Our Friday NFL preseason picks take center stage, as the 2025 regular season is knocking on the door!
Who’s playing, and how many snaps will they get? Good thing we have our NFL betting expert Justin Bales here to help us out with making Friday NFL preseason predictions.
Bales’ picks have been posted on Thursday afternoon, and the markets may move by kickoff on Friday!
Editor’s Note: Looking for NFL futures picks? We’ve got you covered!
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Friday NFL Preseason Picks: Expert Predictions
It’s the last weekend of preseason NFL football before the real deal. Here’s who’s playing:
Friday, August 22
- 7:30 p.m. ET – Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Jets
- 8 p.m. ET – Minnesota Vikings vs. Tennessee Titans
- 8 p.m. ET – Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys
- 8:20 p.m. ET – Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Easton Stick Higher Than 129.5 Passing Yards
Stick continues to be locked into a massive role for the Atlanta Falcons. Michael Penix and Kirk Cousins haven’t played in the preseason, and they’ve already been ruled out for Week 3. Stick will draw his third consecutive start, and he could see 3+ quarters again.
The Falcons waived Emory Jones and added Ben DiNucci a few days ago. He’ll have to pick up the offense in less than a week, which he’ll be able to do. It’s just unlikely that he’s going to play an entire half.
At a minimum, Stick will play the first half in this game. That was what happened in Week 1, when he posted 149 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 attempts against the Detroit Lions.
He followed that up by playing the majority of the game in Week 2, throwing for 173 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception against the Tennessee Titans.
This feels like a number for his floor attempts rather than his ceiling.
Where to Play: Easton Stick higher than 129.5 passing yards | 1.87x at Underdog
Ian Wheeler Higher Than 20.5 Rushing Yards
This is a bit weird of a projection for Wheeler, as it seems to project his floor touches rather than his ceiling. There are plenty of unknowns about the Chicago Bears’ offense for Week 3 of the preseason.
First, D’Andre Swift’s role is unknown.
Head coach Ben Johnson announced that starters will play in Week 3, but that was the case in Week 2, and Swift didn’t suit up. If he does play, it’ll likely strictly be with the starters for a couple of series.
Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, and Travis Homer still aren’t practicing. It doesn’t make much sense for any of the trio to play on Friday while being held out of practice on Wednesday. Even if one does suit up, they aren’t likely to play a major role.
Deion Hankins started the game in Week 2, but he left with an injury. He’s been placed on IR, leaving Chicago to add Royce Freeman to their running back room. The only other healthy backs are Brittain Brown and Wheeler.
Wheeler is the least likely player to lose his snaps out of Brown, Freeman, and him. He’s coming off a 19-attempt game, totaling 80 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Even if he drops back to single-digit carries, this is too low of a total. Wheeler is one of my favorite Friday NFL preseason picks.
Where to Play: Ian Wheeler higher than 20.5 rushing yards | 1.87x at Underdog
