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With real-life sports still in the midst of an extended time out, DraftKings continues to provide some great sports simulations to fill the void. Each day there are six Madden Streams with eight free contests to be a part of. You can play a single-game Showdown for each contest along with an all-day, six-game classic contest and a three-game late slate. Each simulation will be 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 (download here) or right here in this post. Follow along to watch your fantasy team pile up fantasy points.
In Saturday’s all-day classic, there is a nice group of matchups throughout the day. We kick things off at 12 p.m. ET with an NFC South matchup between the Bucs and Falcons in Atlanta. At 2 p.m. ET, the Seahawks head to the desert to face the Cardinals in an NFC West matchup with the loser falling to the bottom of the division. At 4 p.m., the new Madden cover boy Lamar Jackson is in action when the Ravens host the Giants. The second half of the slate starts at 6 p.m. ET with the 49ers hosting Washington before Matt Patricia and the Lions host Patricia’s former team from New England in the primetime contest. The final game of the day starts at 10 p.m. ET from virtual Minnesota where the Vikings host the Broncos.
There are lots of nice options from those 12 teams in action, and I’ll give you my favorite plays at each position and price point for this six-game classic slate below. As you build your team, make sure to check out the Madden info page for all the data on player ratings, special abilities and what you can look forward to coming soon.
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Madden Stream: Broncos at Vikings
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Quarterback
Stud
Lamar Jackson, BAL vs. NYG, $7,500 — Jackson has thrown multiple touchdowns in each of his past five games and produced between 15-20 DKFP in four of those outings. In the other one, he added big-time rushing yards and another touchdown and ended up with 31.4 DKFP. He definitely has that kind of upside against a struggling Giants’ defense, but he also hasn’t been hitting that kind of production on an every-game basis. He is boom-or-bust, but his ceiling is incredible.
Matt Ryan, ATL vs TB, $7,100 — Ryan had over 300 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns in Thursday’s thrilling win over the Broncos and finished with 22.32 DKFP. He has a good matchup in this contest against the struggling Bucs’ secondary and will have favorable matchups based on ratings at pretty much every position. Matty Ice is averaging 17.6 DKFP per sim but does even better when he’s at home, averaging 19.3 DKFP in his 13 home sims. I’m expecting plenty of points in the early game, which sets up nicely for Ryan even though he doesn’t add the rushing yards that Jackson potentially provides. Other Options — Russell Wilson ($7,900), Tom Brady ($7,300)
Value
Kyler Murray, ARI vs. SEA, $6,000 — Murray gets a good matchup against the Seahawks, who have given up some big games to low-rated QBs. In his 26 sims, the rookie QB has averaged 15.7 DKFP per contest, but has actually been pretty reliable since he usually racks up the rushing yards. He has thrown for under 200 yards in each of his past four games and six of his past seven but has still produced over 13 DKFP in all but one of those games since he gets so much yardage on the ground. The ceiling is there for a monster game, as he showed with his 30.04 DKFP against Buffalo and 31.1 DKFP against Tampa Bay, but he is a high-risk, high-reward option. Kyler is a good way to save salary, though, if you’re looking for big-salary spends elsewhere.
Other Option — Jameis Winston ($6,200), Dwayne Haskins Jr. ($5,700)
Running Back
Stud
Dalvin Cook, MIN vs. DEN, $6,800 — Cook went off on Wednesday in the snow against the Bengals, producing over 200 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns on his way to 44.4 DKFP. He has over 18 DKFP in four straight and seven of his past nine games. The great thing about Cook is that he contributes so much in the passing game that he’s fairly low-risk and comes with a sky-high ceiling. He now has 21 touchdowns in his 26 sims and 11 of them have come in his 10 most recent contests. The Broncos’ run defense isn’t awful, but it isn’t good enough to make me pivot away from Cook. Other Option — Devonta Freeman ($6,100), James White ($5,900)
Value
Tevin Coleman, SF vs. WAS, $5,800 — Coleman has been elite in these sims since he gets such a high volume in just about every game the 49ers play. He had 92 yards against the Dolphins but didn’t get into the end zone, so he only finished with 12.2 DKFP. He has at least that many DKFP in eight straight contests, dating back to when he exploded for 135 yards and 22.5 DKFP against the Raiders. He has had some monster games showcasing a high ceiling but is also very reliable since he’s the lynchpin of everything the Niners are trying to accomplish offensively.
