Hall of Fame Game DFS Breakdown: Top Plays and Preseason Picks

Los Angeles Chargers vs Detroit Lions 

Vegas Line: Lions -1.5

Total: 32.5

Overall Thoughts 

Football is back…almost. You can smell it in the air with the arrival of the Hall of Fame game tonight in Canton, Ohio. The first of 49 preseason games leading up to the 2025 NFL regular season and the first chance for us to return to the NFL fantasy streets. Preseason DFS has always been one of my personal specialties – it rewards those in the trenches, paying attention as playing time rules all. Tonight is no different, we will see very few recognizable names in this game but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity or edge over our competition. 

Quarterbacks

As noted above, playing time is everything in the preseason and we luckily got clear plans from both Jim Harbaugh and Dan Campbell on this position for tonight. As noted here, Harbaugh has confirmed we will see Trey Lance for a half + the first drive of the second half. He will then give way to DJ Uiagelelei for the remainder of the game. We will also see two QB’s play for the Lions tonight – Hendon Hooker followed by Kyle Allen. Lance was fantasy gold in the preseason a year ago, while Hooker has rushing upside as well. 

Running Backs 

This will be the big positional group to watch for injury news leading up to the game. The Lions had multiple guys miss some practice time in the last week – so if we get an inactive from someone like Kye Robichaux or Sione Vaki that would open up even more time for the one that doesn’t miss plus someone like Jabari Small. I’m more interested in the Chargers RB room if all are healthy, but Small would be my pick if choosing a Lion right now. If Vaki is active he would rise up my board. 

We know that Omarion Hampton will see the field tonight, but with Najee Harris seemingly not close to returning I can’t imagine we get him for more than one drive. Just my guess, but I think we will see a heavy dose of Kimani Vidal and Raheim “Rocket” Sanders in this game. Those are my two favorite RB’s on the board for DFS tonight. 

Pass Catchers

Like Omarion Hampton, we will see Tre Harris in this game for the Chargers, but I think we top out two drives with one being most likely. Keandre Lambert-Smith has been the talk of Chargers camp and he has a great chance to carve out a real role on this team with Mike Williams retiring. He will be high-owned in DFS contests, and I could see him getting run throughout the first half with Lance at QB. 

On the Lions side, I’m wondering how much we see of Isaac TeSlaa, the Lions third round pick. With them having an extra game, I think he may end up playing a bit less than he usually would so I will likely avoid him in DFS unless we get news otherwise. Dominic Lovett is the receiver I’m most interested in from this group. He also has great speed – 4.4 40 – and has gotten a lot of positive camp talk. 

Other pass catchers we could see make an impact / see significant time on the field are Brendan Rice, Jackson Meeks, Malik Taylor and Tom Kennedy. I also am curious to see how much rookie TE Orande Gadsden plays for the Chargers. He was a very good pass catcher in college and could show off those skills in a game like this. 

Top DFS Plays 

• Trey Lance
• Hendon Hooker
• Lions DST
• Chargers DST 
• Cameron Dicker 
• Jake Bates
• Raheim Sanders
• Sione Vaki (if active)
• Jabari Small 
• KeAndre Lambert-Smith
• Dominic Lovett

Written by Ben Hossler