As Week 3 of the Madden simulated season continues this Sunday, there are six more Madden 21 sims lined up on the DraftKings Dream Stream. The later three games make up the featured classic slate, which kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET with a matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Giants in the virtual Big Apple. At 8:00 p.m. ET in primetime, the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers square off in an AFC North battle, and on Madden After Dark at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Baltimore Ravens take on the Detroit Lions to close out a full Sunday of sim football action.
You can keep up with the standings as the season continues and check out the depth charts for each team. If you’re looking for gameplay details for these sims along with the upcoming schedule, head over to the Madden Streams Information Page.
Quarterback
Stud
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens at Detroit Lions, $8,500 — No QB has been as productive in these Madden 21 sims as Jackson, who is averaging 26.5 DKFP on 104.5 rushing yards and 148.5 passing yards per sim. Jackson has faced the Lions six times in Madden 21, highlighted by an enormous game in which he posted a single-game record of 307 rushing yards and 62.18 DKFP. In those six games against Detroit, he has averaged 30.5 DKFP and should be able to continue running wild against the Lions’ awful rush defense. Jackson comes in with good form too, having produced over 23 DKFP in five of his past six contests.
Other Option — Matt Ryan ($7,200)
Value
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers, $6,300 — Even though the Steelers have a strong defense, Burrow has had some good games in their previous Madden 21 meetings, averaging 21.3 DKFP over five games, highlighted by a 37.42-DKFP performance. Burrow is averaging 17.0 DKFP overall but can reach 20-plus DKFP when he throws multiple touchdowns, as he did in the Bengals’ Week 2 win over the Bears. Pivoting away from Jackson is a high-risk strategy, but if you do go another direction, Burrow is the cheap play with the most upside.
Other Option — Daniel Jones ($6,100)
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Running Back
Stud
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants vs. Atlanta Falcons, $7,200 — After two games, every single team in the NFC East was 1-1 including the Giants, who beat the Broncos and lost to Washington. Barkley is the workhorse in New York’s offense and has stayed very busy as a dual-threat, catching passes out of the backfield and getting plenty of work on the ground. He has over 23 DKFP in three of his past four games with at least four catches in eight straight sims. He had even more work with 10 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in his earlier game against the Falcons on his way to an impressive 34.3 DKFP. He has that kind of ceiling in this favorable matchup on Sunday night.
Other Option — Todd Gurley II ($7,300)
Value
Jaylen Samuels, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals, $4,700 — Samuels in the third-down back for the Steelers and has thrived in that role, averaging 4.0 catches for 28.1 yards per sim. He has faced his divisional foe five times in Madden 21, averaging 14.7 DKFP and even going off for 34.5 DKFP in one of those matchups.
Other Options — D’Andre Swift ($4,600), J.K. Dobbins ($4,500)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants, $7,700 — Jones went off for nine catches, two touchdowns, 133 yards and 37.3 DKFP in the Falcons’ Week 2 win over the Bucs and is in another favorable matchup against the Giants, who he had 19.6 DKFP against in their earlier sim meeting. Jones has at least 19 DKFP in six of his past seven sims with 10 touchdowns over that stretch, raising his total to 59 scores in 82 sims. He’s significantly higher priced than the other WRs on this slate but has definitely been worth paying up for lately.
Other Option — JuJu Smith-Schuster ($6,600), Marvin Jones Jr. ($5,900)
Value
Danny Amendola, Detroit Lions vs. Baltimore Ravens, $4,400 — Amendola has been heavily used as the Lions’ primary slot receiver and has averaged 3.7 catches in 78 sims while never being shut out. He reached double-digit DKFP in five of his previous six meetings with the Ravens and opened the season with 14.4 DKFP against San Francisco.
Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants, $4,000 — Another productive WR3 and primary slot option has been Gage, who is averaging 3.6 catches for 41.1 yards per sim. He has multiple catches in four straight sims and had 10.6 DKFP in his first game against the Giants. New York’s secondary has been bad enough to stack Gage with Jones and still get good production from both Atlanta WRs.
Other Options — Kenny Golladay ($5,200), Golden Tate ($4,600), Darius Slayton ($4,300), Willie Snead IV ($3,800)
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Tight End
Stud
Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals, $5,900 — Ebron has found the end zone in four straight sims and posted over 15 DKFP in five straight sims, dating back to before the season began. He has raised his averages to 12.9 DKFP on 4.9 catches for 52.8 yards per sim and reached 35 touchdowns in his 81 contests.
Other Option — Hayden Hurst ($5,600), T.J. Hockenson ($5,100)
Value
C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers, $4,200 — Uzomah is significantly cheaper than Ebron but has also been very involved for Cincinnati. He has averaged 12.2 DKFP in his six previous matchups with the Steelers with over 7.0 DKFP in each of those meetings. He also has at least four catches in five straight sims coming into this divisional contest.
DST
Stud
Steelers DST vs. Cincinnati Bengals, $3,100 — The Steelers’ defense does a great job making big plays, totaling 172 sacks and 71 takeaways in 81 sims. Pittsburgh has multiple sacks in 11 straight sims and posted 10 DKFP against the Bills and 19 DKFP against the Raiders in their two wins to start the season. The Steelers also have a pretty good matchup against the Bengals.
Value
Falcons DST at New York Giants, $2,700 — The Falcons have been much better in Madden 21 than they were in real life, forcing 43 turnovers and compiling 159 sacks over their 84 sims. They had five sacks and 3.0 DKFP in their first meeting with the Giants and should be able to get good pressure on Daniel Jones ($6,100) once again in this rematch.
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