The winning lineup put three running backs on the roster with D'Andre Swift in the FLEX, took a player from each side of the 59-37 Bears–Panthers game, and finished with a Jordan Love–Christian Watson stack in the late window. It played the obvious chalk where it made sense (Jahmyr Gibbs, 42.8% owned) and set itself apart with how the roster was built.
The Contest by the Numbers
The featured Week 1 tournament on DraftKings was the NFL $3.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire, with $1 million to first place. Entry cost $5. The field was 832,342 lineups deep, built on a 12-game Sunday main slate.
The winner, DraftKings user jwussow28, posted 273.98 fantasy points. According to DraftKings Network's recap, that finished more than five points clear of everyone else. In a field that size, five points is a lot of space.
The context matters too. DraftKings described Week 1 as "a very high-scoring week, across the board, with the top scores in many contests soaring over 250 FPTS." It was an unusual opener. Yahoo's Week 1 recap noted that an under bet on all 12 Sunday games in Week 1 last year would have gone 11-1. This year the scoreboards broke the other way.
| Contest Detail | Week 1 Millionaire |
|---|---|
| Contest | NFL $3.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire |
| Top prize | $1,000,000 |
| Entry fee | $5 |
| Entries | 832,342 |
| Slate | 12-game Sunday main slate |
| Winning score | 273.98 FPTS (jwussow28) |
| Winning margin | More than five points |
The Winning Lineup
Here's the full nine-player build, with the DraftKings fantasy points each player scored and the stat lines from DraftKings Network's breakdown. It adds up to exactly 273.98.
| Slot | Player | FPTS | Stat Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Jordan Love (GB) | 24.48 | 387 pass yds, 2 TD, 2 turnovers |
| RB | Derrick Henry (BAL) | 38.3 | 144 rush yds, 3 rush TD, 19-yd catch |
| RB | Jahmyr Gibbs (DET) | 37.6 | 156 rush yds, 2 rush TD, 5-30 receiving |
| WR | Jalen Coker (CAR) | 36.8 | 138 rec yds, 2 TD |
| WR | Christian Watson (GB) | 35.7 | 6 rec, 147 yds, 2 TD |
| WR | D.J. Moore (BUF) | 24 | 5 rec, 100 yds, 1 TD |
| TE | Dallas Goedert (PHI) | 23.7 | 4 rec, 77 yds, 2 TD |
| FLEX | D'Andre Swift (CHI) | 35.4 | 124 rush yds, 3 rush TD, 10 rec yds |
| DST | Steelers | 18 | Win over Falcons, T.J. Watt pick-six |
| Total | 273.98 | 1st of 832,342 | |
Every slot pulled its weight, and that's the point. Nobody on this roster scored fewer than 18 points. The lowest offensive score was Goedert's 23.7. When you win a field of 800,000-plus, you rarely get there with one monster and eight passengers. You get there by avoiding the zero.
We'll go through the four decisions that made this lineup, and then what they mean for your Week 2 builds.
Decision 1: Three Running Backs, With Swift in the FLEX
The backbone of this lineup is the backfield. Derrick Henry, Jahmyr Gibbs and D'Andre Swift combined for 111.3 fantasy points. That is more than 40% of the winning total from three roster spots.
Derrick Henry (38.3). Henry was the highest-scoring running back of the week. He ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns and added a 19-yard catch in Baltimore's 41-23 win at Indianapolis. One of those scores moved him into third place all-time in career rushing touchdowns. The Ravens piled up 506 total yards, per Yahoo, and Lamar Jackson threw for 324. Henry was the finisher in an offense that never stalled.
Jahmyr Gibbs (37.6). Gibbs ran for 156 yards and two scores and caught five passes for 30 yards. Detroit needed overtime to beat the Saints, and the extra period gave him even more time to pile up points. It was his first game since David Montgomery left for Houston. Montgomery scored 28.9 in his own Texans debut but wasn't in the winning lineup.
D'Andre Swift (35.4). Swift ran for 124 yards and three touchdowns, and caught passes for 10 more yards, as the Bears hung 59 points on Carolina.
DraftKings noted that four running backs topped 35 fantasy points on the slate. Plenty of tournament lineups fill the FLEX with a receiver or tight end. Putting a third back in the FLEX is a bet that rushing touchdowns will drive the slate. In Week 1, they did.
Decision 2: Both Sides of the Bears–Panthers Shootout
Chicago beat Carolina 59-37. Yahoo's Week 1 recap called it the highest-scoring Week 1 game ever. It also tied for the 12th-highest-scoring game in NFL history.
The winning lineup had a piece from each side. Swift was the Chicago piece. Jalen Coker was the Carolina piece, and he finished as the top wide receiver on the entire slate with 138 yards and two touchdowns (36.8 points). Bryce Young threw for 361 yards and three scores, and Coker was the receiver who cashed in.
This is the bring-back idea from our NFL stacking guide. When you expect a game to turn into a track meet, you want exposure to both offenses, because one team scoring a lot usually forces the other team to keep throwing.