Other Options — David Johnson ($3,700), Chris Thompson ($3,000)
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Wide Receiver
Stud
Adam Thielen, MIN vs. DEN, $6,000 — The Broncos have some elite playmakers in their secondary but definitely lack depth. As a result, Denver has given up big games to opposing slot receivers, including in the team’s most recent contest when they allowed Russell Gage Jr. behind the defense for an 83-yard game-winning touchdown that gave the Falcons the win and put him in the bonus. Thielen should be able to exploit that same matchup all night long, so he should have a monster game as long as he’s involved. There have been times where the Vikings don’t throw much, but whenever they have called on Thielen, he has proven to be a very reliable contributor. Other Options — Julio Jones ($8,100), Julian Edelman ($6,700)
Value
Marvin Jones Jr., DET vs. NE, $4,900 — Jones has found the end zone in four straight games and is up to 15 scores in his 26 sims. He is averaging 13.5 DKFP per sim and has had 15 DKFP or more in each of his four most recent contests. If Kenny Golladay ($6,600) gets locked down by Stephon Gilmore, the Lions may have to look to Jones early and often since I don’t think their defense will be able to slow down Brady and the Pats’ offense.
Deebo Samuel, SF vs. WAS, $4,000 — In real life, Samuel broke his foot this week, but he’s still healthy enough to suit up for these sims and should be able to take advantage of a great matchup against the Redskins. Samuel is the Niners’ WR2 but has been very productive with 3.5 catches per game for an average of 58.6 yards per contest along with 10 receiving touchdowns. He has at least 85 yards in each of his past three games and has posted double-digit DKFP in five of his past six contests. The Redskins have been very beatable through the air, so Samuel should be a nice option at just $4K.
Other Options — Calvin Ridley ($4,600), Paul Richardson Jr. ($3,600)
Tight End
Stud
Evan Engram, NYG at BAL, $5,300 — Engram is the fastest TE in all of Madden and has been using that speed effectively in recent contests. He has at least four catches in eight straight matchups and over 20 DKFP in three of his past four. He has hauled in a total of 10 touchdown catches on the sim season but five of those have come during that four-game stretch. He has a high ceiling, especially if the Giants have to rally from behind in Baltimore. Other Option — George Kittle ($6,100), Mark Andrews ($4,900)
Value
Ben Watson, NE at DET, $4,000 — Watson continues to be one of the best TE in the sims, regardless of price, and offers great value every time the Patriots play. He has averaged an insane 67.9 yards on 5.3 catches per sim as he continues to thrive on Gronk’s old routes in the Patriots’ playbook. The Lions shouldn’t be a problem for Brady and Ben, but it’s really just a matter of which mismatch Brady locks into. Watson has been one of his go-to options so far this sim season, and I think that will continue in this matchup.
Other Options — Charles Clay ($3,600), Noah Fant ($3,500)
DST
Stud
Vikings DST vs. DEN, $2,700 — The Vikings’ DST has 29 takeaways in 26 sims and the unit has recovered an impressive 22 fumbles. They also have stacked up 52 sacks and four defensive TDs, netting them a very solid 7.2 DKFP per sim, good enough to make them one of the best fantasy defenses in the Madden universe. They get a good matchup against a rookie QB in the late game and should be primed to deliver another good performance. Other Option — Patriots ($3,100), Seahawks ($2,800)
Value
Cardinals DST vs. SEA, $2,400 — Arizona has only forced 12 turnovers in their 26 games but they have been able to get pressure on opposing QBs with 49 sacks. They have a good matchup against the struggling Seahawks and have been able to hold opponents to 21 points or fewer in eight straight contests. They don’t have the big playmakers the Vikings have, but they are a solid overall unit in a good matchup.
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.