Start the new month out with some fantasy football fun on the DraftKings Dream Stream Monday afternoon and evening. There is another full day of six Madden 21 sims lined up throughout the first day of March. The featured three-game classic slate kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET with a great matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. At 8:00 p.m. ET in primetime, the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Minnesota Vikings, and Madden After Dark closes out the day with a 10:00 p.m. ET sim between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams from the virtual West Coast.
As in all these Madden 21 sims, it’s important to know that each roster is not impacted by COVID-19 opt-outs, injuries, suspensions or illness and that 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 uses the Madden 21 ratings from Week 1 of this season.
For more details, 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.
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.
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Quarterback
Stud
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens, $7,300 — Mahomes and Lamar Jackson ($7,600) have been the top two QBs in these Madden 21 sims, and they’re going head-to-head in what should be a great matchup. These two teams went head to head in the AFC Championship game of the Madden Holiday Season, and the Chiefs won 28-24 despite Jackson’s 44.24-DKFP performance. Jackson has that incredibly high ceiling, but Mahomes has been much more consistent overall and specifically in this head-to-head matchup. Jackson only had 7.56 DKFP in his prior meeting with Mahomes’ Chiefs, showing how volatile he can be. On the other hand, Mahomes has averaged 289.5 passing yards per sim and thrown for 148 touchdowns in his 58 sims. He had over 23 DKFP in each of his three previous games vs. the Ravens and over 22 DKFP in six straight sims coming into this matchup. He just tore the Rams up for 32.88 DKFP on 397 yards and three touchdowns, outproducing Jackson 32.88 DKFP to 18.64 DKFP when both were on the slate on Saturday night in their most recent sims.
Other Option — Lamar Jackson ($7,600)
Value
Gardner Minshew II, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota Vikings, $6,100 — Minshew Mania is alive and well in Madden 21, and the QB has had some big games, especially in favorable matchups like vs. the Vikings. Minshew threw three touchdowns and posted 26.6 DKFP in his most recent sim, which was vs. the Jets. He has over 24 DKFP in three of his past six sims, but he has also struggled to under 10 DKFP in two of those contests. Minshew has averaged 17.2 DKFP per sim with 83 passing scores and four rushing touchdowns in 50 contests. The mustachioed QB has been boom or bust, to be sure, but he could be the key to getting the rest of the stars you want since he’s so much cheaper than the elite options.
Other Option — Teddy Bridgewater ($6,200)
Running Back
Stud
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings at Jacksonville Jaguars, $7,700 — Cook is a true workhorse in these sims, getting a ton of catches and carries as the focal point of the Vikings’ offense. He has scored an insane 56 touchdowns in his 48 sims, averaging 89.3 rushing yards and 31.7 receiving yards on 3.9 catches per sim. Cook is averaging 23.9 DKFP and has produced over 22 DKFP in five of his past seven contests. His ceiling is even higher, though; he even hit for 51 DKFP in an earlier sim vs. the Giants. While that kind of production isn’t the norm, even for him, he does come loaded with upside into this tasty matchup.
Other Options — Christian McCaffrey ($7,000), Chris Thompson ($6,300)
Value
Darrell Henderson Jr., Los Angeles Rams vs. Carolina Panthers, $5,500 — Henderson has been a very solid producer for the Rams as their third-down back, working in tandem with RB1 Malcolm Brown ($4,300). Henderson has hit for double-digit DKFP in three straight sims, including 21.7 DKFP in his most recent game, which was a win over the Chiefs. He had his 18th touchdown in his 43 sims in that contest and also had six catches. He’s averaging 4.3 catches per contest, so his PPR production keeps him fantasy-relevant even when he doesn’t find the end zone. He has over 8.0 DKFP in seven of his past 10 games, and his bust potential isn’t as high as some of the other RBs stuck in timeshares.
Other Options — Malcolm Brown ($4,300), J.K. Dobbins ($3,900)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens, $7,200 — Hill has been the best WR in Madden 21 due to his big-play potential based on his 99 speed rating, along with getting consistently great QB play from Mahomes. Hill is averaging 6.4 catches for 93.6 yards per sim and has scored 54 touchdowns in 58 sims. He will be looking to bounce back after just three catches for 38 yards in his most recent sim, but a touchdown helped him still get to 12.8 DKFP. He has only been held under 10 DKFP four times in 58 contests and finished with 33.5, 44.6 and 13.1 DKFP in his three earlier sims vs. the Ravens. Hill should again be able to find space and make big plays, and he has the highest ceiling and most consistency of any WR on the slate by a wide margin.
