Tuesday is the second day of the first round of the 2021 Madden Bracket Tourney, and six more teams will advance to the Sweet 16 on the DraftKings Dream Stream. The results from each day are available at the main bracket page and the Madden Streams Information Page. There is another jumbo-sized $12K Bracket Challenge Special on the late slate on Tuesday in addition to the regular freerolls for each game and each classic slate. The featured late slate starts at 6:00 p.m. ET with what should be a highly entertaining matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens. The Tennessee Titans host the New York Giants in a nice primetime matchup featuring two of the top RBs in all of Madden as Derrick Henry ($7,800) and Saquon Barkley ($7,200) go head-to-head. There’s another great RB in the late game at 10 p.m. ET when Dalvin Cook ($8,500) and the Minnesota Vikings head to virtual FedEx Field to take on the Washington Football Team.
As in all of 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 the 2020-21 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 on the Madden Stream info page, where you can also find links to 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
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles, $8,700 — Jackson is extremely expensive compared to every other option on this slate, but he has been outstanding in these sims as a dual-threat QB and regularly breaks slates with monster games. He is averaging 27.0 DKFP on 152.7 passing yards and 107.2 rushing yards per sim and has scored 54 rushing touchdowns to go with his 72 passing scores in 69 sims. He hit the 100-yard rushing bonus in four of his past six games and finished with at least 75 rushing yards in each of those six contests, averaging 30.1 DKFP. He has actually been held relatively in check in his two past meetings with the Eagles, but he’s still such a matchup nightmare that he can go off for a big play on any touch and a big game in any matchup. Fading Jackson at any price is a high-risk move since he has such a high ceiling, and there aren’t any other elite QB plays to consider pivoting to on this slate.
Other Option — Carson Wentz ($6,900)
Value
Daniel Jones, New York Giants at Tennessee Titans, $5,600 — If you think the Eagles will manage to slow down Jackson or just want to stack up all the top options at other positions, the pivot I like the most on this slate is Jones, who is over $3K cheaper than Jackson. Jones has a good matchup against the Titans and has shown a high ceiling, even though he is much less consistent and dynamic than Jackson. Jones has thrown 88 touchdowns in his 63 sims while averaging 226.3 passing yards per game. He had three touchdowns and 20.2 DKFP against Pittsburgh in his most recent sim and has posted over 20 DKFP in four of his past eight contests. He and the Giants have only faced the Titans once in these Madden 21 sims, and the Titans pulled out a narrow 24-21 win. Jones finished that contest with an impressive 26.64 DKFP on 316 passing yards with three scores. If he produces over 25 DKFP again, he’ll end up being a great value play while also allowing you to target multiple top options in other spots.
Other Option — Ryan Tannehill ($6,000)
Running Back
Stud
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings at Washington Football Team, $8,500 — Even though the Vikings are officially the underdog based on seeding in this Round 1 sim, they seem like the favorite due to Cook’s dominance. In his 64 sims in Madden 21, Cook has totaled 75 touchdowns while averaging 84.2 rushing yards and 31.8 receiving yards on 4.0 catches per contest. He did post a few lower totals lately but bounced back with a vintage performance against the Eagles in his most recent contest, posting 26.6 DKFP thanks to over 100 receiving yards and three total touchdowns. Cook can get involved in so many ways and is the focus of everything the Vikings do on offense. He had 31.0, 29.3, 16.3 and 9.2 DKFP in his four previous meetings against the Football Team, and he’ll look to power his Vikings into the second round with another big showing on this slate.
Other Option — Derrick Henry ($7,800), Miles Sanders ($7,100)
Value
J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles, $3,900 — The teams on this slate don’t offer many value RB options since five of the six use a workhorse back as both RB1 and third-down back. The one exception to that rule is the Ravens, who use Mark Ingram ($4,300) as their RB1 and Dobbins as their third-down back and their power back. The bigger threat to Dobbins’ workload is actually Jackson doing most of the running work himself, but when a RB does get involved, it’s often Dobbins. He has been held without a catch and under 2.0 DKFP in each of his two most recent sims, but before that he showed a much better ceiling with multiple catches in five straight games, highlighted by a 20.6-DKFP showing against the Bills. He has that kind of upside if he gets in space against the Eagles, who he posted 18.0 DKFP against in one of their earlier Madden 21 meetings. He’s a boom-or-bust RB value, but he’s a nice way to pay under $4K at the spot and still get usage and upside. Getting two star RBs would be ideal but stacking top RBs with Jackson leaves your salary cap stretched thin across the rest of your roster.
