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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.
Friday night’s three-game late slate which starts at 6 p.m. ET is the focus of this post. We get underway with a matchup between the Ravens and the Panthers which features the Madden 2021 cover athlete against two of the five players with 99 overall ratings in Madden 2020. The 8 p.m. ET primetime showdown is an AFC East clash between the Bills and the Patriots. The slate wraps up with a Madden After Dark matchup between the Eagles and the Titans from virtual Philadelphia
There are lots of ways you can build your classic roster with the options from those six teams in action, and I’ll give you my favorite plays at each position and price point for this three-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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Madden Stream: Titans at Eagles
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Quarterback
Stud
Tom Brady, NE vs. BUF, $7,400 — Brady has been a little more consistent than Lamar Jackson ($7,600), but both have pretty tough matchups on this slate. Brady has produced over 19 DKFP in three of his past five games and racked up five touchdowns against the Lions two sims ago. He didn’t have a great game in the snow against the Steelers, but the matchup and the weather were both tough. Buffalo’s secondary has some elite options but doesn’t have the depth to match up against all the options in Brady’s pass attack. Jackson has had some fumbling issues in these sims which could be a problem against the hard-hitting Panthers. Other Option — Lamar Jackson ($7,600)
Value
Josh Allen, BUF at NE, $6,200 — Allen has been mostly a disappointment in these sims, especially throwing the ball. He has been all right rushing the ball, though, and has 16 rushing touchdowns to go with 49.2 rushing yards per sim. Allen has only reached 200 yards in four of his 28 sims but has managed to stay fantasy-relevant with his rushing production, which has powered him to over 19 DKFP in six of his past eight sims. In his most recent contest, he fumbled three times against the Panthers, but New England hasn’t forced as many fumbles, and have been vulnerable to rushing QBs a little bit. Allen doesn’t have the ceiling of the elite plays but could be scrambling enough against the Patriots to be a solid value play.
Running Back
Stud
James White, NE vs. BUF, $5,800 — White has scored in each of the past two games and is up to 12 touchdowns on the sim season. He had over 100 yards in the snow on Wednesday and should be in a good matchup to carry the load. Buffalo’s secondary has been good at times in these sims, but its run defense has struggled, which could set up a game script that favors White. He is always involved to some degree as both a rusher and receiver, which makes him a very consistent option as demonstrated by his double-digit DKFP in each of his past six contests. Other Options — Christian McCaffrey ($7,600), Devin Singletary ($5,400)
Value
Miles Sanders, PHI vs. TEN, $5,200 — Sanders is the sixth-highest priced RB on this slate, which makes him a great deal since he gets virtually all the work in the Eagles’ backfield and is very involved as a receiver as well as the primary ball-carrier. Sanders has 64 catches in his 28 contests (2.3 per contest) and has racked up over 75 yards on the ground per sim. He has at least 11.9 DKFP in four of his past six sims and has shown off an extremely high ceiling as well. A matchup with the Titans isn’t ideal, but he’s still worth a look at this salary.
Other Option — Dion Lewis ($3,300)
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Wide Receiver
Stud
D.J. Moore, CAR vs BAL, $6,400 — Moore got off to a very slow start in these sims and was one of the many WR1 options who was generally underwhelming. Lately, though, he has gotten hot with over 100 yards in three of his past four contests and over 20 DKFP in each of those sims. He now has over 17 DKFP in six of his past eight games after dismantling Buffalo in his most recent game, hauling in nine passes for 120 yards and 29.8 DKFP. He has the “Streak Specialist” Superstar ability and an 85 overall rating to go with a solid 93 speed rating. If he keeps getting such heavy volume, he should be a good play in this contest against the Ravens. Other Options — Alshon Jeffery ($6,500), A.J. Brown ($5,700)
Value
Mohamed Sanu, NE vs. BUF, $4,100 — Sanu should be able to avoid Tre’Davious White, and if he does could be in a great spot to attack the Bills’ secondary. Sanu has produced 11 DKFP or more in seven of his past eight sims, including three contests over 19 DKFP and a total of five touchdown catches during that span. He has a high ceiling but also has been very reliable to return on a minimal investment at this salary.
Other Options — Adam Humphries ($3,500), Seth Roberts ($3,200)
Tight End
Stud
Zach Ertz, PHI vs. TEN, $5,400 — Ertz is the third-highest rated TE in all of Madden and by far the best option on this slate. Since there aren’t a ton of top-tier WR, Ertz should definitely be able to fit under the salary cap and comes with an incredibly high ceiling. He has over 12 DKFP in eight of his past 11 sims dating back to a monster 36.7-DKFP against the Lions. He already has four games with over 29 DKFP this sim season and is averaging 15.2 DKFP per contest, which is second only to Miles Sanders’ for non-QB averages on this slate. He’s always heavily involved and is worth paying up for if possible. Other Option — Delanie Walker ($5,000)
Value
Ben Watson, NE vs. BUF, $4,200 — Watson has been a must-roster most of the sim season, as he and virtual Tom Brady have showcased a connection that never materialized in real life. In his 28 sims, Watson is averaging 67.6 yards and 15.0 DKFP per contest. He gets a very high volume of work on very effective routes that Rob Gronkowski made famous during his run with the Pats. Watson fell just short of the 100-yard bonus against the Steelers in his most recent sim but has double-digit DKFP in seven of his past nine sims. He brings both a high ceiling and a high floor due to heavy volume.
Other Options — Mark Andrews ($4,200), Tyler Kroft ($3,400)
DST
Stud
Panthers DST vs. BAL, $2,800 — The Panthers recovered three fumbles in their most recent sim against the Bills and had a defensive touchdown for an impressive 22 DKFP. They have at least 7.0 DKFP in five straight sims and are now up to 25 fumble recoveries in their 28 sims. Luke Kuechly and his 99 overall rating are always a threat to cause fumbles, and Lamar Jackson has had issues with not sliding in these sims. If he continues to not slide, the Panthers could be in store for another multi-takeaway performance. Other Option — Patriots DST ($3,100)
Value
Titans DST at PHI, $2,400 — The Titans had two defensive fumble recoveries of their own to go with four sacks against the Cowboys in their most recent sim, totaling 12.0 DKFP. They have been a very solid unit overall and have 62 sacks in 28 sims to help them average 5.1 DKFP per contest.
Other Option — Ravens ($2,500)
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.