Top Sunday Night Football Player Picks – Updated Weekly

Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle (23) runs for a touchdown against New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden (41) during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium.
Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Looking for the top Sunday Night Football player picks? You’ve come to the right place.

We’ve asked our Props.com analyst Josh Shepardson to search through all the best daily fantasy sports picks for every week of the NFL season so he can bring two of his best Sunday Night Football player picks to the table.

So let’s dive right in to the action below.

Top SNF Player Picks: Week 6

Check back on 10/11 for an updated slate of picks. In the meantime, feel free to read through last week’s content below.

Top SNF Player Picks: Week 5

Josh Shepardson breaks down his top two Sunday Night Football picks.

Also, make sure to check out all of our Week 5 content linked below.

Rico Dowdle “Higher” Than 13.5 Receiving Yards 

Rico Dowdle has slowly climbed to the top of Dallas’s depth chart. According to FantasyPros, Dowdle snaps shares have ranged between 43% and 46%, but Ezekiel Elliott’s bottomed out at 18% last week. Deuce Vaughn had a 14% snap share in Week 2, but he’s since had 6% and 7% snap shares. Sadly, fullback/H-back Hunter Luepke is also in the mix, spiking to a season-high 52% snap share last week. Still, Dowdle is Dallas’s top running back.

According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Dowdle’s 79 passing snaps, 53 routes, 12 targets, nine receptions, and 74 receiving yards are all the highest marks in Dallas’s backfield. So, Dowdle has been involved in the passing attack. He’s averaged 2.3 receptions per game and 18.5 receiving yards per game, with medians of 2.0 and 19.5. 

The Cowboys blew out the Browns in Week 1, and Dowdle had a season-low six receiving yards. Since then, he’s had 29, 24 and 15 receiving yards. Thus, he’s exceeded 13.5 receiving yards in three consecutive games. 

Dowdle’s matchup isn’t too shabby for continuing his streak of exceeding 13.5 receiving yards. According to Pro Football Reference, the Steelers have allowed 4.5 receptions per game and 31.0 receiving yards per game to running backs. Bijan Robinson (43 receiving yards), Javonte Williams (48 receiving yards), and Jonathan Taylor (20 receiving yards) have each eclipsed 13.5 receiving yards against the Steelers. Thus, Dowdle’s over for 13.5 receiving yards is appealing.

Where to play: Rico Dowdle Higher Than 13.5 Receiving Yards | Underdog

Justin Fields More Than 43.5 Rushing Yards (1.72x)

Justin Fields is playing the best football of his career in Arthur Smith’s offense. He’s taking sacks at a career-low 8.40% clip, which admittedly isn’t good. Still, his previous career-low was 10.63%. Fields is also completing a career-high 70.6% of his passes and tallying a career-high 6.36 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, leading to a career-high 98.0 QB Rating.

Fields’s passing numbers might not seem important for his rushing prop. However, his work through the air has likely earned him some leash to avoid an in-game benching for Russell Wilson. In addition, if he can keep Pittsburgh’s offense on the field and move the ball, he’ll have more opportunities to run and amass yards on the ground.

According to Pro Football Reference, Fields had 76.2 rushing yards per game in 2022, 50.5 in 2023, and 36.3 through four games this season. Fortunately, he hasn’t suddenly lost his sky-high ceiling for rushing yards. Fields had 57 rushing yards in Week 1 and 55 in Week 4.

Moreover, Smith has been willing to use Fields on designed runs. According to PFF, Fields has 38 designed runs this year. Smith might be even more willing to use Fields’s electrifying wheels, with Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson banged up, saying nothing of Najee Harris, who looked like he was running in quicksand last week. 

Fields’s matchup isn’t too shabby, either. DeMarcus Lawrence is on the injured reserve, and Micha Parsons has a sprained ankle. Their absences could impact a defense that allowed 39 rushing yards to Deshaun Watson in Week 1 and 87 to Lamar Jackson in Week 3. Fields should succeed against Dallas’s injury-depleted defense and surpass 43.5 rushing yards against the Cowboys.

Where to play: Justin Fields More Than 43.5 Rushing Yards | 1.72x at Sleeper Fantasy