Other Options — DJ Chark Jr. ($5,900), Robert Woods ($5,800)
Value
Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota Vikings, $5,500 — Westbrook fell out of favor and got hurt in Jacksonville in real life this past season, but he works out of the slot for the Jags in Madden 21 and has been a very nice option for Minshew over the middle. Westbrook has at least three catches in 13 of his past 14 sims and is averaging 3.8 catches for 50.9 yards per contest over his 50 games. He has scored 16 touchdowns, three of which came in a recent sim vs. the Giants — in which he finished with 46.0 DKFP. He does have a little bit of bust potential due to his inconsistent QB play, but he also has a high enough ceiling to be worth the risk at this salary.
Demarcus Robinson, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens, $4,300 — Robinson has been a great source of much-needed salary relief whenever the Chiefs are on the slate, and he has been excellent in his WR3 role for Kansas City over the past few sims. He had two touchdowns and 35.9 DKFP vs. the Rams in his most recent contest and has at least three catches in 10 of his past 11 contests. He has seven touchdowns during that run, as well, resulting in over 12 DKFP in seven of his past eight games. Robinson hasn’t had monster games vs. the Ravens in the past, but he is almost always involved enough to be a good cheap play worth a look at his salary around $4K.
Other Options — Josh Reynolds ($5,000), Tajae Sharpe ($4,500), Robby Anderson ($4,100)
Tight End
Stud
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens, $6,000 — Kelce is a Superstar X-factor in Madden 21 like Mahomes and Hill, and he usually makes a great fantasy option like his big-ticket teammates. Kelce is averaging 6.1 catches for 71.2 yards per contest and has scored 32 touchdowns. He posted 15.6, 3.6 and 22.9 DKFP in his three previous sims vs. the Ravens, showing his ceiling, as well as his potential to have a quiet game if the Chiefs focus elsewhere. If you can make all the stud salaries work, Kelce is a great play and comes loaded with upside, but he is the star that I would prioritize the least on this specific slate due to the risk factors involved due to his matchup.
Other Option — Tyler Eifert ($4,800)
Value
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams vs. Carolina Panthers, $3,800 — Higbee has been the third-most productive TE on this slate, but he’s available as the cheapest starting TE on the board. He doesn’t share time in these sims with Gerald Everett ($2,500) like he does in real life, and Higbee’s consistent work as the TE1 has helped him average 9.5 DKFP per sim on 4.2 catches for 39.9 yards per game. He has double-digit DFKP in four of his seven most recent contests and had an impressive 20.2-DKFP contest vs. the Rams a few sims ago. If he goes for that kind of number at this salary, he’ll be a key to breaking the slate. Even if he falls short of that, Higbee should end up a good value at such a minimal cost. Even if you do pay up for Kelce, Higbee makes a lot of sense in the flex spot to fit in stars at RB and WR.
Other Option — Ian Thomas ($3,900)
DST
Stud
Chiefs DST vs. Baltimore Ravens, $2,800 — While facing Lamar Jackson is obviously a far cry from an ideal matchup, the Chiefs’ DST still is a viable fantasy play on this slate since Jackson has had some turnover issues and had those down games. In their three previous matchups, the Chiefs produced 2.0, 10.0 and 7.0 DKFP vs. the Ravens even though they didn’t score a defensive touchdown. They were able to force two turnovers in those games and held Jackson and the Ravens to just three points in one meeting. Recently, Kansas City has been hit-or-miss as a defense, but it makes sense to go to them here based on the lack of other elite options in play.
Value
Vikings DST at Jacksonville Jaguars, $2,600 — If you go all the way to the cheapest defense on the board, there’s also some nice value to be had from the Vikings, who have averaged 4.5 DKFP per sim — the same as the Chiefs and tied for the second-most on the slate behind only the Ravens DST ($3,100). Minnesota has 89 sacks and 28 takeaways in its 48 sims and has scored three defensive touchdowns. The Vikings will be facing the Jaguars for the first time, but if they get pressure on Minshew and he has a down game, they could end up being a great defensive play — especially coming at such a cheap salary on a slate where saving wherever possible will be necessary to spend big on superstars.
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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.