Kostos: Winning preseason picks for Week 1

While some dismiss the NFL preseason as unnecessary (not true) and merely a money grab by greedy owners (OK, they might be on to something), the fact remains that superb value can be had.

And thanks to the Hall of Fame Game being cancelled (good job, good effort, NFL!), the preseason officially gets under way this Thursday.

The preseason is an entirely different animal than the regular season. You must ignore logic and reason (passing up the Broncos as a pick-'em against the lowly Bears) in favor of which team has the stronger backup quarterback (I'll take Chicago's Brian Hoyer over Denver's Trevor Siemian and not think twice about it).

One team has a star running back? Or a phenomenal pass rusher? That's great, but they won't play very much. It comes down to backups and what each individual coach is trying to accomplish.

It's officially #MoneyTime. Let's get it.

Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears (Pick-'em), Thurs., 8 p.m. ET

The Broncos are the reigning Super Bowl champions. The Bears are coming off a 6-10 season. So surely we'll be looking to back Denver here, right? Wrong.

Unless you've been living under a rock all offseason, you know Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler signed with Houston. Denver's depth chart at quarterback: Mark Sanchez, rookie Paxton Lynch and some dude named Trevor Siemian.

Seriously. This Siemian dude is reportedly neck-and-neck with Sanchez to start for the defending champs. And it's not like Sanchez is any good, anyway.

Do you want to put your hard-earned money on the pupu platter of Sanchez, Lynch and Siemian? I don't, and I won't.

Give me Bears backup Brian Hoyer to lead Chicago to an easy victory.

Pick: Bears (Pick-'em)

Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3), Fri., 7 p.m. ET

Last year, I heavily disparaged Steelers backup quarterback Landry Jones, but he was actually decent during the regular season, going 1-1 as the starter in relief of an injured Ben Roethlisberger.

Jones is joined in the quarterback room by Bruce Gradkowski, who is also an adept backup. That gives Pittsburgh three competent options at the position.

Meanwhile, the Lions have Dan Orlovsky -- most famous for running out of the end zone for a safety during Detroit's 0-16 campaign in 2008 -- and rookie Jake Rudock behind starter Matthew Stafford.

At any point during Michigan's season last year, did you think Jake Rudock would be an NFL quarterback? Didn't think so.

This is an easy one. Lay the points and count your money in the morning.

Pick: Steelers (-3)

Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5, -125), Sat., 4:30 p.m. ET

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is awesome.

But have you seen his backups? Former TCU passer Trevone Boykin headlines the list, and behind him is someone by the name of Jake Heaps.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have Nick Foles, Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray behind Alex Smith. 'Nuff said.

Pick: Chiefs (-2.5, -125)

San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Titans (-3), Sat., 8 p.m. ET

Again, let's check out the depth chart at quarterback for each team.

Tennessee has second-year phenom Marcus Mariota as its starter. The backup, though, is Matt Cassel, who has morphed into a living, breathing pick-six. And the third-stringer is trick-shot specialist Alex Tanney.

Conversely, the Chargers have Kellen Clemens and Zach Mettenberger behind Philip Rivers, and all three are capable (to varying degrees) starters in the NFL.

Take the points and don't look back.

Pick: Chargers (+3)