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With real-life sports still in the midst of an extended time out, DraftKings continues to provide some great sports simulations to fill the void. Each day there are six Madden Streams with eight free contests to be a part of. You can play a single-game Showdown for each contest along with an all-day, six-game classic contest and a three-game late slate.
Each simulation will be played out via an online Madden Stream using Madden 2020 with rosters and ratings from the end of the 2019-20 season. In this format, you can enjoy watching the game stream on the DraftKings YouTube channel, on the DK Live app (download here) or right here in this post. Follow along to watch your fantasy team pile up fantasy points. The stream begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 12.
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Quarterback
Stud
Deshaun Watson, HOU vs. KC, $7,000 — Playing against each other, the top two overall QB plays on this slate are Watson and Patrick Mahomes ($8,200). Of the two, I prefer rostering Watson for a cheaper price. There’s a massive $1,200 price difference between the two and Watson has actually averaged more DKFP. While Mahomes’ 20.5 DKFP is solid, it isn’t as strong as Watson’s average of 22.4 DKFP.
Value
Daniel Jones, NYG vs. CIN, $5,600 — In what was a promising rookie campaign, Jones showed upside as a fantasy player. In Madden, he isn’t running as much as we saw him do in real life, although he’s still been productive and averages 17.4 DKFP. This is the best output of any player on this slate priced under $6,000. Jones also draws a nice matchup against the Bengals, who have one of the worst Madden defenses of any team on this slate.
Running Back
Stud
Leonard Fournette, JAX vs. NYJ, $5,800 — This isn’t the greatest slate for running backs. Of the players we have to choose from on his slate, Fournette is the only player at the position averaging over 15 DKFP. One of the safer plays we have seen as an expensive RB, Fournette has 2,477 total rushing yards and comes into today with back-to-back games over 22 DKFP.
Value
Giovanni Bernard, CIN at NYG, $4,100 — Of the Bengals’ running backs, it’s actually Bernard and not Joe Mixon ($6,400) who has been the better fantasy producer. Bernard is averaging 8.4 DKFP as the pass catching back and Mixon only averages 7.4 DKFP. With Bernard way cheaper, he almost always makes for the better option. Typically good for PPR points, Bernard has hauled in 85 receptions during our streams.
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Wide Receiver
Stud
Tyreek Hill, KC at HOU, $8,000 — Against a mediocre Texans secondary, Hill should have the chance for a big game. In Madden, he has a 96 overall rating and 99 speed rating. This blazing speed has led to a handful of big games, just as it does in real life for Hill. He averages 18.4 DKFP and has scored at least 22 DKFP in five of his last seven games.
Value
DJ Chark Jr., JAX vs. NYJ, $5,800 — Maybe I am cheating a bit by listing Chark as a value play, but he should be priced with the elite receivers on every slate. Instead, we get the production of an elite receiver and a price in the midrange. Due to his scoring prowess, we have seen a number of big games from Chark. He’s scored 24 touchdowns in our sims, making him one of the most common players to find the end zone. Chark has scored touchdowns in back-to-back games and had over 22 DKFP in each of those contests. Behind Hill, he has the second-highest scoring average of any wideout playing today.
Tight End
Stud
Travis Kelce, KC at HOU, $6,000 — Kelce has the best Madden rating on the slate. He is a 96 overall and this has made him a pretty safe play in our simulations. The only downside to him is that he has only caught 13 touchdowns, so that hampers his upside a bit. Even so, he gets targeted frequently and has 2,199 receiving yards. Kelce averages 14.5 DKFP per game and is in a plus matchup against the Texans.
Value
Ben Watson, NE at SEA, $4,300 — Per dollar, Watson has been the best tight in Madden. He averages 14.4 DKFP, so only slightly less than Kelce and for a much cheaper price tag. This makes Watson my favorite tight play on the slate, although there is a good case for playing him and Kelce together with one of them in the Flex. Since the Patriots don’t have a dominant top receiver, Watson has been getting frequent targets. He’s retired in real life, but better than ever in Madden.
DST
Jets DST vs. Jaguars, $2,100 — Looking at the pricing, we have an odd situation. The Jets are cheapest defense on the slate, but they average more DKFP than any other unit playing today. The Jets score 7.0 DKFP per game, which is actually a decent amount more than any other DST. Over their last eight games, they have recorded 14 sacks and forced nine turnovers. For the price, the Jets seem like one of the more obvious plays on the slate.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is gehrenberg) 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.