The first round of the Fantasy Football playoffs caps off tonight with yet another glorious Monday Night Football doubleheader. The Chicago Bears head to Minnesota to face off against the Minnesota Vikings. Not but a half hour later, the Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders will kick off in Nevada. And while that makes Showdown lineups all the more enticing, what with four teams’ worth of skill players from which to choose, it’ll make the
NFL $1.5M Monday Special [$500K to 1st] (Mon) all the more difficult, especially when it comes to choosing Captain’s Picks. I, however, am backing Jordan Addison ($12,600) and Bijan Robinson as my two choices
Really, the only quarterback I see worth taking a flier on with your 1.5x points CP is Darnold, and even then. The Falcons and Vikings both have strong enough running games that both Darnold and Kirk Cousins might lose potential points in opponent territory. I’m not touching either Desmond Ridder or Caleb Williams. It’s why I’m backing Addison and Bijan.
Let’s break it down.
Jordan Addison as your Captain’s Pick in the NFL $300K Monday Night Showdown [$100K to 1st] (CHI @ MIN) contest
I’m not here to toss any strays at Justin Jefferson ($18,000), but I’m just not paying top-dollar when I’m seeing what I’m seeing from the other Vikings’ playmakers.
All I’m saying is that the Minnesota Vikings, statistically, have a deep-threat difference-maker in 2024, and his name is Jordan Addison Check out this insight from NFL Next Gen Stats:
That was before Week 13. Meaning his Week 14 game in which he erupted for eight receptions, 133 yards, and three touchdowns would only bolster that explosive play rate.
I don’t see any reason why this sort of explosive play rate wouldn’t continue against a Chicago Bears defense that ranks thirteenth in the NFL in allowing explosive plays through the passing game (78 allowed).
Bears at Vikings Lineup Construction
With Addison as your CP, I’m stacking plenty of Vikings FLEX and value pieces, as you can see below. The only Bear I have any interest in touching other than DJ Moore ($8,000)would be, maybe, D’Andre Swift ($12,600).
Bijan Robinson as your Captain’s Pick in the NFL $400K Monday Night Showdown [$100K to 1st] (ATL @ LV) contest
Unlike Justin Jefferson in the other Showdown contest, I am absolutely willing to pay a premium for Bijan Robinson ($17,600). I don’t know if we give him enough credit for what a remarkable season he’s had. According to NFL Next-Gen Stats
- He is the fastest running back in the league at the line of scrimmage with at least 100 carries (11.06mph avg)
- He’s gained more yards than expected on 52.9% of his carries directed between the tackles.
So, even though Robinson gets a lot of his yards by running off-tackle to the weak side (the Falcons’ bread-and-butter), Robinson will excel at barreling through the center of the Raiders’ weak defensive line.
He’s averaging 19.7 FPTs per game currently, and I’m going to ride that number and count on Robinson to exceed it.
Lineup Construction
This was my ideal lineup construction above. As you can see, I’m all over the Falcons run game, plus a Kirk Cousins ($9,600) and Drake London ($9,400) stack. I’m taking Daniel Carlson ($5,000) as my only Raider, because I bet that offense under Desmond Ridder is going to turn the ball over a lot.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is thegreatdansby9) 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.
