:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67002030/LAR_v_NYG_6.17.0.jpg)
With real-life sports in the midst of an extended time out, DraftKings has been helping to fill the void with some very entertaining simulated sports action. Each day, there are six Madden Streams and eight free contests, with a single-game Showdown for each game along with a pair of classic contests. Each of the simulations is played out via an online Madden Stream using Madden 2020 with rosters and ratings from the end of the 2019-20 season. In this format, you can enjoy watching the game stream on the DK Live app or right here in this post. Follow along to watch your fantasy team rack up some big fantasy points.
For the second game on Wednesday’s slate of wild weather, the Rams travel east to take on the Giants in the midst of a New York snowstorm at 2 p.m. ET. The Rams have a much better record in these sims, going 16-9, and have won nine games in a row. The Giants have struggled with an 8-17 record and have dropped three straight. Can the Rams make it 10 in a row or will the snow be the big equalizer and cause the team from Los Angeles to slip up? You can find my pick to win along with some of the players I think you should consider for your lineup below.
Set your FREE to play lineups here: $1K FREE Contest (LAR vs NYG)
Curious about when major leagues and events will return? Check out our DraftKings Sports Calendar for the latest updates.
Kevin Roth tackles Wild Weather Wednesday
For sports betting information in New Jersey check out NJ Online Gambling. For a DraftKings Online Casino promo code check out RotoGrinders.
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Los Angeles Rams
During their nine-game winning streak, the Rams have gotten good production from Jared Goff ($10,400), who is now averaging 17.9 DKFP per sim. He has a 77 overall rating along with an 89 throw power rating, a 91 short accuracy rating, 85 medium accuracy rating and an 83 deep accuracy rating. He has over 12 DKFP in 11 straight games, so he’s unlikely to totally bust against the G-men, and he has shown a high ceiling during that run with over 22 DKFP in five of those 11 contests. He has faced tough defenses in low-scoring contests in his two most recent games but should be able to get more going through the air against the Giants. He has a high ceiling but the snow could curb his upside. I like him as a flex option, but he isn’t one of my favorite Captain’s Pick options.
To be a good play, Goff needs to throw touchdowns, so his production really depends on how he shares work at the goal line with RB Todd Gurley ($8,600). Gurley has 16 touchdowns in his 25 sims averaging over 60 yards and 15 DKFP per contest. At game launch, he actually had X-Factor and Superstar abilities with a 97 overall rating but was downgraded in-season and dropped to his 86 overall rating in these sims. He still gets all the work in the Los Angeles backfield, though, and has shown off a high ceiling when he can get into the end zone multiple times. He had over 11 DKFP in seven straight before a down game against Arizona in his most recent contest, and I think he’ll bounce back and have a big game in the snow since the Rams may rely a little more on the run game than passing the ball.
When they do air it out, they have good options as pass-catchers. The only one with Superstar abilities is WR1 Cooper Kupp ($9,400), who was given the “Crossing Specialist” designation in the second October update this season and has an 87 overall rating and an 88 speed rating. He has scored four touchdowns in his past five games, bringing his total to nine on the sim-season with an average of 4.2 catches for 56.6 yards per sim. He definitely has upside and a high ceiling out of the slot against New York’s DST. Snow games typically help slot receivers since most of their routes are over the middle and require less distance traveled through the air.
Kupp has been good lately but has still been outperformed by the WRs below him on the depth chart. Robert Woods ($7,400) has an 86 overall rating and is averaging 14.1 DKFP per sim, the best mark of any of the Rams’ WR. Woods has a dozen scores on the season averaging 4.4 catches and 62.2 yards per sim. He has shown off a high ceiling with 37.2 DKFP against the Jets a few games ago but hasn’t found the end zone in any of his three games since. I’d give him a very slight edge over Brandin Cooks ($7,200), who has an 85 overall rating but has more big-play potential thanks to his 95 speed rating. He is the WR3 on the depth chart but has averaged 13.8 DKFP per contest with Woods’ 13 touchdowns and averaging 4.4 catches and 57.8 yards per sim. He had a key score in the Rams’ win over Arizona and finished with 16.0 DKFP in his most recent sim. Both he and Woods are great options if you can fit in their salaries.
TE Tyler Higbee ($7,000) is also right there in the same salary range but is only producing 10.1 DKFP per sim, which isn’t awful but also isn’t quite as good as Woods or Cooks. He has an 83 overall rating and can be worth watching especially if he’s involved in the red zone.
The Rams’ DST ($3,800) has a good matchup and has been surging a little bit lately. They had seven sacks against the Cardinals along with an interception to produce 13 DKFP, and they now have at least 8.0 DKFP in three of their past four contests. They have 53 sacks in their 25 games, so they should definitely be able to get pressure on the Giants’ QB. They also have one of just five players in all of Madden with a 99 overall rating in Aaron Donald, who has an X-Factor of “Fearmonger,” allowing him to apply significant pressure on the opposing QB even while engaged with blockers when he is in the zone, which he activates by picking up a sack. Greg Zuerlein ($4,200) has also been one of the best kickers in Madden, averaging over 7.0 DKFP per sim. He had at least 7.0 DKFP in five straight before finishing with just 5.0 DKFP against Arizona. Even in the snow, Greg the Leg not a bad option at just over $4K.
