Fantasy Football Picks: Dolphins vs. Patriots DraftKings NFL DFS SNF Showdown Strategy

DraftKings Fantasy Football features a legendary AFC East rivalry in Week 2. The DFS main slate may be in the books, but there is plenty of DFS action available for Sunday Night Football. Check out the NFL Showdown Slate DFS picks for the Week 2 Sunday Night Football matchup between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.

Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.5M Sunday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st] (MIA vs NE)

SHOWDOWN STRATEGY

Captain’s Pick

Tyreek Hill (CP $18,900)

Year two of Mike McDaniel in Miami might be magical. For their AFC East opponents, it’s a different tale. Year two of Tyreek and Tua is terrifying. Choose your side wisely. Some chose the Chargers in Week 1, but even the explosive Chargers couldn’t keep up with the Miami track race.

The Chargers didn’t want to leave Hill in one-on-one coverage, but they had no choice. McDaniel forced their hand with his scheme and roster. Six pass catchers had over 30 yards receiving against the Chargers. The Dolphins split four out wide and mixed in pre-snap movement. Hill got the matchups they wanted, and Tua delivered.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots are known for taking away their opponents’ main weapon. At least they used to be known for that. The Patriots are 25-25 over the last three seasons. That’s not the record of a shutdown defense. Hill was quiet in the ‘Dolphins' Week 17 loss to the Patriots, but that was with Teddy Bridgewater only attempting 19 passes. In Week 1 of 2022, Hill caught eight of 12 targets for 94 yards in a blowout win. That game was safely in hand early, and Hill was able to coast in the second half.

FLEX Plays

Tua Tagovailoa ($11,200)

It’s tough to not pick a quarterback coming off a 466-yard game. Best of all, he only rushed five times in Week 1. The appeal of a mobile QB is strong in DFS, but the appeal of a healthy quarterback playing all four quarters is stronger.

The Dolphins unleashed a pass-heavy attack against a 2022 top-10 pass defense in Week 1. It was a bold move, but Tua executed and shredded the Chargers. The Dolphins’ offensive formations and play calling looked like a game of Madden. Tua made it look like it was on easy mode.

Patriots fans are feeling pretty good about their team. Confidence is high after a close battle with the Eagles. The bubble is about to burst. The truth is that their close loss to the defending NFC Champs is misleading. The Eagles’ starters didn’t play in the preseason, and there was a new offensive coordinator calling plays. Philadelphia wasn’t prepared, but they still beat the Patriots. The Dolphins are prepared.

Kendrick Bourne ($7,200)

This is the Patriots’ lead receiver. And the Patriots appear to be a passing team. Bourne played 91% of the snaps in Week 1 and led the team with 11 targets. That’s a small sample. Good. This is a DFS NFL Showdown slate. Let everyone else fade him. If experienced players refuse to pick Bourne based on some rule written in the DFS gospel back in 2013, then that’s their mistake. Take Bourne with the low ownership and high upside.

Demario Douglas ($1,800)

Mac Jones threw the ball 54 times last Sunday. That was the most pass attempts in a game in his career. Seven of those targets went to Douglas despite only playing 54% of the snaps. With limited opportunities in his professional debut, Douglas caught four passes for 40 yards.

There are plenty of reasons to doubt this pick. Douglas is a diminutive receiver who was selected in the late rounds from a non-powerhouse school. Yes, he’s small, but he’s speedy and that works for slot receivers. A sixth-round pick out of Liberty sounds like a risk. It also sounds familiar. Remember Wes Welker? He was an undrafted free agent. What about Julian Edelman? The former Kent State quarterback was a seventh-round pick. Go way back to Troy Brown. He was an eighth-round pick — there used to be eight rounds.

JuJu Smith-Schuster ($6,200) is the Patriots’ starting slot receiver, but the reports are that his surgically repaired knee could explode at any point. Smith-Schuster only played 54% of the snaps against the Eagles. If there were ever a time to jump on the hype train for the Patriots’ next slot surprise, it’s Week 2 in a possible shoot-out on Sunday night.

Fades

Ezekiel Elliott ($5,800)

It was surprising to see Elliott get plenty of snaps in Week 1. It wasn’t just snaps. He got work. He caught five of seven targets and rushed for 29 yards on seven carries. Those numbers are viable if he can find the endzone. But he didn’t. But he could, so it’s possible that Elliott will receive a major bump in usage in Week 2. Predicting Patriot running back usage is a fool’s errand. No one knows what Bill Belichick is going to do. Even if a DFS player had a strong sense of the Patriots’ plan, that plan is going to be influenced by the Dolphins’ game plan. This game could turn into a track meet or a game of catchup. If that’s the case, then Elliott won’t be of much use on the ground. He could be a solid PPR play, but the same can be said of the Patriots’ starter Rhamondre Stevenson ($9,400) who received six targets in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

THE OUTCOME

The Patriots played well last week, but the Dolphins were great. Both defenses allowed more than their fair share of points, but in Week 1, the Dolphins were facing a more challenging offense. The Dolphins’ offense is just getting warmed up and their defense will steadily improve.

Final Score: Miami Dolphins 34, New England Patriots 23

Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.5M Sunday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st] (MIA vs NE)

The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) 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.