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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.
Tuesday’s slate kicks off with a 12 p.m. ET matchup between the Rams and the Dolphins in Miami. At 2 p.m. ET, the Texans hit the road to take on the Raiders in Oakland before the Ravens and the Bengals meet at 4 p.m. ET in an AFC North divisional contest. The second half of the slate starts at 6 p.m. ET with the Chiefs visiting Washington. In the primetime contest, the Jets will take on the Vikings in Minnesota, and the slate wraps up with the “Madden After Dark” matchup between the Jaguars and the Colts in another divisional matchup.
There are lots of ways you can build your roster with the 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 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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Quarterback
Stud
Deshaun Watson, HOU at OAK, $7,200 — Watson and the Texans struggled in their most recent sim and ended up losing to the Bengals. He has only thrown one touchdown in five of his past six games with under 16 DKFP in three of those contests. Despite his recent form, though, I love him in this matchup against the Raiders. Watson has an extremely high ceiling due to his rushing abilities and can pile up points, especially against lesser secondaries. He had three touchdowns, 348 yards and 35.32 DKFP against the Dolphins a few sims ago and has over 30 DKFP in three of his past six. When he’s good, he’s very good, and this matchup should allow him to bounce back and reach that ceiling once again. Other Options — Patrick Mahomes ($8,000), Lamar Jackson ($7,500)
Value
Dwayne Hasksins Jr., WAS vs. KC, $5,600 — Haskins has been a very volatile option as well in these sims and the Redskins have struggled overall. However, when he has been locked in, he has put up some big games. His last time out, he threw for four touchdowns and 340 yards on his way to 31.6 DKFP in a loss to the 49ers. He had three touchdowns, 241 yards and 21.64 DKFP in the previous game against the Seahawks. He has had a few stinkers as well, so there is the chance he goes bust against the Chiefs, but he usually fares well when forced to keep up with a high-scoring offense like Kansas City’s. He’s very high risk, but there’s a high reward for rolling with him at this salary as well.
Other Options — Jacoby Brissett ($5,800), Gardner Minshew II ($5,300)
Running Back
Stud
Dalvin Cook, MIN vs. NYJ, $6,800 — Cook has been one of the best RB1 options in these sims and should be able to bounce back from a down game against the Broncos in which he only posted 11.6 DKFP. In each of his four previous games, he had over 18 DKFP including a monster 44.4-DKFP performance against the Bengals. Cook is very involved as a pass-catcher, adding 2.4 catches per sim to his 78-yard average on the ground. He has 21 touchdowns in his 27 contests and is usually the focus of Minnesota’s gameplan. Other Options — Leonard Fournette ($6,500), Damien Williams ($6,300)
Value
Nyheim Hines IND vs. JAX, $3,200 — Hines is always involved in the Colts’ gameplan as well, filling in as the team’s third-down back. He has been very productive with 2.2 catches per sim for an average of 24.5 receiving y yards and 8.7 DKFP. He has posted at least 6.0 DKFP in five straight games and showed off his extremely high ceiling early in these sims when he went off for 30.1 DKFP against the Jets. Hines has lots of upside at just over $3K and should be able to offer a very nice return while also allowing you to spend the salary savings at other spots on your roster.
Other Options — Lamar Miller ($4,900) Chris Thompson ($4,000)
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Wide Receiver
Stud
T.Y. Hilton, IND vs JAX, $7,000 — Hilton has been a volatile option in these sims due to inconsistent QB play, but he has shown he has a very high ceiling and is actually pretty affordable compared to the other elite options over $8K. Hilton had eight catches for 172 yards, a game-winning touchdown and 34.2 DKFP in his most recent game against the Browns. That monster performance raised his average on the season to 15.8 DKFP per contest on 69.8 yards and 4.3 catches per contest. He has gone completely catchless twice, which is unusual for a WR1, but the Colts offense can sometimes be totally stuck in neutral. I don’t think that will be the case as they host the Jags, though, and Hilton definitely has the potential to go off. Other Options — Tyreek Hill ($8,500), DeAndre Hopkins ($8,200)
Value
D.J. Chark Jr., JAX at IND, $5,800 — Chark is usually one of the most affordable WR1 options on the board, but he has been extremely productive in his 26 sims. His 81 overall rating includes a very nice 94 speed rating and a 91 catching rating. He had a quiet game yesterday against the Jets with just a season-low 4.2 DKFP. He is almost always heavily involved and is averaging just under four catches per sim. He hasn’t scored a touchdown in four straight sims, but he should return to the end zone in this contest after scoring 22 touchdowns in his first 22 games. Even after yesterday’s letdown, I’m still confident that Chark is a good play under $6K.
Albert Wilson, MIA vs. LAR, $3,600 — Wilson is one of just a few players under $4K who are averaging more than 10 DKFP per sim. As the Dolphins WR2, Wilson is on the field almost all the time and has been heavily involved lately. He has at least four catches and at least 10 DKFP in five of his past six contests, with a bizarre catchless no-show mixed into the middle. He only has a 76 overall but his 91 speed rating give him a high ceiling. He has shown a very high ceiling with 30.9 DKFP against the Jets and 27.5 DKFP against the Raiders during that run, and I think he’ll get a very favorable matchup against the Rams, as long as CB Jalen Ramsey focuses on shutting down DeVante Parker ($6,400) on the other side.
Other Options — Will Fuller IV ($3,900), Chester Rogers ($3,200)
Tight End
Stud
Darren Waller, OAK vs. HOU, $5,200 — Waller has scored a touchdown in three straight sims and now has 12 in his 27 contests on the sim season. He has at least six catches in each of those three contests as well for over 18 DKFP. When the Raiders have to air it out, he’s usually Derek Carr’s ($6,700) first option and brings big-play potential with his 89 speed rating. The Texans secondary has been shaky, so look for Waller to continue his elite production from his affordable price. Other Option — Travis Kelce ($6,500), Mark Andrews ($5,000)
Value
Mike Gesicki, MIA vs. LAR, $3,800 — Gesicki has a very high ceiling if Miami can keep up with the Rams and make this a close early matchup. Gesicki has at least three catches in five straight and double-digit DKFPin four of those outings, highlighted by 112 yards against the Texans and a two-touchdown performance against the Jets. He has big-play potential with a decent 83 speed rating and comes at a very affordable salary.
Other Options — Jordan Reed ($4,600), James O’Shaughnessy ($4,300)
DST
Stud
Vikings DST vs. NYJ, $2,900 — The Vikings and Jets meet in a clash of two of the best defenses in these sims at creating turnovers. Minnesota has 30 takeaways in their 27 sims with four defensive touchdowns and 53 sacks as well. They’ve been especially good at getting pressure on the opposing QB when playing at home, where they are averaging 7.6 DKFP per contest. The Jets’ offense has struggled lately, so Minnesota is my top DST play of the day. Other Options — Chiefs DST ($2,800), Texans DST ($2,700)
Value
Ravens DST at CIN, $2,500 — Baltimore’s defense has forced only 12 turnovers in their 27 sims, but they do usually limit opponents effectively and have also piled up 38 sacks. They have actually been better on the road than at home and get a good matchup against the Bengals in what I think will be a low-scoring AFC North slugfest.
Other Options — Jaguars ($2,200), Jets ($2,100)
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.