Week 1 will conclude with a solid matchup between the Jets and 49ers. This showdown matchup will feature a $2.25M Monday Night Millionaire contest, which you can play on DraftKings. I’ll give some of my picks and strategy for this slate and hopefully get your lineup to cash. Let’s get into the picks!
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.25M Monday Night Millionaire [$1M to 1st](NYJ@SF)
Captain’s Picks
Deebo Samuel ($14,400 CP): I know people are going to instantly gravitate toward Christian McCaffrey ($17,400). He’s the most dynamic player on this slate with immense upside. Personally, I can’t justify paying top dollar for someone that’s coming into this game with injury concerns. McCaffrey has been dealing with both a calf and Achilles injury. He believes his workload will be normal but I’ll admit, I’m scared off of him because of the price tag and expected high ownership. If McCaffrey beats me this week in the captain spot, so be it. I can live with that. However, be going elsewhere.
I think Samuel is a good captain play for this game. We expect Brandon Aiyuk ($12,600) to be covered by Sauce Gardner, so this should open up things for Samuel. He can do it through the air and on the ground, giving him the type of ceiling that McCaffrey can also have. Regardless who you can consider on the 49ers receivers, the matchups won’t be easy by any means. Still, I think going down the board a bit and taking the savings on Samuel will be the way to go and build a more balanced lineup. Samuel at the captain spot also gives you about $600 more per player for the remainder of your lineup if you took McCaffrey.
UTIL Plays
George Kittle ($7,400): I thought last season was a frustrating for Kittle. It felt as if he never could churn out consistent fantasy production and made him a bit unreliable. Still, he ended the year averaging 12.5 DKFP with seven touchdowns and just under 60 receiving yards per game. Amongst the Niners pass catchers, he’ll have one of the better matchups to target. Last season, the Jets allowed an average of 48.5 receiving yards and 12.5 DKFP to opposing tight ends. With the idea that Purdy is going to have a hard time finding his receivers open, Kittle over the middle of the field might one of his best options. Over the last two seasons when the 49ers were -3.5 favorites or shorter, Kittle has averaged over 12 DKFP in a game.
49ers D/ST ($5,200): This is one of the more expensive D/ST you’ll see on these showdown slates. The Jets improved their offensive line during the offseason, bringing on Morgan Moses and Tyron Smith to join the likes of Alijah Vera-Tucker. They’ll try to limit the 49ers solid pass rush and protect Aaron Rodgers. But, when Rodgers is letting the ball fly, what will be the results? Are we confident that Rodgers is ready to go for 60 minutes on Monday? We really don’t know what to expect, after he didn’t make an appearance during the preseason.
We have to go back to 2022 to get some real stats on Rodgers but when he was under pressure, he completed just 47% of his pass attempts for 5.8 YPA and four of his 12 interceptions. I think the Niners D/ST will be disruptive and one of the better value plays on this slate.
Garrett Wilson ($9,800): The main beneficiary of Rodgers returning will be Wilson. Jets fans have been clamoring for this connection and Monday night will finally bring it. The Niners were about league average in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers last season. They averaged 37.5 DKFP per game with 16 receiving touchdowns. The only knock on Wilson was his lack of touchdowns. He only had three on the season. With Rodgers under center, he should look to improve upon that number. The most frustrating part was Wilson by far had the most red zone targets with 19, in which he made 10 catches. I think Wilson is also someone you can consider as a captain play in this game.
Fades
Brandon Aiyuk ($8,400): As mentioned, Aiyuk draws one of the toughest matchups on this slate against Sauce Gardner. In coverage last season, Gardner was targeted against 51 times and allowed just a 57% catch rate and 8.7 YPR. Most impressive, Gardner was scored against only once, which came in Week 2 against the Cowboys. Maybe it was all the offseason drama that surrounded Aiyuk that has me off of him as well, because I couldn’t wait for that to end. Either way, I think guys like Samuel and Kittle are in a better position against the Jets than Aiyuk. He’s also sandwiched in between Rodgers ($9,000) and Kittle ($7,400) in terms of salary. I would be more comfortable playing them over Aiyuk.
SeSet your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.25M Monday Night Millionaire [$1M to 1st](NYJ@SF)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is sontzu) 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 do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. 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.
