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The regular season will be just a week old and already we have a do-or-die game between a pair of 0-1 division rivals. Carolina hosts Tampa Bay and the loser could be falling two games behind the Saints by the end of play Sunday. We’ll see if that sense of urgency lifts either team out of its Week 1 doldrums. Let’s look at some players to target in DraftKings’ $1,111,111 six-man Showdown slate -- with a first-place prize of $250,000 -- and who to use in the critical Captain slot:
CAPTAIN OBVIOUS
Christian McCaffrey ($18,600): This is one of those times where a player is close to 100 percent owned in a Showdown, and the issue becomes what percentage of that 100 plays him in the Captain slot to earn the extra 50 percent scoring. There are enough super-low value plays to make fitting McCaffrey into the Captain’s chair pretty easy, so I would go ahead and do that and try to differentiate your lineup elsewhere. This is a week to play the Thursday-Sunday slate and use him there, too.
CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS
Greg Olsen ($9,300): If you’re going to fade McCaffrey in the Captain slot, you want to do it with someone whom no one wants to play who actually has a chance to smash. That could be Olsen, whose cranky back will scare people off him, and whose lackluster opener will also turn people away. Good, because the Buccaneers routinely get killed by tight ends. If Olsen is active, he’s going to have a great chance to be productive and put up a nice number at a relatively low price. It’s a real gamble, but if he hits – and takes TDs off McCaffrey’s plate -- he could win the slate by himself.
FLEX MEN
Chris Godwin ($8,600): As Cooper Kupp showed in Week 1, the Panthers are vulnerable to slot receivers and Godwin is arguably the best receiver the Bucs have right now, with Mike Evans dealing with an illness that rendered him a non-factor on Sunday. Godwin had the Bucs’ lone passing TD, and he will have to come up big for the Bucs to have any chance to win.
D.J. Moore ($8,000): Moore was clearly Cam Newton’s top target in Week 1, getting 10 passes thrown his way to just four for Curtis Samuel. Moore didn’t do much with his targets, but he gets another chance against the Bucs. He’s not exciting right now, but he’s the best wideout option the Panthers have to offer.
Dare Ogunbowale ($2,400): You need salary savers to get McCaffrey in the Captain slot and still play some studs, and Ogunbowale is the key to the puzzle. He caught four passes on five targets for 33 yards against the 49ers and could be equally productive if the Bucs are playing from behind again. Play Dare and a kicker and your salary concerns are solved.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jeffgo33) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.