Thursday Night Football brings three more great Madden 21 sims to the DraftKings Dream Stream, giving everyone a chance to get in some midweek fantasy football fun. The first game of the featured classic slate kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET, when the Madden Bracket Tourney Champion Seattle Seahawks visit the Pittsburgh Steelers. At 8:00 p.m. ET in primetime, the Denver Broncos take on the San Francisco 49ers in the virtual Mile High City, and we close out the night with a matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns that kicks off at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Check out all the gameplay details on the Madden Streams Information Page and dive into the full depth chart for each team. Check out my favorite fantasy plays for this Thursday night listed below.
Quarterback
Stud
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers, $7,200 — The Seahawks and Steelers are both elite Madden 21 defenses, but the best playmaker in the early matchup is also the top QB in play all night. Wilson has averaged 21.7 DKFP per sim by rushing for 36 touchdowns and throwing for 104 scores in his 77 sims. He has over 19 DKFP in five of his past seven games, highlighted by a 35-DKFP performance against the Titans. He has that kind of a high ceiling in this matchup as well despite the difficult matchup since he remains the focus of the Seahawks’ offense.
Other Option — Carson Wentz ($7,000)
Value
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles, $5,900 — Mayfield comes into this contest off a 366-yard game against the Titans, when he posted 21.64 DKFP on Monday. He is averaging 225.4 passing yards per sim and has thrown 105 touchdowns in his 71 sims. He has shown a high ceiling and has a very favorable matchup against the Eagles, who have had issues in the secondary throughout Madden 21. If you think the Seahawks-Steelers game will be a defensive struggle, Mayfield makes a very attractive value pivot at just under $6K.
Other Option — Jimmy Garoppolo ($6,000)
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Running Back
Stud
Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos, $7,500 — Mostert continues to be a dominant force in Madden 21 with 71 touchdowns in 70 sims while averaging 21.7 DKFP on 82.6 rushing yards, 29.5 receiving yards and 3.5 catches per sim. He had 21.1 DKFP in his previous meeting with Denver and comes in with a streak of nine straight games with double-digit DKFP.
Other Option — Miles Sanders ($7,000)
Value
Carlos Hyde, Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers, $4,700 — Hyde is the power back for the Seahawks and gets lots of work especially by the goal line since Seattle uses so many power-running formations. Hyde has multiple catches in nine of his past 11 sims while averaging 9.6 DKFP per contest during that run and 7.9 DKFP overall.
Other Options — Kareem Hunt ($4,800), Jaylen Samuels ($4,500)
Wide Receiver
Stud
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns, $6,400 — Jackson is the WR2 for the Eagles in these sims but has regularly outproduced Alshon Jeffery ($4,200), the WR1. Jackson had a great run of three straight games with at least seven catches and over 20 DKFP which came to an end against the Patriots in his most recent contest. He’ll look to bounce back in a good matchup against the Browns’ secondary, who he posted 12.7 and 13.7 against in his two previous meetings with a touchdown in each game.
Other Options — JuJu Smith Schuster ($6,700), Marquise Goodwin ($5,800)
Value
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos, $5,000 — Samuel gets a good matchup against the Broncos’ struggling secondary and should have success as the Niners’ WR1. He is averaging 4.1 catches for 53.7 yards per sim with 25 scores in his 69 games, including three in his past four contests.
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers, $4,300 — Despite being Seattle’s WR1, Lockett has been inconsistent out of the slot, partly because Wilson runs for so much of the Seahawks’ offense. Lockett does have good speed and a high ceiling, though, and comes into this matchup with at least three catches in four straight sims and in 10 of his past 13.
Other Options — DK Metcalf ($5,400), Kendrick Bourne ($4,700), Rashard Higgins ($3,400)
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Tight End
Stud
Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Seattle Seahawks, $5,600 — Ebron is one of the most consistently heavy-usage TEs in all of Madden 21 and has at least five catches in five of his past six games to average 16.2 DKFP over that stretch. He had seven catches for 90 yards, a touchdown and 22.0 DKFP in his first game against Seattle, who has struggled against TEs in Madden 21.
Other Options — George Kittle ($5,700), Zach Ertz ($5,300)
Value
Noah Fant, Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers, $4,000 — Since they have elite cover CBs, the 49ers often force teams to focus more on passing to their TE. If that’s the case in this sim, Fant brings a high ceiling due to his big-play potential as one of the fastest TEs in all of Madden 21. He has over 7.0 DKFP in five of his past six games with multiple catches in 22 straight sims.
DST
Stud
Seahawks DST at Pittsburgh Steelers, $3,100 — Both Seattle and Pittsburgh feature play-making defenses with multiple star players. The Seahawks have been just a little bit better with 76 takeaways in 77 sims to go with 157 sacks and 12 defensive touchdowns. I also like their matchup more than Pittsburgh’s, and the Seahawks have actually been more productive on the road than at home.
Value
Browns DST vs. Philadelphia Eagles, $2,800 — If you decide to fade the two elite plays at the top of the DST chart, the Browns do have an interesting ceiling with Myles Garrett leading a strong pass rush that had five sacks in its last meeting with the Eagles. The Browns don’t have nearly as many turnovers or defensive touchdowns as the elite plays, so they don’t have quite as high a ceiling.
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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.