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With real-life sports still in the midst of an extended time out, DraftKings continues to provide some great sports simulations to fill the void. Each day there are six Madden Streams with eight free contests to be a part of. You can play a single-game Showdown for each contest along with an all-day, six-game classic contest and a three-game late slate. Each simulation will be played out via an online Madden Stream using Madden 2020 with rosters and ratings from the end of the 2019-20 season. In this format, you can enjoy watching the game stream on the DK Live app (download here) or right here in this post. Follow along to watch your fantasy team pile up fantasy points.
In this post, we’ll focus on the late slate for Thursday, which is centered on the Game of the Week between the Chiefs and the Steelers at 8 p.m. ET. The contest will start with the 6 p.m. ET matchup between the Redskins and the Seahawks, which also has some nice fantasy options. The final game of the night is an AFC East matchup between the Jets and the Patriots, who would both be playoff teams based on their performances in these sims if we had playoffs and they started as of Thursday.
As you build your team for this late slate, make sure to check out the Madden info page for all the data on player ratings, special abilities and what you can look forward to coming soon. I’ll give you my favorite plays at each position and price point for this three-game classic slate below.
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Quarterback
Stud
Russell Wilson, SEA vs. WAS, $8,000 — No QB in Madden can match the 99 overall rating of Patrick Mahomes ($8,200), but Wilson has actually been a more productive option in these sims so far and is in a great matchup against Washington. Wilson has added value due to his rushing prowess and is averaging over 50 rushing yards per contest in addition to over 200 passing yards. He has thrown for 38 scores and has rushed for seven more. He has over 19 DKFP in each of his past four games and has thrown multiple touchdowns in all but one of those contests. His ceiling is higher and his risk is lower due to his addition of rushing yards, and he’s where I would look to spend up at QB on this slate. Other Options — Patrick Mahomes ($8,200), Tom Brady ($7,400)
Value
Dwayne Haskins Jr., WAS at SEA, $5,600 — Haskins has one of the lowest overall ratings for a starting QB at just 70, but he also has a good matchup since the Seattle secondary has been getting torched lately, including giving up monster games to Mitchell Trubisky and Daniel Jones. Haskins has consistently out-performed his overall rating and has averaged over 16 DKFP in his first 25 sims. He has struggled in his past three sims and finished with just one touchdown pass over that span after piling up 43 over his first 22 sims. He has over 25 DKFP in seven sims already, and he could add another one to that total in this matchup if he can overcome his inaccuracy and connect with some of his speedy receivers.
Other Option — Ben Roethlisberger ($6,600)
Running Back
Stud
Damien Williams, KC at PIT, $5,800 — Williams has been an excellent mid-tier option most of the season for the Chiefs and will look to keep rolling even in a less-than-ideal matchup against the Steelers. He has been very involved as both a rusher and a receiver while monopolizing all the work in the Chiefs’ backfield. He has 14 touchdowns in his 25 sims and over 11 DKFP in three of his past four even though he has failed to find the end zone. When he does score, he usually does it in bunches and actually has a pair of three-touchdown performances. He has a high ceiling and comes at a nice salary for this slate. Other Option — Le’Veon Bell ($6,600)
Value
James White, NE vs. NYJ, $5,700 — White costs virtually the same as Williams and has averaged just a little bit more with 14.3 DKFP per sim compared to 14.2 DKFP per sim for Williams. Like Williams, he gets almost all the work in the backfield and can go off for a big number. He is averaging just under 70 rushing yards per sim and has racked up 10 touchdowns in 25 contests. He has double-digit DKFP in three straight and has gone off for over 25 DKFP four times even though he’s never had a three-touchdown performance. Both White and Williams are solid mid-tier plays at RB since they have such high volume and such high ceilings.
Chris Thompson, WAS at SEA, $3,000 — If you need an even cheaper RB value, check out Thompson who is at the minimum salary but has posted at least 7.0 DKFP in each of his past four games with a pair of double-digit DKFP performances during that span. Thompson scored his third touchdown of these sims in his most recent contest Tuesday night against the Ravens and raised his average over 7.0 DKFP per sim. He’s very involved as the third-down back even though he’s officially the RB3 on the depth chart.
