The Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts kick off Week 10 in the NFL on Thursday Night Football, but before that game gets underway, the DraftKings Dream Stream has a trio of nice matchups to play out as Madden sims, starting at 12:00 p.m. ET. In the first game of the day, the Pittsburgh Steelers head to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of a sim from a couple of weeks ago that the Rams won 21-14. At 2:00 p.m. ET, the Miami Dolphins will visit the virtual Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Saints, and the action wraps up with a 4:00 p.m. ET kickoff between the Las Vegas Raiders and a healthy Dallas Cowboys squad.
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
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys vs. Las Vegas Raiders, $6,900 — Prescott is still leading the Cowboys’ offense in these sims and has been the most productive QB of the six on this slate. He has averaged 19.0 DKFP per sim on 217.2 passing yards and 12.4 rushing yards per sim with four rushing touchdowns and 41 passing touchdowns in 21 sims. He has multiple scores in seven straight sims and is averaging 19.8 DKFP over that span. When Dallas visited Vegas earlier in these sims, he threw three touchdowns and totaled 20.72 DKFP in a 21-7 victory, and he should be able to get to around that level of production in this rematch. He doesn’t have the same elite ceiling as some of the best Madden 21 options, but he’s the best option in play on this afternoon slate.
Other Options — Ben Roethlisberger ($6,700), Drew Brees ($6,500)
Value
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints, $6,100 — The Dolphins are coming into this matchup after a very ugly 42-3 loss to the Lions in their most recent sim. Tua only managed 195 passing yards and had no touchdowns and two interceptions in that matchup for 7.2 DKFP. He has had two clunkers like that since taking over as starter 15 contests ago, but he has been pretty solid for the most part, producing 17.8 DKFP per contest on 220.7 passing yards and 20.2 rushing yards per contest. He isn’t as sure-thing as Prescott but does have similar upside. Before his big letdown against Detroit, Tua had posted over 23 DKFP in three of his previous five games, and if he can get back to that level against the Saints he has the potential to be the best QB option on a per-dollar basis on this slate.
Other Option — Derek Carr ($6,300)
Running Back
Stud
Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys vs. Las Vegas Raiders, $7,400 — Not only is Dak back in these sims, but the Cowboys have a fully healthy offensive line, which sets up Zeke to feast. He has scored a touchdown in three straight sims and has eight touchdowns in his past eight sims to bring his total to 19 in his 21 sims in Madden 21. He is averaging 85.2 yards per game as well and has also been involved as a receiver, catching 2.6 passes for 17.4 more yards per contest. Zeke should be able to run wild against the Raiders lowly-rated defense and be able to put up big points like he did in their first meeting, when he totaled 22.6 DKFP.
Other Options — Alvin Kamara ($7,100), Matt Breida ($6,500)
Value
Darrell Henderson Jr., Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, $4,700 — Henderson has had very good success since he moved into his role as the Rams’ third-down back in the latest roster update. In his 15 sims since then, he has scored four touchdowns while averaging over 20 rushing yards and 4.2 catches for over 25 more yards per sim. Henderson has over 13 DKFP in three of his past four contests with at least four catches in each of those games and two touchdowns during that span.
Other Option — Jaylen Samuels ($5,000), Jalen Richard ($4,100)
Wide Receiver
Stud
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Rams, $7,200 — Even though JuJu is the Steelers’ WR1 in Madden 21, he will likely be able to avoid shutdown CB Jalen Ramsey for the most part since Smith-Schuster typically lines up in the slot, while Ramsey stays on the outside. If JuJu does get matched up against one of the Rams’ other CBs, he should have an advantage with his 86 overall rating and 91 speed rating. He was able to produce eight catches for 85 yards, a touchdown and 22.5 DKFP when he faced the Rams earlier in these sims and should be a great option if the volume comes his way once again. He has been very boom-or-bust throughout these sims but has been going off for big numbers regularly lately with over 22 DKFP in four of his past seven contests, highlighted by a 40.5-DKFP game against the Tennessee Titans two sims ago.
