Without overreacting to Week 1, it was great to finally get to see what teams look like heading into Week 2. The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots both looked good in Week 1 victories and now clash in a Sunday Night Football heavyweight battle.
Let’s break down Patriots-Seahawks from a SNF DraftKings Showdown perspective.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: NFL $1.2M Sunday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (NE vs SEA)
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
New England Patriots
The Patriots looked solid in their season debut against the Dolphins, scoring 21 points, but a fumble through the end zone kept them from putting 28 on the board. Cam Newton ($12,000) is a completely new look for the Patriots on offense, but seems to be a fantasy friendly one. While he didn’t throw any touchdowns in Week 1, he was an efficient passer, and had a massive role in the rushing attack — finishing with a 15-75-2 line and 25.7 DKFP. The Seahawks should be more prepared now that they’ve had a look at this new offense, but Cam’s an extremely safe play on this slate.
Because of the individual success we saw from Newton, I don’t think you necessarily have to stack him with any Patriots pass-catchers. As usual, Julian Edelman ($8,000) if the safest of the group, coming off of five receptions on seven targets, totaling 80 yards when you factor in his rushing attempts. If there was any concern about Edelman not being as involved with Tom Brady gone, we’ve confirmed that won’t be an issue.
N’Keal Harry ($5,200) lost a much bigger day with that goal line fumble I mentioned. He secured 5-of-6 targets for 39 yards, but his 7.9 DKFP easily could’ve been about 15 DKFP had he just scored on that flukey play. One thing that I like a lot about taking the cheaper play in Harry is that Newton seems to speak highly of him and trusts him a lot. While game script was much different, the downfield weapons of the Falcons gave Seattle trouble last week. Damiere Byrd ($1,400) is a punt play worth considering and might be off the radar since he wasn’t targeted in Week 1. That’s not very indicative of his role in the offense, though, as Byrd played on 88% of the snaps.
James White ($7,000) only had eight touches in Week 1, which needs to go up if he’s going to be worth his salary. White caught all three of his targets for 30 yards, and rushed for another 22, but seemed to be more of a threat in the passing game with Brady. I like a fair amount of targets in this game, so I’ll actually fade White until we can confirm that Cam will keep him heavily involved on the passing side. Sony Michel ($5,600) saved his fantasy day with a touchdown last week, but gained just 37 yards on 10 carries. I’m likely fading the entire New England backfield in this one.
This could be a game to roster a DST play, but Kicker and TE are both easy fades on the Patriots’ side for me as well.
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson ($12,800) completely had his way against the Falcons in Week 1, throwing for 300-plus yards, four touchdowns and nearly 35 DKFP. I’m not going back to Russ expecting a repeat of that performance, but it’s difficult to fade the best player in the game. I think if you play cash, Russ is must-play, but I’ll pivot to Cam and be a bit different with a Wilson fade if I’m building multiple GPP lineups.
The big-name pass-catchers put up big numbers in Week 1, as Tyler Lockett ($9,200) and DK Metcalf ($8,800) made a lot of plays against Atlanta’s secondary. Lockett caught all eight of his targets for 92 yards (17.2 DKFP), while Metcalf caught just 4-of-8, but for 95 yards and a touchdown (19.5 DKFP). I’m going against some of my own advice here, and leaning towards rostering Lockett over Metcalf. I think DK is the more dangerous weapon, and the play you want to be on most of the season, but the Patriots have a talented secondary that focuses on taking away big plays. That could mean more spots for Lockett to get open.
Greg Olsen ($6,200) found the end zone in his Seahawks debut, but totaled just 24 yards on four targets. Unless he’s able to reach the end zone again, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be involved enough to reach value.
Chris Carson ($9,600) has a huge 24.6 DKFP game against the Falcons, despite gaining just 21 yards on six carries. All of his production came through the air, finishing with a 6-45-2 line. This is going to be an interesting spot to see if the Seahawks are actually committed to throwing the ball as much as they did in Week 1 regardless of matchup, or if the offense will change week-to-week. New England’s secondary dictates running the ball, but given the role we saw from Carson last week, he should be safe either way. The concern is that Carlos Hyde ($3,400) stole goal line work, finishing with a 7-23-1 line. I’m not playing Hyde, but he is a reason to consider fading Carson.
THE OUTCOME
I think this is going to be a pretty tight game, and tough to project exactly what the game plans will look like for each team. For tournament purposes, I’ll look to N’Keal Harry ($7,800 CP) to bounce back with a big game.
Final Score: Seahawks 24, Patriots 23
Set your DraftKings lineups here: NFL $1.2M Sunday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (NE vs SEA)
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
For sports betting, head over to DraftKings Sportsbook or download the DK Sportsbook app.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jedlow) 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.