NFL Hall of Fame Game Preview
Football is back! The Panthers and Cardinals are set to kick off preseason play Thursday with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, marking the first NFL action since the Super Bowl in February when the Seahawks destroyed the Patriots.
FanDuel and DraftKings both offer DFS showdown contest for the Hall of Fame Game, with DraftKings featuring a large contest to kick off the preseason with its $18 Enshrinement Ceremony GPP and $50k to first.
Hall of Fame Game Starting Lineups
Regular-season starters typically see little to no action in the Hall of Fame Game, with youngsters and depth players taking center stage. That is the case in the Thursday's game, as both teams said they will rest key starters.
However, it's still unclear just who exactly that pertains to. For example, Chuba Hubbard is "unlikely" to play for the Panthers, but he hasn't been ruled out like teammate Jonathon Brooks.
For the Cardinals, rookie quarterback Carson Beck will start, and it's expected that the team's top-3 running backs won't play but only Jeremiyah Love has been announced as out.
For lineup information, keep updated with our fantasy football news page. During the regular season, always consult our NFL Starting Lineups page.
Our RotoWire NFL Optimizer will help you pinpoint top DFS targets, in addition to the players highlighted below.
Panthers Starting Lineup
| PROJECTED STARTER | POSITION |
|---|---|
| Kenny Pickett | QB |
| Trevor Etienne | RB |
| Jimmy Horn | WR |
| John Metchie | WR |
| Caden Prieskorn | TE |
| Ryan Fitzgerald | K |
Cardinals Starting Lineup
| PROJECTED STARTER | POSITION |
|---|---|
| Carson Beck | QB |
| Trey Benson | RB |
| Xavier Weaver | WR |
| Reggie Virgil | WR |
| Elijah Higgins | TE |
| Chad Ryland | K |
Hall of Fame Game DFS Roster Strategy
Both FanDuel and DraftKings have an MVP/Captain slot for showdown preseason slates, followed by five flex positions. Given that all players have the same salary, there is plenty of flexibility to simply pick the players projected to score the most possible points.
Teams typically rest key starters for the entirety or vast majority of preseason games, especially early in the preseason, so the strategy for preseason DFS contests centers on targeting youngsters or fringe roster players likely to see extensive playing time and make the most of it.
Since individual players rarely play for more than half the game, finding the optimal lineup often comes down to correctly predicting touchdowns scorers, regardless of position. Defenses tend to be safe plays as they're the only ones that don't have to be worry about splitting playing time.
Quarterback
Panthers coach Dave Canales announced the team will rest key starters, including QB Bryce Young, so Kenny Pickett will start under center for Carolina. Pickett is likely to give way at some point to undrafted rookie Haynes King, and the latter has the most fantasy upside in Carolina's QB room Thursday considering he rushed for 953 yards and 15 TDs at Georgia Tech in 2025.
For the Cardinals, rookie third-round pick Carson Beck was named the starter. Veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew are unlikely to play, leaving QB duties to Beck and Kedon Slovis, who threw two regular-season passes for the Cardinals in 2025.
King and Beck likely will feature in the majority of lineups, and both are quality candidates for the MVP/Captain spot. One factor to keep in mind is that Beck will face the top of Carolina's defensive depth chart, or at least the best Panthers defenders dressed, while King will probably be matched against Arizona's depth pieces, most of whom won't make the regular-season roster.
Running Back
Jonathon Brooks is out for the Panthers, and Chuba Hubbard is unlikely to play, leaving Trevor Etienne, AJ Dillon, Anthony Tyus and Miles Davis as Carolina's backfield options. Etienne and Dillon are battling for the third spot on the depth chart, and Travis Etienne's younger brother has the most upside of this group as he looks for a larger role in his second NFL season. The 2025 fourth-round pick played primarily on special teams in his rookie campaign, though Etienne averaged a respectable 4.7 yards per carry on 20 attempts and caught all three of his targets during the 2025 regular season.
Depth options Trey Benson, Bam Knight, Corey Kiner and Evan Hull are expected to share the rushing opportunities for the Cardinals. Rookie third overall pick Jeremiyah Love won't make his highly anticipated NFL debut, while veterans Tyler Allgeier and James Conner (foot) don't need any more tread on their tires from this exhibition game. Benson has struggled to stay healthy, but the 2024 third-round pick has a strong career average of 4.9 YPC, while Knight has exceeded 60 rushing yards in a regular-season game on four occasions.
Both teams have some intriguing players competing for depth roles in the backfield. Expect plenty of runs and checkdowns as both sides give significant playing time to rookie QBs. Etienne and Knight might have the best mix of talent, opportunity and health among RB options in the Hall of Fame Game.
Wide Receiver
Both teams have wide receiver depth charts stretching into the double digits, even after the Panthers lost rookie third-round pick Chris Brazzell (knee) for the season. Xavier Legette (neck) and Dan Chisena (undisclosed) will also sit for the Panthers, while established starters such as Carolina's Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, or Arizona's Marvin Harrison and Michael Wilson, aren't expected to play much if at all.
Carolina's 2025 sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn and offseason addition John Metchie could be among the top targets while Pickett is in the game. The Panthers' passing attack will have a low floor after that point as King gets his first taste of NFL action.
Beck had a better track record than King as a passer in college, so Arizona's depth options at wide receiver have more upside than Carolina's. The likes of Xavier Weaver, Reggie Virgil, Simi Fehoko and Jalen Brooks are battling for roster spots and will be highly motivated to get some strong tape out there.
Tight End
Carolina's offense doesn't typically utilize TEs much in the passing game, but former Ole Miss TE Caden Prieskorn is a player to watch for the Panthers. Prieskorn had at least 400 receiving yards in each of his last three college campaigns and 14 TDs over that span before spending time on multiple NFL practice squads in 2025.
Arizona is expected to direct plenty of passes toward Trey McBride when the games count, but the star TE won't get his hands dirty Thursday. Former college WR Elijah Higgins, Teagan Quitoriano and Kenny Yeboah each have 33-45 games of NFL experience, so the Cardinals could get some meaningful production out of the position without utilizing McBride.
Kicker/DST
Both teams only have one kicker on their respective rosters, Ryan Fitzgerald for the Panthers and Chad Ryland for the Cardinals. DraftKings has the over/under for Thursday's game at 35.5. Kickers don't have the highest ceiling, but there should be some kicking opportunities to go around Thursday. You could do worse than Fitzgerald or Ryland as floor plays.
Defenses have even higher floors than kickers, though, especially with both teams likely to give significant playing time to inexperienced QBs. Carolina's defense is especially appealing since neither Beck or Slovis have any track record of success at the NFL level and could prove prone to mistakes.
