There is a massive Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 15 between the 49ers and the Rams. The Rams are coming off of a big win over the Bills and the 49ers finally broke their losing streak with a dominant win over the Bears last week. Both of these teams are in the thick of the NFC West and wildcard races so this is a pivotal game for both teams if they hope to play in the postseason.
There are plenty of breakdowns for the game’s outlook, player props and more, but this article will look at some of the top DFS options to help you build your Showdown team.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st]
Captain Plays
Hitting on your captain (CPT) is essential to having Showdown DFS success on DraftKings. Players drafted as the captain earn 1.5x fantasy points, so they can make or break your entry. Here are my favorite captain plays for this week’s TNF matchup:
Puka Nacua ($16,500)
If you only count the games that Puka Nacua has played in full, he is having an incredible season. He left the season opener against the Lions early, and then missed a few weeks with an injury. He was then ejected in the first half of the game against the Seahawks. However, in the six games he has played in their entirety, he is averaging 110.3 receiving yards per game. If he played a full season at that pace, he would be the league’s leading receiver. Even missing big portions of two of the games he has played this season, Nacua is still fourth in the league in receiving yards per game behind only Nico Collins, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
This is a good matchup for Nacua against the 49ers. Last season, Nacua had one of the best games of his career with 15 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. The San Francisco defense has also taken a bit of a step back this season, ranking 16th in defensive EPA/play and 16th in defensive dropback success rate. Nacua has proved himself to be Matt Stafford’s top target over Cooper Kupp, and Nacua should have a huge game in this important divisional rivalry matchup.
Brock Purdy ($14,100)
Brock Purdy deserves a lot of credit for this season. He has always received the odd criticism of being a system quarterback and of being the beneficiary of having incredible coaches and skill position players around him. Well, this season, Purdy has been without Christian McCaffrey for most of the year and is now without Jordan Mason and possibly Isaac Guerendo as well this week. Trent Williams has now missed several games, Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year and Deebo Samuel is having a down season. Everything has gone wrong for the 49ers this season, but Purdy is keeping them afloat.
He is not putting up MVP-level numbers like he did last season. However, Purdy still ranks eighth among qualified quarterbacks in EPA+CPOE composite and 5th in adjusted EPA/play this season. George Kittle and Jauan Jennings have been Purdy’s only consistent targets this season and the running game has been virtually non-existent the past few weeks, but Purdy has still produced almost every week. Purdy has also learned to use his legs more effectively. He has four rushing touchdowns, as many as his first two seasons combined, with four regular-season games still left to play. The Rams rank 24th in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks and with such a depleted running back room, this should be a pass-heavy game from Purdy.
Value Picks
George Kittle ($8,000)
George Kittle has been Mr. Reliable for the 49ers this season. Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey have all dealt with injuries this season and Kittle has been left to carry more of the weight than usual. Kittle leads the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and is just behind Jauan Jennings in receptions. The 49ers’ offense was completely eviscerated by the Bills in that snowy game in Buffalo two weeks ago. But if you exclude that game, Kittle is averaging 102 receiving yards per game over his past five games. Kittle also has three touchdowns over that five-game stretch.
The Rams are in the bottom half of the league in allowed receptions, yards and touchdowns to opposing tight ends. Overall, as a passing defense, they rank 30th in opponent yards per pass attempt. They also rank 25th in opponent passing touchdowns per game. The 49ers should be able to move the ball through the air against this defense and Kittle will see a lot of action if that is the case. Kittle missed the first matchup against the Rams earlier this season and missed the home matchup against them at the end of last season, so he should be ready to finally have a big performance against his division rivals on Thursday night.
Jauan Jennings ($8,600)
Jauan Jennings is having a career year in 2024. The 2022-23 season was Jennings’ previous best season and he finished the year with 35 catches for 416 yards and a touchdown. So far in 2024, with four games still left to play, Jennings has 57 catches for 774 yards and six touchdowns. Jennings is just behind Kittle as the 49ers’ leading receiver in yards and touchdowns. While Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk have all dealt with injuries, Jennings has been the constant for Brock Purdy and this offense.
The Rams’ defense ranks 29th in defensive EPA/dropback and 27th in defensive dropback success rate. Brock Purdy should be able to throw the ball all over this defense and Kittle and Jennings will be his two go-to targets, as they have been all season. The last time these two teams faced, Jennings had the best game of his career, going for 175 yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches. In fact, Jennings only has three multi-touchdown games in his career and two came against the Rams, with the other coming last week against the Bears. Jennings has matchup history and form on his side and should have another big game against the Rams this week.
Jake Moody ($5,200)
Jake Moody has had a really steady year kicking for the 49ers. He is perfect on extra points and perfect on field goals inside 40 yards this season. Overall, he is 20/26 on field goals this season. However, he has been flawless at home, which he will be for this game. At Levi’s Stadium, Jake Moody is 14/14 on extra points and 13/13 on field goals, including 3/3 on 50+ yard field goals. The Rams rank 22nd in the NFL in kicker points allowed and in what should be a high-scoring back-and-forth game, Moody should get plenty of chances to rack up points.
Tutu Atwell ($2,600)
Tutu Atwell could be in line for a big game against the 49ers. Demarcus Robinson has yet to practice this week. If Robinson misses this game, that would set up Atwell to be the WR3 behind Kupp and Nacua. Tutu Atwell had some really strong production earlier this season with this wide receiver group was banged up and he saw more action. Atwell had a stretch of five straight games earlier this season with 3+ catches and 48+ receiving yards, including his best game of the season in the first matchup against the 49ers. Last time out against San Francisco, Atwell had 93 receiving yards.
Atwell had a quiet few weeks after that big run when Nacua and Kupp got healthy. However, even with a healthy group, Atwell has found a role in this offense again. He is averaging a solid 38 yards per game over the past three weeks and if Robinson misses this game, his target share should really increase. Atwell has proven what he can do with an increased target share, even specifically against this 49ers defense, so at this cheap of a price he holds a lot of value.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is blakekrass) 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 cannot access any non-public information.
