We’re all in need of some entertainment during these times of the unknown. DraftKings is doing its part by offering Madden simulations with a variety of teams going at it. For this piece, we’ll focus on the Chiefs and Texans game, which starts at 8:00 p.m. ET Sunday, July 11.
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Note: All salaries will be Flex prices unless noted as Captain’s Pick prices.
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes ($11,000) is the most expensive player in this game but amazingly, he doesn’t have the highest DKFP average, as that belongs to the quarterback on the other side of this game. Nonetheless, what Mahomes has done in these simulations has been incredible. He’s averaging 270 passing yards with 72 (!) touchdowns thrown and 20.5 DKFP. He’s coming off one of his best performances against the Seahawks, throwing for 427 yards with four touchdowns and 35 DKFP. It truly shows what type of ceiling he has, as he’s been over 30 DKFP twice, both of which have come over his last five games.
When Mahomes is throwing the ball, which happens often, he’s been hitting his man Tyreek Hill ($10,200) often. Hill is one of four players who cost at least $10K in this game, which is going to prove to be difficult when building your lineups. Thankfully, we have five lineups to toy with, giving us the opportunity to use different strategies. Hill has the fastest speed in Madden at 99, which is a big reason why he’s averaging 4.8 receptions, 72.8 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns scored. He can blow past any coverage thrown his way, so he’s a near-must if you can afford him. Travis Kelce ($9,200) is the volume king in this offense with his 5.1 receptions and 66.6 yards. He’s only scored 13 times, which feels low considering how many looks he receives. but he’s one of the most reliable receivers in this game altogether. Sammy Watkins ($6,800) is someone I’ve been hyping up lately and he received a nice $600 discount ahead of this game, making him more affordable. He may garner some more attention because of that but his 18 touchdowns also will catch people’s eyes. His volume isn’t super heavy at 3.5 receptions and 51.2 yards but he’s one of the cheaper Chiefs’ receivers to grab. Speaking of cheap, Demarcus Robinson ($4,400) always has people’s attention because of that reason. With a salary under $5K, he’s scored 15 times to go with 3.4 receptions and 56.3 yards. Getting any exposure to this Chiefs lineup is warranted, so Robinson is always checking in with high ownership.
Damien Williams ($8,000) continues to also be an affordable player in this offense consider he’s the RB1. We often see these players go in the mid-$9K range, so Williams is a welcome addition at just $8K. He’ll catch out of the backfield and handle nearly all the carries, which is seeing him average 72.3 scrimmage yards per game.
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Texans
While plenty of attention will be on Mahomes and rightfully so, Deshaun Watson ($10,800) is the one with the highest DKFP average in this game at 22.4. Watson is averaging 214.5 passing yards while adding 48.1 on the ground. He’s thrown for 56 touchdowns and run in for 12, giving him an upside that Mahomes doesn’t even have. Watson is slightly cheaper than Mahomes, seeing as he’s $200 less. With five lineups at your disposal, I still believe their ownership will be very similar.
The problem with Watson taking the ball himself as much as that it creates a negative effect on his receivers. Deandre Hopkins ($10,400) is also one of the four players priced over $10K but his salary is harder to justify. Don’t get me wrong, his numbers are great, averaging 4.1 receptions, 67 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. It’s just hard to pay over $10K for him when Hill, Mahomes and Watson are also in that range. We’ve seen Hopkins ceiling and floor over the last five games, as he’s posted scores ranging from 4.4 DKFP to 34.3. Decisions will have to be made but I suspect he’ll be the lowest owned of the bunch. Will Fuller V ($7,400) is a good consolation prize as he has very good speed and is much cheaper than Hopkins. Fuller is averaging 3.5 receptions with 48.8 yards and 17 touchdowns scored. I wouldn’t say anyone is “safe” in this offense but his salary lessens the burden more than taking Hopkins. Keke Coutee ($1,800) is going to be a very popular value play I suspect. He’s averaging 2.5 receptions and 31 receiving yards with four touchdowns. He occasionally will reach double-digit points but he’ll be in lineups for the salary relief alone, not necessarily his output. Darren Fells ($5,600) sees some decent volume with 3.7 receptions but he rarely scores or gains any yards with 38 per game.
I’m not going out of my way to grab Lamar Miller ($7,800). Seeing that he’s only $200 less than Williams and doesn’t catch nearly as much as him, Miller doesn’t make much sense other than an ownership play. He’s averaging only 50 scrimmage yards per game and only nine touchdowns scored, so I don’t think you need to do much with him here.
The Outcome
We truly have a plethora of captain options in this game, so count your lucky stars that we can make five lineups. The quarterbacks are obvious so I won’t even waste my breath telling you that. Aside from them, I think we have three players to use in the captain spot and try to be a bit different from the field. Travis Kelce ($13,800), Demarcus Robinson ($6,600) and Will Fuller ($11,100) are all guys I would be looking to use at captain if you’re not taking the quarterbacks. Tyreek Hill ($15,300) is another very strong option but I would suspect he’s the highest owned captain aside from the QB’s.
Final Score: Chiefs 30 Texans 27
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is steveazors) 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.