We’re all in need of some entertainment during these times of the unknown. DraftKings is doing its part by offering Madden simulations with a variety of teams going at it. For this piece, we’ll focus on the Titans-Cowboys game that will take place at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday.
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Note: All salaries will be Flex prices unless noted as Captain’s Pick prices
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Tennessee Titans
In real life, we almost always know what the Titans are going to do: give the ball to Derrick Henry ($8,000). While effective in real life, this strategy hasn’t been effective for our simulated purposes because in Madden, he’s been very stoppable. Henry has gone a dozen games in a row without over 100 rushing yards and only averages 9.4 DKFP overall. Without any involvement in the passing game, he has been an easy fade on most slates. There isn’t a ton of upside to rostering Henry when considering that he’s only scored double-digit DKFP once in his last 10 games. The risk of rostering him far outweighs the reward.
Since Henry has struggled, the Titans have more of a passing centric team in Madden than in real life. Ryan Tannehill ($11,000) averages 16.7 DKFP, the most on the team. This is still fairly low production relative to other quarterbacks and it shows that the Titans’ offense has not been great in our simulations. With that said, the Titans have scored at least 24 points in four of their last six games.
The Titans’ top weapon in the passing game has been A.J. Brown ($8,800). He averages 11.7 DKFP, the most of any wide receiver on the team. Despite his relative success, it’s tough to trust him in this matchup. Brown only has an 80 overall rating and has caught a total of three passes across the Titans’ last two games.
As far as Madden ratings go, Delanie Walker ($7,400) is an 86, which is the highest rating for any pass catcher on the Titans. His 11.5 DKFP average is the third best output for any skill position player. He’s a viable option in the passing game along with Corey Davis ($9,300 CP/$6,200). Davis has scored at least 14 DKFP in seven of his last nine games and is the most underpriced player on the Titans. He’s my favorite play in this game for the Captain’s slot.
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Dallas Cowboys
Of all the players in this game, Dak Prescott ($11,200) is in the lead with an average of 17.7 DKFP. While this isn’t really a great mark for a starting QB, there aren’t many players in this game worth paying up for. The production on both sides of this game is a bit lacking and Prescott is a good play relative to the other options. He’s my preferred target of the two quarterbacks in this contest.
While there is always a chance that Amari Cooper ($9,600) can go off, the problem is that we haven’t really seen him produce much in our simulations. He only averages 11.1 DKFP overall and has some massive duds on his game log. Cooper has a few games with 0 DKFP and he’s been held to single-digit DKFP in five of his last six games.
Ezekiel Elliott ($10,800) finds himself in a decent spot tonight. If paying up for a skill position player, I think Elliott is the guy. With involvement in the passing game, running game and getting touches in the red zone, he’s been one of the top RBs in our simulations. Elliott has rushed for 2,655 yards and has 25 total touchdowns. This has led to an average of 16 DKFP. Coming off a game with 35 DKFP against the Rams, Elliott is a strong option tonight.
Of the cheaper receivers on Dallas, Randall Cobb ($4,200) has been more productive than Michael Gallup ($5,600), even though Gallup is the second receiver on the depth chart. Cobb averages 7.2 DKFP, and Gallup is putting up 6.6 DKFP per game. Since Cobb has been more productive and is $1,400 less expensive than Gallup, he makes a better play as a secondary receiver.
THE OUTCOME
In Madden, neither of these teams have had prolific offenses. This is the reason that there aren’t many great fantasy producers in this contest. The Cowboys have scored over 20 points just once in their last 10 games. Despite this stat, they have won 13 of their last 15 games. The Cowboys’ defense has proven hard to score against in Madden. For this reason, I am siding with Dallas to win a low-scoring game.
Final Score: Cowboys 17, Titans 10
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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.