This Thursday on the DraftKings Dream Stream, there are three games lined up to begin at 12:00 p.m. ET, as the Madden Holiday Season continues. Not only is the short season going to crown a champion of the Holiday Season at the end of the tournament, there will also be great special prizes and deals along the way. In Thursday’s special offer, every entry in the $6K Holiday Season Special will get $5 DK Dollars if the Chiefs pull out a win in their 12:00 p.m. ET matchup against the Chargers.
For the first two games of Thursday’s slate, we’ll turn our attention to the AFC West, as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Los Angeles Chargers in “The Nooner,” followed by the Denver Broncos visiting the Las Vegas Raiders at 2:00 p.m. ET. The final game of the day before we turn the focus to Thursday Night Football will feature the first matchup in the NFC East as the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants at virtual MetLife Stadium at 4:00 p.m. ET.
As usual, remember that each roster is not impacted by COVID-19 opt-outs, injuries, suspensions or illness and the highest-rated options have been placed 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. There were a few tweaks to the X-factors and Superstars in the latest December update, so be sure to check the depth charts of each team. You can also follow along with all the short season action by checking out the pages for the standings and the stat leaders.
Check out the daily DraftKings Madden Stream contests lobby with paid contests for real cash prizes now available alongside free contests. Each simulation will be played out computer vs. computer via an online Madden Stream using Madden 21. In this format, you can enjoy watching the game stream on the DraftKings YouTube channel, the DK Live app (download here) or right here in this post.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: Madden Stream $6K Holiday Season Kickoff [$2K to 1st] and your FREE lineups here: Madden Stream $500 FREE Contest.
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Quarterback
Stud
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, $8,000 — The Chiefs got all the way to the finals of our preseason tournament, but they didn’t get the win. Mahomes and the Chiefs begin their quest to set the record straight with this matchup against the Chargers. The Chiefs beat the Chargers in both of their previous two games and Mahomes had 372 yards, four touchdowns and 34.28 DKFP in their most recent meeting. Mahomes has made it a habit to put up huge games like that with 70 passing touchdowns and nine rushing scores in his 30 sims in Madden 21. He has averaged 285.4 passing yards and an impressive 24.8 DKFP per game. He has over 21 DKFP in three straight sims and eight of his past nine. In those nine games, he has totaled 25 touchdowns, and he’s by far the most reliable play at QB on this slate and also brings the highest ceiling.
Other Options — Dak Prescott ($7,100)
Value
Daniel Jones, New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys, $5,600 — If you’re going to pay up at all the skill positions, you could pivot away from Mahomes and go with Jones under center for a huge savings. Jones hasn’t been nearly as consistent as Mahomes, but he’s had a few excellent games. He has thrown 35 touchdowns in 25 sims and run for four more scores while averaging 226.0 passing yards per contest. He has over 14 DKFP in each of his past four games and put together a solid 17.9 DKFP when he faced the Cowboys earlier in these sims. He has posted a couple games over 30 DKFP, so there is a higher ceiling rolling with Jones than relying on either of the cheap AFC West QBs in the 2:00 p.m. sim.
Other Option — Drew Lock ($5,200)
Running Back
Stud
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys, $7,900 — Barkley is healthy and extremely productive in these sims, as many season-long owners hoped when they took him early on in their drafts. A knee injury derailed him in real life, but in simland, he has put up over 110 rushing yards in three of his past four games with over 32 DKFP in each of those three contests. He has averaged 69.4 rushing yards, 32.9 receiving yards and 4.9 receptions per game over his 25 sims in Madden 21. That PPR production has helped him be very reliable — even when the Giants are forced to abandon the run due to game situation, he still plays a big role in their offense through the air.
Other Options — Ezekiel Elliott ($7,600), Austin Ekeler ($7,400)
Value
Jalen Richard, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Denver Broncos, $3,900 — With most of the teams on this slate relying heavily on a workhorse RB, there aren’t a lot of value options that make sense, but Richard is the one major exception. He serves as the third-down back for the Raiders, sharing time with Josh Jacobs ($5,200). While Richard doesn’t get anywhere close to 50% of the timeshare in most of these sims, he does usually produce something and has produced some kind of fantasy output in 24 of the 25 sims the Raiders have been involved in. He has averaged 2.5 catches per sim for 16.5 receiving yards in addition to his 9.4 rushing yards per sim. He has five rushing scores, as well, which have helped him to average 6.3 DKFP per sim. Richard has multiple catches in each of his past four sims and has averaged 7.7 DKFP per contest over that span. He also had a solid 12.9 DKFP in his most recent sim against the Broncos, so there is definitely upside if you have to go with a flier play at one of your RB spots on this slate.
