sure we get enough picks out there, we'll grab two picks from each projected slate below.

Here are the four DraftKings DFS picks I'm considering in my lineups for Saturday, August 16th, 2025.

DraftKings DFS Picks: Early Slate

RB Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins

Ollie Gordon II's competition for the RB3 job, Alexander Mattison, is now out for the season with an injury, paving the way for him to be the clear RB3 in this offense.

What's interesting here, though, is that Ollie Gordon II is also a different type of back than the two in front of him, De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright, who are more speed threats. It's unlikely but not impossible that Ollie Gordon II ends up having a role at the goal line or in extreme short yardage situations during the season, and after scoring a touchdown in the first preseason game, it'll be up to him to showcase the skill set to take that on.

WR Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers

Reports out of Panthers camp are that the WR2 role behind Tetaiora McMillan may be wide open, and while Adam Thielen and Xavier Legette are likely leaders in the clubhouse for the WR2 and WR3 roles, Jalen Coker is hot on their trails. Adam Thielen isn't getting any younger (he turns 35 next week), and Xavier Legette had an underwhelming rookie season.

As a second-year player, the stock on Jalen Coker appears to be on the rise to at least rotate in with the first team consistently during the regular season, and continued momentum this preseason, especially in game action, makes the case even harder to ignore.

DraftKings DFS Picks: Late Slate

RB Jarquez Hunter, Los Angeles Rams

Jarquez Hunter and Blake Corum are battling for the top backup job behind newly-extended Kyren Williams.

In the first preseason game, both players were expected to have "around 10 touches each", and that loosely came to fruition, with Blake Corum scoring two touchdowns on nine carries for 32 yards and Jarquez Hunter taking 11 carries for 41 yards and no scores.

Right now it appears that Jarquez Hunter is looking up at Blake Corum, but I'd expect a similar split - with perhaps even more touches - for both players. Jarquez Hunter has the most ground to gain here, and with his speed, it's possible he could simply explode here.

WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Los Angeles Chargers

Well, the hype was fun while it lasted. As soon as some people in the best ball and dynasty spheres started thinking that KeAndre Lambert-Smith had an outside shot of joining the competition for the WR2 job with Tre' Harris and Quentin Johnston - with the emphasis on the "outside" part of "outside shot" - they go and sign Keenan Allen. Suddenly, everyone's stock takes a hit - even Ladd McConkey's, to a small extent - and KeAndre Lambert-Smith is now a possible practice squad candidate or WR5 at best.

And while he didn't record a catch last week, he did have a 2-43-1 line in the Hall of Fame game against the Lions, and he's reportedly been excelling in practice.

With a roster spot on the line, he'll need to truly put his performance on overdrive so the coaching staff has no choice but to keep the rookie active on gamedays.

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