We’re all in need of some entertainment during these times of the unknown. DraftKings is doing its part by offering Madden simulations with a variety of teams going at it. For this piece, we’ll focus on the Colts vs. Jaguars game, which starts at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 15.
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Note: All salaries will be Flex prices unless noted as Captain’s Pick prices.
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Indianapolis Colts
Jacoby Brissett ($11,000) is not only the most expensive player in this game, but he also owns the highest DKFP average at 18. He’s averaging 243 passing yards with 58 touchdowns thrown and 11 interceptions through 34 games. The problem is, he’s been such a tough player to figure out. We’ve seen him post over 35 DKFP in games and also have seen him put up 1.5 DKFP. The Jaguars don’t exactly have a lockdown secondary, so one would expect a decent game from Brissett. But without being a mobile quarterback, we run the risk of some of those duds during any given game.
When Brissett is airing the ball out, he has been hitting his No. 1 receiver in T.Y. Hilton ($10,600) efficiently. Even without making a catch in two of the 34 simulations, Hilton is averaging four receptions and 67.8 yards per game with 21 touchdowns scored. Pairing these two together is certainly challenging but this game presents enough value to make it happen. Chester Rogers ($3,600) is a perfect example of that. Despite being low on the depth chart, Rogers is averaging 3.2 receptions, 44.6 yards and seven touchdowns scored. Not too shabby for someone who can easily be overlooked despite being so cheap. Using Rogers in a lineup will make affording someone like Hilton or Eric Ebron ($8,600) much easier. Ebron is the target monster in this offense, averaging 4.7 receptions and 54.6 yards per game. Ebron is also a target in the red zone, as evidenced by his 15 touchdowns. Finally, you can also consider Zach Pascal ($5,200), who falls into that mid-tier dead zone in terms of salary. It seems as if Pascal goes overlooked as people are either going cheaper or more expensive than his salary is set. He doesn’t score much with 10 touchdowns to his credit but he does average 3.5 receptions and 42.6 yards per game.
Nyheim Hines ($3,200) continues to be the only running back I use in this offense. At his cheap salary, averaging 48.4 scrimmage yards is good enough, with anything more being a bonus. He’ll handle a handful of carries while catching out of the backfield, making him a very worthy consideration for your roster.
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Jacksonville Jaguars
I talked about an odd range of outcomes for Brissett, but Gardner Minshew ($10,400) is in the same boat. Here’s a guy that over his past five games is averaging 13.3 DKFP, which includes a 27.6 DKFP game against the Buccaneers and a 0.4 DKFP game against the Vikings. Truly, how does that even happen? Regardless, the Colts won’t offer much pushback in terms of coverage, so I’d lean toward the more productive side of Minshew rather than the 0.4 DKFP version we recently saw.
On the receiving side, it has essentially been DJ Chark ($9,200) and then the rest of the team. Chark has been a touchdown machine with 24 scored to go with four receptions and 66.3 yards per game. He’s cheaper than Hilton so I wouldn’t be surprised if he also beats him in ownership, especially with how many touchdowns Chark has scored. James O’Shaughnessy ($7,800) is a poor man’s Ebron. He’s slightly cheaper but is seeing averages of only four receptions and 55 yards along with 11 touchdowns scored. Minshew doesn’t spread the ball around as well as Brissett, so these two would be my primary focus on the Jags’ offense. After that, you’re getting a lot of inconsistency with the remaining receivers. Dede Westbrook ($6,400) is a perfect example, as he’s fairly pricey for someone averaging 3.3 receptions, 43.1 yards and 10 touchdowns scored. He tied his sim-season high of seven receptions his last time out but he usually struggles to see more than three in a game. Marqise Lee ($4,600) is considered the value play on the Jags but you’re better off going with Rogers on the Colts’ side. Lee is averaging just 2.3 receptions and 31.3 yards per game.
Leonard Fournette ($9,400) just received a big jump in his salary, going up from $8,400 in his last sim. He’s much more attractive in the $8K range, as we’ve seen him score in single-digit fantasy points in four of his past 10 games. He’s still averaging a very solid 91.7 scrimmage yards per game, so he’s nowhere near a fade, but the salary increase is tough with players like Hilton and Chark very much in the conversation as well.
The Outcome
I have three players I’d be looking to captain in this game and none of them play quarterback. Both WR1s should be your top choices, as T.Y. Hilton ($15,900 CP) and DJ Chark ($13,800 CP) are huge scoring threats for their respective teams. If you want to go for pure volume, Eric Ebron ($12,900 CP) is the cheapest of the bunch.
Final Score: Colts 21 Jaguars 20
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is steveazors) 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.