Thursday Night Football features a strong trifecta of Madden 21 sims on the DraftKings Dream Stream, with an AFC South showdown between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans kicking off the featured classic slate at 6:00 p.m. ET. At 8:00 p.m. ET, the Denver Broncos visit the Tennessee Titans, and we close out the night with the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Buffalo Bills. Those six teams bring plenty of fantasy football options, and you can find my favorite plays below.
You can follow the results and get all the gameplay details on the Madden Streams Information Page. You can also see the full depth charts for each team here.
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Quarterback
Stud
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, $7,400 — Despite the Texans’ overall struggles in Madden, Watson has a very high ceiling and is one of the top QBs in the game. He has averaged 198.3 passing yards and 70.7 rushing yards while scoring 92 passing touchdowns and 27 rushing touchdowns in 66 sims. He had 26.46 DKFP in his most recent meeting with the Colts and had over 20 DKFP in six straight games before Houston was bounced from the Bracket Tourney with a loss to the Bills.
Other Option — Josh Allen ($7,000), Carson Wentz ($6,900)
Value
Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos, $6,100 — Tannehill doesn’t run nearly as much as Watson does, but he still has a high ceiling in the right matchups, like this one against Denver’s secondary. Tannehill had 22.68 and 27.4 DKFP in two of his three previous matchups with the Broncos and also had a recent run of over 19 DKFP in five of six games before finishing with a few down games at the end of the Titans’ run to the Final Four.
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Running Back
Stud
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos, $7,900 — Henry has totaled 66 touchdowns in 71 sims while also averaging 80.8 rushing yards and 24.3 receiving yards on 3.5 catches per contest. His consistent work as a receiver makes him a lower-risk play with an extremely high ceiling. He has scored seven touchdowns over his five most recent games, including a three-touchdown, 42.40-DKFP performance Tuesday vs. the 49ers. Henry had 14.6, 11.2 and 27.1 DKFP in three previous meetings with Denver.
Other Option — Miles Sanders ($7,100)
Value
Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $5,500 — Hines is a great mid-range play as the Colts’ third-down back and is typically a much better fantasy asset than Marlon Mack ($4,800), who he shares time with. Hines has averaged 14.1 DKFP overall and put up 27.2 and 16.6 DKFP in his two previous games vs. the Texans. He’s averaging 4.2 receptions, 34.6 receiving yards and 32.4 rushing yards per sim.
Other Options — Duke Johnson ($4,700), Melvin Gordon III ($4,500)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos at Tennessee Titans, $5,900 — Sutton is boom-or-bust as the Broncos’ WR1 since Drew Lock ($5,400) sometimes struggles under center. Sutton was entirely shut out in one of his previous meetings with the Titans, but he also went off for three touchdowns and 43.0 DKFP in another one of their other meetings. He has such a high ceiling that he’s worth considering on this slate, especially for GPP tournaments.
Other Option — Stefon Diggs ($6,900), Corey Davis ($6,100)
Value
Marquise Goodwin, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Buffalo Bills, $5,300 — The Bills have elite top CBs but lack secondary depth, which could leave Goodwin in a favorable spot out of the slot with his 97 speed rating. Goodwin has averaged 3.7 catches for 50.6 yards per sim. Like Sutton, he has a very high boom-or-bust ceiling.
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $4,300 — Campbell is just barely slower than Goodwin as a slot WR with a 94 speed rating. Campbell is averaging 3.9 catches for 43.7 yards per sim and has scored 17 touchdowns. Goodwin has been significantly better with 31 touchdowns, but both bring big-play potential if they find space.
Other Options — T.Y. Hilton ($5,100), Zach Pascal ($3,800), Adam Humphries ($3,700)
Tight End
Stud
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia Eagles, $5,500 — Ertz has been a PPR beast in Madden 21, averaging 5.5 catches per sim. He had five catches for 56 yards and 10.6 DKFP in his first meeting with the Bills. Buffalo is usually vulnerable to TEs, so it should be a matchup in which Ertz can excel.
Other Option — Jonnu Smith ($5,000)
Value
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $4,900 — As inconsistent as the WR have been, it’s also good to have some top-shelf consistent TEs to bring stability. Burton has averaged 4.9 catches per sim since taking over as the Colts’ TE1 and offers consistent volume and heavy usage under $5K.
Other Option — Noah Fant ($4,100)
DST
Stud
Titans DST vs. Denver Broncos, $3,000 — In 71 sims, the Titans have forced 46 turnovers and picked up 149 sacks. Tennessee had 13.0 and 7 DKFP in two of its previous three meetings with Denver and should be able to take advantage of this matchup once again.
Value
Eagles DST vs. Buffalo Bills, $2,900 — The Eagles shut out the Bills in their first Madden 21 contest, finishing with two sacks and an interception to post 14 DKFP. They are coming off back-to-back games in which they’ve scored defensive touchdowns, logging for 9 DKFP in each contest.
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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.