The interesting part is how this lineup got its Chicago exposure. It wasn't through the passing game. Caleb Williams had four total touchdowns and 334 total yards, per Yahoo, but Chicago's big three pass catchers mostly stayed quiet. Luther Burden went 5-63. Rome Odunze had only two catches. Colston Loveland didn't catch a pass. If you stacked Williams with his receivers, you got the quarterback and missed most of the rest. The Chicago points went to the backfield, where Swift and Kyle Monangai (10-100-1) did the damage.
Getting a piece of the right game matters more than picking the obvious pieces.
Decision 3: A Late-Window Packers Stack That Paid Even in a Loss
The winning lineup was patient. DraftKings said the entry "was built around a Packers stack against the Vikings" in the late window. That stack was Jordan Love and Christian Watson.
Love threw for 387 yards and two touchdowns, and both touchdowns went to Watson. He also had two turnovers, which cost him points, and Green Bay lost at Minnesota anyway. It didn't matter. Watson caught six passes for 147 yards, including an 81-yard catch-and-run, and scored 35.7 points. Love added 24.48. As DraftKings put it, "both the QB and WR points stacked up to carry them to the top."
There's a lesson in that. Fantasy points don't care who wins the game. A team that falls behind and has to throw can be the best stack on the slate, especially when it's missing its lead running back. Green Bay played without Josh Jacobs, who is on the Commissioner's Exempt List.
The other late-window piece was Dallas Goedert. He caught four passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns (23.7 points), finishing as the second-highest-scoring tight end on the main slate, while Philadelphia edged Washington by two points.
Having three of nine roster spots in the late games gave this lineup something many contenders didn't have on Sunday afternoon: room to move. If you aren't using the late window to adjust, read our late swap strategy guide before Sunday.
Decision 4: Eat the Right Chalk
DraftKings published one ownership number for this lineup: Jahmyr Gibbs was in 42.8% of Millionaire lineups. Almost half the field had him, and the winner did too.
That runs against a lot of lazy DFS advice. "Be contrarian" doesn't mean fading everyone popular. It means being different where it counts. Gibbs was the obvious play in a great spot, and he delivered 37.6 points. Fading him would have meant betting against one of the slate's best outcomes just to be different.
DraftKings' own summary of the winning approach is worth quoting in full: the entry "made all the right calls, fading some popular plays and finding just the right values." We don't have ownership numbers for the rest of the roster, so we won't guess which plays were faded. The overall structure is clear, though. The lineup took the popular back who made sense, then set itself apart with a third running back in the FLEX, both sides of the Chicago–Carolina game, and a late-window stack.
Here's a simple way to think about it. Every lineup in an 832,342-entry field needs some way to be different. The best ones choose where to be different. They don't fade players just because they're popular.
The Supporting Cast: Moore, Goedert and the Steelers
D.J. Moore (24 points). Moore made his Buffalo debut with five catches for exactly 100 yards and a touchdown. It was a solid wide receiver score that didn't need to be spectacular.
Steelers DST (18 points). Pittsburgh tied the Bengals for the most fantasy points among defenses on Sunday. The Steelers beat the Falcons in Mike McCarthy's debut as head coach, helped by a T.J. Watt pick-six. Defensive touchdowns are the swing factor at DST, and this one landed.
Notice what's missing: the slate's most famous receiver. Ja'Marr Chase caught two passes for 12 yards on four targets, according to Yahoo. Some weeks the winning move is simply not paying for the player who busts.
What to Take Into Week 2
DraftKings is already advertising the next big one: the NFL $3M Fantasy Football Millionaire, again with $1 million to first, on a 13-game Sunday slate. Note the change. The entry fee goes from $5 to $20. Budget for that before you enter.
The takeaways from this winning lineup:
- Rethink the FLEX. If the slate sets up for rushing touchdowns, a third running back is a legitimate tournament play.
- Play the game, not just the team. If you like a shootout, get exposure to both sides. Don't assume the quarterback's receivers are the only way in.
- Don't fear the losing side. Green Bay lost and still had the stack that won the contest.
- Save some late flexibility. Having late-window players lets you adjust after the early games go final.
- Pick your chalk on purpose. Playing a 42.8%-owned back didn't stop this entry from winning. Being different elsewhere is what mattered.
One reality check. A single entry won this contest out of 832,342. These tournaments are designed to be long shots, and most lineups lose. Play them with money you have set aside for entertainment, size your entries the way we recommend in our 1% bankroll rule guide, and treat a big score as a bonus, not a plan.
The Bottom Line
jwussow28 won the Week 1 Millionaire with 273.98 points by getting four decisions right. They played three running backs, took both sides of a record-setting Week 1 shootout, stacked a late-window quarterback with his top receiver even though that team lost, and played popular chalk only where it made sense. Nothing in this lineup was random.
You won't copy the exact roster in Week 2, but you can copy the thinking. If you want a shot at a $1 million top prize, DraftKings' Millionaire is the headline NFL tournament to target. If you'd rather learn on a smaller, softer field first, FanDuel is a strong place to start. Paid contests are available in eligible states — check your state before you sign up.