Other Options — J.D. McKissic ($6,200), Mark Ingram II ($4,300)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Marquise Goodwin, Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens, $5,100 — Since all the teams on this slate rely heavily on running the ball, WR is a great place to go cheaper and target players who can do more with fewer catches, since the volume will likely be lacking across the board in these contests. Goodwin is actually only the WR3 on the Eagles, but he’s my favorite stud option on this slate due to his 97 speed rating and consistent big-play ability out of the slot. The Ravens struggle to defend speed out of the slot and allowed Goodwin to post 22.0 DKFP in their most recent meeting. Goodwin is averaging 12.2 DKFP on 3.7 catches for 51.3 yards per sim since he and the rest of the COVID-19 opt-outs were added back into the depth charts. Goodwin is a high-risk play who can be boom-or-bust, but that feels like the case with just about every WR on the board, so I’ll go with Goodwin since his “boom” games have the potential to be bigger than almost anyone else’s.
Other Options — DeSean Jackson ($6,400), Steven Sims Jr. ($4,800)
Value
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants at Tennessee Titans, $4,400 — Shepard has also shown a very high ceiling in these sims despite some games where his volume vanishes. He had five catches, 157 yards, two touchdowns and 35.7 DKFP against the Titans in his first game against them in Madden 21 and will try to find that same kind of space in this rematch. He only had one catch in his most recent sim but it did go for a touchdown, giving him 21 scores in his 58 Madden 21 appearances.
Adam Humphries, Tennessee Titans vs. New York Giants, $4,100 — Humphries joined the Washington Football Team this offseason but is still the Titans’ slot receiver in these sims. He has averaged 2.8 catches for 32.3 yards per sim and scored 11 touchdowns. Two of those scores came against the Seahawks in his most recent sim, when he totaled 15.3 DKFP. He has over 7.0 DKFP in nine of his past 16 sims and is one of the more reliable cheap plays on the slate since Ryan Tannehill ($6,000) looks his way regularly over the middle and in the red zone.
Other Options — Marquise Brown ($4,700), Darius Slayton ($4,000), Justin Jefferson ($3,600)
Tight End
Stud
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens, $5,800 — Ertz has been one of the most consistently involved TEs in these sims and offers a nice, reliable producer, especially compared to all the volatile WRs on this slate. He has averaged 5.6 catches for 59.0 yards per contest and has produced double-digit DKFP in eight of his past nine sims. He had eight catches for 72 yards and 15.2 DKFP in his most recent matchup with Baltimore, and I’d rather pay up for him at just under $6K than any WR on the slate.
Other Option — Jonnu Smith ($4,900)
Value
Jeremy Sprinkle, Washington Football Team vs. Minnesota Vikings, $4,000 — Sprinkle is the top TE for Washington in these sims and has been productive even though he was a non-factor this season in the real world. He is averaging 10.7 DKFP on 4.0 catches for 44.8 yards per sim and has scored 23 touchdowns in 64 contests. He finished with over 9.0 DKFP in three of his previous four games against the Vikings and should find room to operate over the middle again in this rematch. If you do go with Ertz, I like Sprinkle a lot in the FLEX spot, or you can pivot away from Ertz and save significant salary by going with Sprinkle.
DST
Stud
Washington Football Team vs. Minnesota Vikings, $3,200 — Washington’s defense has been very good in these sims thanks to an excellent pass rush, and it has a very favorable matchup here since Kirk Cousins ($5,700) has been one of the worst QBs in all of Madden 21. Washington had 14.0, 6.0 and 10.0 DKFP in three games against Minnesota before only managing 1.0 DKFP in their most recent head-to-head meeting. In 65 Madden 21 sims, the Football Team has totaled 139 sacks to go with 46 takeaways and eight defensive touchdowns.
Value
Eagles DST at Baltimore Ravens, $2,800 — Picking the defense going against Lamar Jackson is a bold choice. Jackson has had some fumbling issues at times, so there is potential for turnovers. The Eagles had four sacks and 5.0 DKFP in their most recent contest against the Ravens and have flashed a high enough ceiling to be the top cheap play on the board. In their 66 sims, they have 115 sacks but have only forced 22 turnovers, which is a very low takeaway rate especially compared to the elite DST options like Washington.
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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.