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The Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings will face off in a Madden sim Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET. We break down the ideal Showdown lineup strategy for the DFS contest. You can set your lineup and play in the DraftKings contest before kickoff.
Captain’s Picks
Dalvin Cook ($13,500)
Prior to a couple of duds, Cook had been on a tear for the Vikings with two straight 20-point outings and seven straight with double-digit fantasy points. Even in those duds Cook managed 8.5 points in each game. We’ve got a nice floor to work with there and really all we need is the 100-yard bonus or a TD for Cook to hit around 20 points before the 1.5x bonus. As far as safe plays are concerned, Cook is going to help you hit that cash line.
Mike Williams ($9,300)
I don’t really like thinking too much into the Captain’s slot so Williams is a must here. He’s still leading all players in fantasy points per game at 20.7 in 11 sims. He’s caught a TD in three of the past four games and has 11 overall, so a TD per simulation isn’t too bad. Both of these captains will be pretty chalky, so if you’re looking for a contrarian play don’t go with either Williams or Cook.
FLEX Men
Adam Thielen ($8,200)
Thielen is a pretty clear value at this price in the FLEX. There’s a big dip off in terms of average fantasy points per contest after Thielen, who is cheaper than Stefon Diggs ($10,200). With Diggs struggling with consistency and the Chargers sporting some decent cover corners, Thielen is just too good a deal to pass on. Again, Thielen, Cook and Williams will be super chalky, but this could be a chalky type of Showdown contest.
Melvin Gordon III ($7,600)
Here’s a not-so-chalky play that might surprise you. Gordon has been pretty bad in these Madden sims, averaging 5.9 fantasy points per game. He is showing some signs of life and I watched the Vikings get torched by Raiders RB Josh Jacobs a few sims ago. If that trend continues, we could see a big game from Gordon finally. He is coming off 82 yards and a TD in his previous game. The touches are there, he just needs to turn it into something. This is a sleeping giant type of spot.