Other Options — Michael Thomas ($7,700), Tyrell Williams ($6,700)
Value
Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, $5,500 — Woods has been a reliable play in these sims as a mid-range WR with very nice upside. He has found the end zone eight times in 18 sims while averaging 4.3 catches for 49.3 yards per contest. He started a little slow but has turned things around lately with at least four catches in six straight games and over 22 DKFP in three of his past seven. Bobby Trees had nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown against the Packers for 24.0 DKFP in his most recent sim and had five catches for 107 yards, a touchdown and 24.7 DKFP in the Rams’ last game against the Steelers.
Tre’Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints vs. Miami Dolphins, $4,900 — Smith is a solid play under $5K since he has been very involved across from Michael Thomas when Emmanuel Sanders ($4,200) slides into the slot. Smith only had one catch in his most recent sim, but I think he’ll bounce back with a big game since Miami’s secondary isn’t very deep and will focus on Thomas. Before his letdown against Arizona, Smith had six straight sims with double-digit DKFP and is averaging 10.4 DKFP per contest on 4.0 catches for 47.6 yards per game.
Other Options — Henry Ruggs III ($5,700), Josh Reynolds ($3,900), CeeDee Lamb ($3,500)
Tight End
Stud
Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints vs. Miami Dolphins, $4,500 — Cook is another key component to the Saints’ passing game that is fairly affordable for this matchup with Miami. He is coming off a huge game in which he hauled in nine passes for 124 yards and 24.4 DKFP against Arizona to raise his average to 11.9 DKFP per contest in Madden 21. He gets most of his production due to heavy volume, averaging 4.6 catches per sim for a total of 102 catches in Madden 21. He also has seven touchdowns, four of which have come at home in the virtual Superdome, where he is producing 14.7 DKFP over 10 sims. The Dolphins will have to focus elsewhere to limit Thomas, so Cook should have space over the middle for another active game.
Other Options — Darren Waller ($5,100), Eric Ebron ($4,900)
Value
Blake Jarwin, Dallas Cowboys vs. Las Vegas Raiders, $4,300 — Jarwin had six catches for 78 yards and 13.8 DKFP in Dallas’ most recent sim, which resulted in a loss to the Chiefs. He has been fairly involved in the passing offense for Dak, averaging 4.1 catches for 49.1 yards per sim. While he hasn’t found the end zone as often as the top options, he is still a pretty safe play at this price if you can’t spend more to grab Cook, Waller or Ebron.
Other Option — Mike Gesicki ($4,100)
DST
Stud
Steelers DST at Los Angeles Rams, $3,000 — The Steelers’ DST and the Rams’ DST ($3,100) are the two most expensive plays at this position as they go head-to-head in the early game. Pittsburgh’s defense has produced 39 sacks in 20 sims along with 11 takeaways. They have actually been much better on the road, where they have put up 6.5 DKFP per sim. When the faced the Rams earlier in Madden 21, they had four sacks and 10.0 DKFP against Jared Goff ($5,900), and I think they’ll be able to rattle the inconsistent QB again in this matchup, making them my top DST option.
Other Option — Rams ($3,100)
Value
Saints DST vs. Miami Dolphins, $2,800 — I’d avoid both the Dolphins’ DST ($2,700) and the Raiders’ DST ($2,600) since they’re in tough matchups and haven’t produced much at all in these sims. The cheapest DST I would consider is New Orleans, who has usually been pretty good at getting to the opposing QB thanks to a pass rush led by X-Factor superstar Cameron Jordan. The team has 32 sacks in 22 contests and has created eight turnovers. While they haven’t been quite as good as the Rams or Steelers, they do have enough upside to be a pivot if you’re running short on salary.
Other Option — Cowboys ($2,900)
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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.