Other Options — Derrius Guice ($5,400), C.J. Prosise ($3,000)
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Wide Receiver
Stud
Tyreek Hill, KC at PIT, $7,800 — Hill can be a bit boom-or-bust but has the highest ceiling of the WR on this slate due to his 99 speed rating and ability to go off for huge plays. He is averaging over 16.5 DKFP per sim, which is more than 2.0 DKFP higher than any other WR on the board. He snapped out of a bit of a slump in his most recent game against Carolina, going off for eight catches, 73 yards, a touchdown and 21.3 DKFP. He has 16 scores now in his 25 sims. The Steelers have a very solid defense all-around, but if there is one area where they have struggled it’s at CB, where they have allowed some big plays. If you can spend up for Hill, he is definitely the option with the highest ceiling on the board. Other Options — JuJu Smith-Schuster ($6,600), Robby Anderson ($6,200)
Value
Mohamed Sanu, NE vs. NYJ, $4,000 — Sanu has been the best of a strong group of WR2 on this slate and is very affordable at just $4K. He has exactly six catches in each of his past three contests for 79, 77 and 124 yards. He has over 13 DKFP in each of those games and in five straight overall. He’s now averaging 13.0 DKFP per sim and has 15 touchdowns in 25 contests. The Jets’ secondary has been very beatable, so look for Sanu and the Pats’ WR corps to be strong plays in the late game.
Trey Quinn, WAS at SEA, $3,000 — Quinn had three catches for 39 yards against the Ravens on Tuesday and continues to be very involved out of the slot for Washington. He has averaged over 50 yards per sim with 3.6 catches per contest and a total of seven touchdowns. He has the potential to totally go off, as we’ve seen in his four games over 20 DKFP, but he is also involved enough on a regular basis to be fairly low-risk at only $3K.
Other Options — Sammy Watkins ($4,400), Paul Richardson Jr. ($3,600)
Tight End
Stud
Travis Kelce, KC at PIT, $6,200 — Kelce has averaged 70.0 yards and 15.2 DKFP per sim. He has 10 touchdowns but hasn’t found the end zone in four of his past five outings. He has still been heavily involved, though, with 27 total catches during that span, which is on par with his average of 5.3 catches per contest. He is a great way to spend up at TE since he hardly ever busts, and he has a high ceiling even in a tough matchup against the Steelers. Other Option — Jordan Reed ($5,000)
Value
Ben Watson, NE vs. NYJ, $4,200 — Watson has exactly matched Kelce’s average with 15.2 DKFP per sim. He has been amazing in these sims, flourishing while running Gronk’s old routes in the stellar New England playbook. Watson only has nine touchdowns but is averaging 68.6 yards per contest. He has averaged 5.6 catches per sim and even has double-digit receptions in four of his 25 contests. With Watson and Kelce both in play, it may be a good night to use the flex spot to get a second tight end in your lineup.
Other Options — Vance Mcdonald ($4,000)
DST
Stud
Steelers DST vs. KC, $2,900 — The Steelers have playmakers at every level of their defense and have been one of the best overall units in our sim season. They’re averaging 6.0 DKFP per sim over their first 25 contests. Most of their production actually comes from sacks, as they’ve dropped opposing QBs 54 times in 25 sims. They also have forced 20 turnovers and scored four defensive TDs. They are also much stronger at home, where they have averaged 6.4 DKFP per sim. They have a tough matchup against the Chiefs and Mahomes but can still make the splashy plays they need to be a good fantasy option. Other Option — Patriots ($3,200)
Value
Seahawks DST vs. WAS, $2,500 — The Seahawks defense has given up a lot of yards and points lately, but they do continue to force turnovers. They piled up 22 takeaways in their first 24 sims along with 35 sacks and three defensive touchdowns. They’ve been very good at home, where they’ll take on a rookie QB in Dwayne Haskins who has low awareness and could be forced into making mistakes.
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.