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The 2025 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, September 4, when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field, with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET and Philadelphia favored by 8 points. The 2025 NFL Kickoff Game features a loaded NFL DFS player pool, with fantasy stalwarts like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and A.J. Brown leading the way. NFL DFS players can utilize both quarterbacks in their Cowboys vs. Eagles DFS lineups, but that would also tie up a large chunk of roster salary. Should you target both Hurts and Prescott when making NFL DFS picks for Thursday?

Finding undervalued players at a cheap price is still the key to building a winning NFL DFS strategy, especially with this matchup featuring so many big-name players. What is the right balance of stars and value players for 2025 NFL Kickoff Game DFS lineups? Should the likes of Miles Sanders, KaVontae Turpin or Dallas Goedert factor into your daily Fantasy football strategy? Before making any NFL DFS picks for Eagles vs. Cowboys in the 2025 NFL Kickoff Game on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL daily Fantasy expert Jimmie Kaylor. 

Kaylor is a NFL and DFS expert for SportsLine, who opened the 2022 NFL season by winning DraftKings' NFL Showdown Thursday Kickoff Millionaire contest. He edged out over 355,000 other entrants in the contest and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Kaylor has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, and his background as a former college and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks. 

Now, Kaylor has turned his attention to the NFL Kickoff Game matchup of Cowboys vs. Eagles and just locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his NFL Kickoff Game DFS picks and analysis at SportsLine, also new players can get $50 in Pick6 credits at DraftKings when they play $5: 

Top NFL DFS picks, lineups, player stacks for Eagles vs. Cowboys

One of Kaylor's top DFS picks for Cowboys vs. Eagles is Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley. The former Penn State standout played himself into the NFL MVP conversation in his first season with the Eagles, and became just the ninth player in league history to rush for 2,000 or more yards in a single season. In total, Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns, and caught 33 passes for 278 yards and two more touchdowns.

Barkley took home NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors last season, and is widely considered to be the top fantasy football running back heading into the 2025 season. He rushed for 233 yards in two games against the Cowboys, and led the league in averaging 125.3 rushing yards per game. Barkley also averaged over 21 carries and just under 24 total touches per game last season as he'll get to face a Dallas defense which ranked in the bottom four in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns allowed in 2024. See who else to roster right here.

Part of Kaylor's optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The reigning Super Bowl MVP is one of the premier dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL, and has notched double-digit rushing touchdowns in four straight seasons. Hurts is stellar in the red zone, and had multiple touchdowns (rushing and passing) in all but three of the full games he played in 2024. He's also been nearly flawless at home versus the Cowboys with five total touchdowns and no turnovers over his last two home games against Dallas.

In the 2024, Hurts threw for 2,903 yards, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions, and added 630 rushing yards along with 14 rushing touchdowns, for a total of 32 combined touchdowns. He was outstanding against Cowboys specifically, completing 14 of 20 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 56 yards and two touchdowns in one start. You can see the rest of Kaylor's NFL DFS picks here, and new users can see the latest FanDuel promo code to get $300 in bonus bets at FanDuel if your $5 bet wins:

How to build NFL DFS lineups for Cowboys vs. Eagles

Kaylor is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers in the 2025 NFL Kickoff Game. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and get the rest of Kaylor's NFL Kickoff Game DFS picks, at SportsLine. 

So who is Jimmie Kaylor including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Eagles vs. Cowboys in the 2025 NFL Kickoff Game, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from SportsLine's proven DFS expert who won a single-game millionaire maker tournament, and find out.