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EARLYWeek 5 early projections · run Mon, Oct 5, 11:06 PM CT

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TB at DAL showdown: Week 5 Thursday Night Football DFS preview

By · DraftKings (PPR) & FanDuel (half-PPR) · Published

AI-assisted. Written automatically from our model's own numbers with fixed templates; nothing is invented, and no language model adds facts. How this works.

Thursday Night Football opens Week 5: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys, kickoff Oct 8, 2026, 7:15 PM CT. Here is how our 10,000 simulations of this game price every DraftKings Showdown (full PPR, Captain at 1.5x) and FanDuel Single Game (half PPR, MVP at 1.5x) option. Build lineups in the showdown optimizer (DraftKings and FanDuel, real salaries, CSV export), and see the game page.

Early edition: Week 5 model run exported Oct 5, 2026, 11:26 PM CT (10,000 simulations per game). Injury statuses from ESPN's public feed as of Oct 5, 2026, 11:06 PM CT. Statuses, roles and prices change during the week; the live pages update with every model refresh. Model opinion for entertainment and information, not betting advice. 21+. Projections change with injury news; lines and salaries move, so check before entering.

Highest projection: CeeDee Lamb at 22.7 DraftKings points (ceiling 36.8). Best FLEX value: Ryan Flournoy ($3,800, 1.95 points per $1,000). Best Captain ceiling per dollar: Ryan Flournoy ($5,700 as Captain).

Every relevant player, by projection

PlayerPosDK $CPT $MeanCeiling (p85)Pts/$1kFD $Proj
CeeDee Lamb DALWR$11,800$17,70022.736.81.92$12,60019.1
Dak Prescott DALQB$10,400$15,60020.029.51.92$11,80020.0
Javonte Williams DALRB$10,800$16,20018.830.01.74$10,40017.5
Jalon Daniels TBQB$8,600$12,90014.622.41.70$10,80014.6
George Pickens DALWR$9,400$14,10014.524.91.54$9,60012.2
Bucky Irving TBRB$8,400$12,60012.320.41.46$11,20011.5
Emeka Egbuka TBWR$8,200$12,3008.414.31.02$8,6007.0
Jake Ferguson DALTE$6,400$9,6008.014.51.25$7,6006.3
Ryan Flournoy DALWR$3,800$5,7007.412.81.95$5,2006.1
Chris Godwin Jr. TBWR$7,200$10,8006.611.20.92$8,2005.2
Cade Otton TBTE$4,400$6,6005.810.91.32$5,8004.6
Kenny Gainwell TBRB$4,000$6,0004.89.31.20$7,0004.0
Ted Hurst III TBWR$2,800$4,2004.07.81.43$4,8003.3
Tyler Goodson DALRB$2,000$3,0002.45.11.20$3,4002.2
Tez Johnson TBWR$2,200$3,3002.35.01.05$3,8001.9
Sean Tucker TBRB$2,400$3,6001.63.50.67$4,2001.6

Mean / Ceiling / Pts/$1k: DraftKings full-PPR scoring (incl. bonuses). Proj: our FanDuel half-PPR mean. Salaries from each site's public player list. Kickers are not modeled.

Game script in the simulations

Tampa Bay Buccaneers skill players combine for 60.4 projected DraftKings points, with Jalon Daniels at a passing-yards median of 182. Dallas Cowboys skill players combine for 95.1 projected DraftKings points, with Dak Prescott at a passing-yards median of 229. Stacking the quarterback with his top receiver is the most common showdown build; the optimizer lets you force in or exclude any player.

Model opinion for entertainment and information, not betting advice. 21+. Projections change with injury news; lines and salaries move, so check before entering.

More: PPR rankings by position, the start/sit tool, DFS projections, every game page and the Thursday TB at DAL showdown optimizer.

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Model opinion, not advice. For entertainment and informational purposes only. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Methodology · Track record