Before Week 11 kicks off with a fun Thursday Night Football matchup, the DraftKings Dream Stream has a nice three-game slate of Madden sims that kicks off at 12:00 p.m. ET. The action gets underway with a lunchtime matchup between the Washington Football Team and the Atlanta Falcons. The Cleveland Browns are in action for the second day in a row, as they host the New York Giants at 2:00 p.m. ET. At 4:00 p.m. ET, there’s a nice NFC matchup as the Los Angeles Rams travel to virtual Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings.
An important note to remember is that each roster is not impacted by COVID-19 opt-outs or injuries, and the highest-rated options are at the top of the depth charts. The roster for each team includes all player movement that occurred prior to Week 1 of this season, and you can find the game settings, depth charts, abilities and X-factors for each team in Madden 21 along with the upcoming schedule on the Madden Stream info page.
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Quarterback
Stud
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons vs. Washington Football Team, $6,700 — Ryan has been excellent in the Madden 21 sims and has continued to post good numbers after leading the Falcons to the win in the preseason Madden 21 tournament. He has racked up 50 passing scores in 25 sims while throwing just three interceptions. He is averaging 263.2 yards per contest and has posted at least 17 DKFP in three of his past four contests. This will be his first contest against Washington. So far in these sims, Washington’s defense has been strong against the run but beatable through the air, making Ryan a nice play if you have the salary.
Other Option — Baker Mayfield ($6,400)
Value
Dwayne Haskins, Washington Football Team at Atlanta Falcons, $5,700 — While Haskins hasn’t been as consistently as productive as Ryan, he does have upside and is in a good matchup since the Falcons’ defense gives up big plays. Haskins has thrown 33 touchdowns in 22 sims while averaging 208.4 passing yards per game. He has been boom-or-bust lately throwing for multiple touchdowns in five of his past eight contests. He didn’t throw a score in his most recent sim, though, and only managed 8.52 DKFP against the Broncos. He should be able to bounce back in this game, and has more upside to offer than the other QB options under $6K.
Other Options — Jared Goff ($5,900), Daniel Jones ($5,400)
Running Back
Stud
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams, $9,000 — Cook’s salary is crazy-high at $9K, making him almost $2K more than any other player on the slate. It’s easy to see why, though, with the numbers he has been putting up and his heavy workload in just about every sim. Cook has scored 26 touchdowns in 21 sims and is averaging 101.9 rushing yards and 26.1 receiving yards on 3.4 catches per contest. Cook has gone for over 130 rushing yards in three straight contests and over 100 yards in eight of his past 10. He had an awful game against the Rams when he faced them earlier in these sims, but he has been so locked in that he’s still a great play in the rematch if you can find a way to build around his hefty price tag.
Other Options — Saquon Barkley ($6,800), Todd Gurley II ($6,500)
Value
Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns vs. New York Giants, $3,900 — Hunt is the third-down back for the Browns and has been fairly involved in their recent sims. He helped them run past the Eagles in Wednesday’s contest, scoring a touchdown and producing 11.0 DKFP. He has at least 9.0 DKFP in five of his past seven games and has produced 23.0 receiving yards on 3.1 catches per sim to help him average 8.6 DKFP per sim. While he does have some bust potential if Nick Chubb ($6,200) dominates, Hunt is a great way to counter-balance paying all the way up for Cook, leaving you enough salary to still stock your other roster spots.
Other Option — Darrell Henderson Jr. ($5,500)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons vs. Washington Football Team, $7,000 — Jones has been excellent in these sims, producing 18.3 DKFP per contest by averaging 5.0 catches for 83.5 yards per sim. He has over 2,000 receiving yards in his 24 sims and has racked up 15 touchdowns. He has been a little inconsistent lately, but his 97 overall rating will give him a huge advantage over Washington’s CBs who are all rated below 90 overall. Jones hasn’t hit 100 yards in seven straight sims and seems long overdue for a monster performance.
Other Option — Robert Woods ($6,100)
Value
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants at Cleveland Browns, $4,900 — Shepard had one of those monster performances in his most recent contest, catching 11 passes for 143 yards, a touchdown and 34.3 DKFP against the Vikings. He has now scored in four of his past five contests, picking up his average to 11.5 DKFP. He has multiple catches in 17-of-19 sims, averaging 3.5 catches for 50.7 yards per contest. Shepard might not go off like he did against the Vikings, but he has averaged an impressive 14.8 DKFP in his 11 road sims and has tons of upside in this matchup against an iffy Browns’ secondary.
Josh Reynolds, Los Angeles Rams at Minnesota Vikings, $3,600 — Reynolds has multiple catches in 10 of his past 11 sims and has been regularly involved as a key contributor in the Rams’ offense. Cooper Kupp ($6,700) usually slides to the slot, leaving Robert Woods ($6,100) and Reynolds to act as the two outside receivers. Reynolds had three catches for 45 yards and 7.5 DKFP in his previous matchup with the Vikings, and he has over 7.0 DKFP in 11 of his past 17 sims.
Other Options — Adam Thielen ($5,300), Darius Slayton ($4,400), Rashard Higgins ($4,000)
Tight End
Stud
Jeremy Sprinkle, Washington Football Team at Atlanta Falcons, $5,100 — Sprinkle has been excellent in these sims as Washington’s TE1, even though in real life he was passed on the depth chart by Logan Thomas ($2,900). Sprinkle has produced an average of 12.6 DKFP over his 22 sims on 4.4 catches for 51.2 receiving yards and an impressive total of 11 touchdowns. The Falcons have given up big games to opposing TEs in these sims, as well, so Sprinkle should be set up for success. He has produced at least 7.0 DKFP in 11 of his past 13 contests, highlighted by a monster 36.2-DKFP game against the Eagles when he had 10 catches for 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Other Options — Evan Engram ($4,700), Hayden Hurst ($4,500)
Value
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns vs. New York Giants, $4,300 — Hooper had a huge game Wednesday against the Eagles with six catches, 53 yards, a touchdown and 17.3 DKFP. He has over 15 DKFP in two of his past three contests and at least four receptions in six straight. He has only scored four touchdowns in his 21 sims but has averaged 3.9 catches per contest, so his volume makes him worth a look at this salary in a favorable spot.
Other Option — Kyle Rudolph ($3,400)
DST
Stud
Rams DST at Minnesota Vikings, $3,200 — The Rams have two of the highest rated defensive players in all of Madden in X-factor superstars Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. They have been a very solid play throughout their sims as a result, and they went off for 21 DKFP in their first meeting with the Vikings, piling up six sacks to go with a defensive touchdown and only three points allowed. I doubt they’ll be able to hold Cook in check as much in the rematch, but even if they do give up more points and yards, they should be able to get pressure on Kirk Cousins ($5,000) and force him into bad plays.
Other Options — Washington Football Team ($2,900)
Value
Browns DST vs. New York Giants, $2,600 — The Browns only gave up three points to the Eagles in the rain on the road on Wednesday before a garbage-time touchdown that made the final score 28-10. Cleveland had an interception in that game that almost went for a touchdown, which would have been their first defensive score in 21 sims. They have only forced five turnovers but have managed to pick up 32 sacks. In a good matchup against Daniel Jones, I think the Browns could end up being a sneaky cheap defensive play with nice upside in the middle game of this three-game slate.
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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.