Other Option — Phillip Lindsay ($4,600)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, $7,700 — A lot of Mahomes’ success has been because he relies heavily on his two big-time pass-catchers in Hill and Travis Kelce ($6,300), who both get heavy volume. Hill has averaged 6.4 catches per contest in his 30 sims in Madden 21 and has produced 91.2 yards per game in addition to his 26 total touchdowns. In Madden, speed isn’t the only thing that matters, but it is extremely important, and Hill is the only player in the entire game with a perfect 99 speed rating. He comes in red hot after posting 43.4 DKFP in his most recent sim by flying by the Eagles with seven catches, 214 yards and two touchdowns. He has over 24 DKFP in four of his past six games, also posting 22.3 DKFP and 37.3 DKFP against the Chargers in his two previous sims against them in Madden 21.
Other Options — Courtland Sutton ($6,600), Tyrell Williams ($6,100)
Value
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, $5,200 — There are a few boom-or-bust plays around $5K on this slate that could go a long way to determining who ends up on top of the leaderboard. While Keenan Allen ($5,600), Sterling Shepard ($4,800) and Henry Ruggs III ($4,600) all deserve consideration due to their ceiling, Gallup is my favorite pick from this price range. He is coming in off a pair of monster games in his two most recent sims. Two contests ago, he lit up the Chargers for 11 catches for 163 yards, two touchdowns and 42.3 DKFP. Gallup followed that up with a strong game against the Falcons, totaling 20.9 DKFP on six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. He isn’t always that high-scoring and has had some down games, but he is fairly consistently involved in Dallas’ Dak Prescott-led passing game. He has at least three catches in five straight sims and in 10 of his past 12. Gallup is averaging 3.4 receptions for 52.6 yards per contest and has totaled 19 scores in 27 sims, giving him plenty of potential in the final matchup on the board.
Demarcus Robinson, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, $3,100 — Since the Chiefs’ stars are all so expensive, it’s a nice thing for lineup construction purposes that they also bring one of the best bargain-basement WR options in these sims. Robinson is the Chiefs’ WR3, but he is usually involved enough to return value at this price point. He has multiple catches in 22 of his past 25 sims and has found the end zone five times in his 30 Madden 21 sims. He had low-level involvement in both the Chiefs’ earlier wins over the Chargers, and he actually brings more of a ceiling than you might expect since he has hit for double-digit DKFP eight times, which would be a very good return on his salary of barely over $3K.
Other Options — Keenan Allen ($5,600), Sterling Shepard ($4,800), Darius Slayton ($3,800)
Tight End
Stud
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers, $6,300 — It is truly amazing how the Chiefs’ passing offense can sustain such large workloads for both Hill and Kelce, but it has been pretty consistent throughout these sims — both put up big games. Kelce is averaging 6.1 catches for 75.7 yards per sim and has scored 19 touchdowns. While those numbers aren’t quite as high as Hill’s sky-high production, they do make Kelce the top TE on the slate and a great option at this price. He didn’t get a ton done against the Eagles since Hill was going off, but he did have over 100 yards in each of his previous sims, putting up 27.9 DKFP against the Lions and 32.3 DKFP against the Bengals.
Other Options — Darren Waller ($5,500), Evan Engram ($5,000)
Value
Blake Jarwin, Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, $4,400 — Jarwin was expected to be one of Prescott’s top targets before injuries ended both their seasons early. In simland, though, he has continued to be very productive and is averaging just under 10.0 DKFP per sim. He has at least three catches in five straight games and double-digit DKFP in three straight and in six of his past 11. If you pass on Kelce or decide to play a TE in your flex spot, Jarwin is an option that makes sense.
Other Option — Noah Fant ($3,900)
DST
Stud
Broncos DST at Las Vegas Raiders, $2,900 — The Broncos’ DST is one of the units that benefits the most from having injured players available in these sims since Von Miller, Jurrell Casey, A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan are all available. In their 25 sims, the Broncos have forced 13 turnovers and piled up 42 sacks while scoring two defensive touchdowns and averaging 4.2 DKFP. They had 10.0 DKFP and 9.0 DKFP in their previous two matchups with the Raiders and should be in a good spot to produce again as they visit their division foe.
Value
Cowboys DST at New York Giants, $2,700 — The Cowboys’ defense has been much better in these sims than in real life, forcing 15 turnovers in 27 sims in addition to 59 sacks. They haven’t scored a DST touchdown yet, but Dallas has still produced a solid 4.0 DKFP per contest. The Giants’ offense has struggled at times in these sims, and Jones has been prone to turnovers, making the Cowboys a solid cheap play in this matchup.
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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.