After a full weekend of football that took us past the halfway point in the NFL season, the DraftKings Dream Stream is back to a full six-game slate of Madden sims on Tuesday, with the first game kicking off at 12:00 p.m. ET. The three-game featured slate begins at 6:00 p.m. ET with a classic AFC matchup between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. At 8:00 p.m. ET in primetime, the New Orleans Saints host the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC contest, and the slate closes out with another NFC matchup as the Green Bay Packers head west to face the Los Angeles Rams in the new SoFi Stadium.
An important note to remember is that each roster is not impacted by COVID-19 opt-outs or injuries, and the highest-rated options are at the top of the depth charts. The roster for each team includes all player movement that occurred prior to Week 1 of this season, and you can find the game settings, depth charts, abilities and X-factors for each team in Madden 21 along with the upcoming schedule on the Madden Stream info page.
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Quarterback
Stud
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints, $7,400 — Murray hasn’t been quite as consistent in Madden 21 as he has been in real life this season, but he still has enormous upside and is the focal point of the Arizona offense. He is coming off a pair of good games in a home-and-home set against the Raiders in which he had 39.9 DKFP and 19.52 DKFP. In that huge performance, Kyler reached 125 rushing yards with two rushing scores and added two passing touchdowns with 110 passing yards. Murray has over 15 DKFP in 14 of his past 15 contests, so even when he doesn’t reach his ceiling, he rarely goes bust. Murray should be able to find room to work against the Saints, as he tries and keep up with Drew Brees ($6,400) in the virtual Superdome in what I think has the highest scoring potential of the three games on the slate.
Other Option — Aaron Rodgers ($7,100)
Value
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals, $6,400 — Brees and the Saints will be glad to be home after playing seven straight sims on the road. Brees had a rough outing in his most recent sim, managing just 7.0 DKFP against the Rams, but he had been on a nice roll before that with over 23 DKFP in three of his previous four sims. He has produced over 300 passing yards in four of his previous seven contests with four straight multi-touchdown games before the letdown against Los Angeles. He does have that “Indoor Baller” Superstar trait which makes him more effective indoors, and he’ll be in a solid matchup against Arizona’s defense. Brees doesn’t add the rushing potential you get with Murray, but he’s a solid value target at QB if you plan to spend up in other spots.
Other Option — Jared Goff ($6,000)
Running Back
Stud
Kenyan Drake, Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints, $6,800 — While both Alvin Kamara ($7,000) and Aaron Jones ($7,200) are great plays with high ceilings, don’t miss Drake just behind them on the salary list with a very nice run of production of his own. Drake has rushed for at least one touchdown in four straight sims for Arizona and is now up to 14 touchdowns in 18 sims, even though he does lose opportunities to Kyler at times. He has averaged 57.5 rushing yards per sim and has also taken over as the third-down back and averaged 4.2 catches for 24.1 yards through the air. He gets all the work in the Cardinals’ backfield and has been very consistent as a result, producing over 12 DKFP in eight straight games with four games of at least 20 DKFP during that span as well.
Other Options — Aaron Jones ($7,200), Alvin Kamara ($7,000)
Value
Sony Michel, New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts, $4,400 — Michel remains in a timeshare with third-down back James White ($5,000), but he has shown he can still be productive even with less than 100% of the workload. Michel has scored four touchdowns over his past four sims including a pair of scores against the Panthers for 18.7 DKFP in his most recent contest. Since he doesn’t get involved in the passing game very often, he is touchdown dependent but has totaled 11 scores in 21 sims. He’s a cheap play with plenty of upside that I like if you don’t go with two elite options. The receiving backs are a little pricey on this slate, while Michel checks in under $4.5K. He had 38 yards, a touchdown and 11.6 DKFP in New England’s earlier sim win against the Colts.
Other Option — Darrell Henderson Jr. ($5,300), James White ($5,000)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals, $7,700 — Thomas is the only WR in Madden to earn the coveted 99 overall rating, and lately he has been producing like the best WR in the game. He has at least five catches in seven straight games and is averaging 5.4 catches per sim over his 21 contests in Madden 21. Thomas has scored 11 touchdowns during his 21 sims and put up over 14 DKFP in six of his seven most recent games, highlighted by a pair of 30-DKFP performances. With so much volume coming his way, he’s a solid option to consider as a top WR on the slate.
Other Options — Devin Funchess ($6,600), Cooper Kupp ($6,000)
Value
Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams vs. Green Bay Packers, $5,500 — Woods has been a very solid option for the Rams both in these sims and in real life. He is averaging 4.1 receptions for 47.0 yards per sim and has found the end zone seven times in 17 contests. He has over 9.0 DKFP in six of his past eight sims including a pair of contests with with at least 23 DKFP. He hauled in seven catches for 66 yards and produced 13.6 DKFP when the Rams beat the Packers, 24-21, earlier in these sims. Bobby Trees is a solid way to go at WR in the late game and comes with relatively low risk due to volume and a high ceiling as well.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams, $3,700 — MVS has been solid out of the slot for the Packers as their WR3 behind Davante Adams ($5,700) and Devin Funchess ($6,600). MVS has at least three catches in three straight sims and in six of his past nine. He had five catches for 73 yards and 12.3 DKFP in his first matchup with the Rams, who have given up big games to opposing slot receivers.
Other Options — Davante Adams ($5,700), N’Keal Harry ($5,100), Josh Reynolds ($4,300), Larry Fitzgerald ($3,500)
Tight End
Stud
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots, $4,800 — Burton has emerged as a favorite target for Philip Rivers ($5,500) in these sims since taking over as the Colts’ top TE in the most recent roster update. He has averaged 5.4 receptions per contest over his past 12 games and has translated that volume into 48.9 yards per contest. Even though he is surprisingly still looking for his first touchdown in these sims, he has produced double-digit DKFP in five straight and should be a place where the Colts’ passing attack can find space against the Patriots’ elite secondary.
Other Options — Jared Cook ($4,600), Devin Asiasi ($4,100)
Value
Marcedes Lewis, Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams, $3,500 — Lewis has been less consistent than the top options at TE but brings a very high ceiling into this matchup with the Rams. When he faced them earlier in these sims, Lewis hauled in seven catches for 68 yards and had a pair of touchdowns on his way to 25.8 DKFP, his highest single-game production in any Madden 21 sim. He has six touchdowns in 20 contests overall, averaging 3.1 catches for 34.4 yards per sim. He is steadily involved and a solid cheap play even if he isn’t able to put up another monster game like that in this rematch.
Other Option — Tyler Higbee ($3,700)
DST
Stud
Patriots DST at Indianapolis Colts, $3,000 — The Patriots’ defense is still solid in Madden 21 since all the COVID-19 opt outs and injured players are available. New England has 33 sacks in its 21 sims along with 22 takeaways and four defensive touchdowns. The Pats had 20 DKFP when they faced the Colts earlier in these sims, finishing with six sacks and a pair of picks against Rivers in their 29-22 victory.
Other Option — Rams ($3,200)
Value
Packers DST at Los Angeles Rams, $2,900 — Like the Patriots’ defense, the Packers’ defense in Madden is built around an elite CB with a strong pass rush. They have multiple sacks in five straight games but have only been able to force five turnovers in their 20 sims. They had four sacks in their earlier meeting with the Rams and should be able to get pressure on Jared Goff once again in this rematch.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Z.Thompson) 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.