Madden Stream: Dolphins at 49ers
LIVE at 10 p.m. ET
New York Giants
The Giants have shown the ability to put up big points in some of their sims, but they have been held under 20 points in seven of their past eight sims, and all seven of those contests have ended with them taking the “L.” QB Daniel Jones ($10,200) hasn’t been bad, though, producing 17.6 DKFP per sim and generally out-played his 70 overall rating. He has solid mobility ratings with an 84 speed rating along with an 87 throw power rating, 85 throw accuracy short rating, 79 throw accuracy mid rating, and 80 throw accuracy deep rating. He has multiple touchdown passes and over 17 DKFP in four straight, dating back to a monster 30.72-DKFP performance against the Seahawks.
The Giants’ offense could really use a boost from Saquon Barkley ($9,000), who has averaged 62.8 rushing yards per sim and 2.6 catches for 23.7 yards per sim as well. He has only found the end zone 13 times, and he hasn’t had a score in seven games in a row. In those seven contests, he has been held under 10 DKFP five times. He has the ability to go off and is awesome in space with his 92 speed rating ad 89 elusiveness rating. He is also the Giants’ only skill-position player with an X-Factor, and his “First One Free” ability is activated by multiple runs of at least 10 yards and lasts until he is tackled for a loss. It increases his fake-out rate on the next juke, spin or hurdle when he’s “in the zone.” He also has Superstar abilities of “Evasive” and “Backfield Mismatch,” giving him faster juke and spin animations and better ability to make catches in traffic against linebackers and linemen. Barkley usually gets the work and has the ratings to dominate, but he just hasn’t been great lately partly because the Giants have been typically playing from behind.
While he doesn’t have an X-Factor or Superstar abilities, Evan Engram ($7,600) does have the distinction of being the fastest TE in the entire Madden universe with his 90 speed rating. He has an 88 overall rating, which is higher than any Giants WR, and he has typically been a good option for Jones. He has a pair of two-touchdown games in his past three outings and has over 12 DKFP in three straight and six of his past seven. Especially in the snow, I think he’ll be very involved as the Giants try to keep up with the Rams.
The Giants’ WR have been a little inconsistent but do offer some solid value. Like the Rams with Kupp, the Giants use their WR1 Golden Tate ($8,200) as their slot receiver. Tate has an 83 overall rating and has caught six passes in each of his past two games, finishing with 31.2 DKFP against the Patriots and 14.3 DKFP against the Packers. He is averaging 12.2 DKFP on the season with 3.8 catches for 48.0 yards per sim.
Tate definitely has potential, but it may not be worth paying up for him since WR2 Darius Slayton ($5,000) is much more affordable and has very similar production with 12.3 DKFP per contest on 3.8 catches for 56.3 yards per contest. Slayton has been a little more boom-or-bust than Tate, as demonstrated by his 43.6 DKFP against the Seahawks but -0.4 DKFP against the Patriots just two sims later. His 93 speed rating is the highest of any WR who regularly sees the field for the Giants, and he’s a great play at this price. In an interesting depth chart situation, the Giants’ WR3 Sterling Shepard ($4,400) is just behind Tate with an overall rating of 82, but he is third on the depth chart behind Slayton, who only has a 77 overall rating. Shepard hasn’t has as many catches or touchdowns as Slayton and Tate but can still put up nice yardage, averaging 44.8 yards per sim. He had two down games in his two most recent outings against the Patriots and Packers but had double-digit DKFP in five straight before that.
The Giants’ DST ($3,400) has been able to get to the QB with 41 sacks in their 25 games, but they have only forced 11 turnovers and averaged 3.4 DKFP per sim. The Rams’ DST has better playmakers and better upside. While he hasn’t been as good as Legatron, Aldrick Rosas ($4,000) has averaged a solid 6.0 DKFP and comes in with a streak of four straight with at least 5.0 DKFP.
THE OUTCOME
For this matchup, I really like Todd Gurley II ($12,600 CP) in the Captain’s pick spot since he gives enough room to still stack up solid elements of the passing games in the flex spots. I’ll probably pass on Barkley despite his high ceiling and go with the WR2′s and WR3′s that allow for more return on investment. If you wanted to go with a WR Captain’s Pick, you could go with Robert Woods ($11,100 CP) or swing for the fences and slot in Darius Slayton ($7,500 CP) leaving yourself plenty of room for stacking up high-priced flex plays.
The Rams have been rolling, and even though they’ll be in the snow, I think they can rely on Gurley and power their way to a win in New York. Their defense should be able to get to Jones like they did to Murray in their last game, and I think they’ll win a relatively low-scoring contest at snowy MetLife Stadium.
Final Score: Rams 20, Giants 14
DEPTH CHARTS
Rams
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20061022/RamsDC.png)
Giants
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20061025/GiantsDC.png)
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) 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.