We’ve got another great Spring Saturday of fantasy football on tap with a full six-game schedule of Madden 21 sims on the DraftKings Dream Stream. The featured late classic slate kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET with the Washington Football Team rolling into the virtual Queen City to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. At 8:00 p.m. ET, the Houston Texans try their luck against the Las Vegas Raiders, and the final game of the night is an NFC matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants. All six teams offer some intriguing DFS options to consider, and you can find my favorite plays below.
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Quarterback
Stud
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans at Las Vegas Raiders, $7,500 — Watson and Kyler Murray ($7,300) both have high ceilings and favorable matchups, but I prefer Watson since he has been a more reliable passer in these sims. Watson and Murray’s rushing totals are about the same, but Watson has 20 more touchdowns passes and is averaging about 20 more passing yards per sim. Against the Colts in his most recent sim, Watson had 32.8 DKFP highlighted by 140 rushing yards, and he has produced over 21 DKFP in six of his past seven sims.
Other Option — Kyler Murray ($7,300)
Value
Daniel Jones, New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals, $6,100 — Jones has had boom-or-bust upside throughout Madden 21, averaging 227.1 passing yards per sim with 92 touchdown passes in 65 sims. He has over 20 DKFP in each of his three most recent sims and posted over 15 DKFP in each of his two previous meetings with Arizona.
Other Option — Joe Burrow ($6,600)
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Running Back
Stud
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals, $7,800 — Barkley is averaging better than 4.0 DKFP more than any other RB on this slate and brings low risk and a high ceiling if you can afford to pay up. He is averaging 4.3 catches for 33.4 receiving yards to go with his 70.6 rushing yards per sim and has totaled 57 touchdowns in his 65 contests. Barkley has over 14 DKFP in four straight sims and posted 11.6 and 21.1 DKFP in his two earlier contests against the Cardinals.
Other Options — J.D. McKissic ($6,700)
Value
Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Football Team, $5,300 — Washington’s defense is strong against the run but can be beaten by opposing RBs as receivers out of the backfield, which is why Bernard makes sense as the Bengals’ third-down back. He had 15.1 DKFP in his first game against Washington and has over 10 DKFP in five of his past seven games, averaging 4.1 catches per game over that span.
Other Option — Duke Johnson ($4,600), Jalen Richard ($4,500)
Wide Receiver
Stud
John Ross III, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Football Team, $6,000 — As the Bengals’ WR3, Ross is a high-risk play at $6K but comes with an extremely high ceiling. He showcased that upside in his most recent sim with three touchdowns and 29.6 DKFP. It was his second three-touchdown performance in Madden 21 and his sixth game in his past eight with over 11 DKFP. He had five catches in his first meeting with Washington and has the potential to go off for a huge game if he gets that many receptions in this rematch.
Other Option — Henry Ruggs III ($6,200), Brandin Cooks ($5,500)
Value
Tyrell Williams, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Houston Texans, $4,800 — Williams is the Raiders’ top WR but comes at an affordable salary. He is averaging 4.0 catches for 60.0 yards per sim and has scored 23 touchdowns. He has a great matchup against the Texans’ struggling secondary and brings a high ceiling.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants vs. Arizona Cardinals, $4,600 — Slayton is another great play under $5K since he’s very involved in the offense. He has at least four catches in four of his past five games and is averaging 2.7 catches for 45.3 yards per sim. He had two touchdowns and 22.7 DKFP against the Bengals on Wednesday and will hope to find similar space in another favorable matchup.
Other Options — Steven Sims Jr. ($5,300), Tyler Boyd ($4,700), Christian Kirk ($3,800)
Tight End
Stud
Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Houston Texans, $5,400 — Waller has over 8.0 DKFP in 13 straight sims while averaging 12.5 DKFP over that run and 12.4 DKFP over his 65 sims overall. He is just three catches shy of 300 and usually gets plenty of targets, providing both a high floor and a high ceiling.
Other Option — Evan Engram ($5,000)
Value
C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Football Team, $3,800 — Uzomah is the cheapest starting TE on this slate, but don’t overlook what he did to Washington in their previous meeting, racking up for 120 yards, three touchdowns and 40 DKFP. He’s averaging a solid 4.0 catches for 41.9 yards per sim.
DST
Stud
Washington Football Team DST at Cincinnati Bengals, $3,200 — Even though I like some of the Bengals’ individual matchups, I think Washington’s defense is by far the best fantasy option available. Washington’s average of 6.1 DKFP per sim is 2.0 more than any other DST in play and is built on a strong pass rush that has produced 150 sacks in 69 sims.
Value
Cardinals DST at New York Giants, $2,900 — X-factor superstar Chandler Jones gives the Cardinals a nice pass rush as well, and Arizona has totaled 141 sacks in 66 sims. The Cardinals have only forced 20 turnovers but do have more potential playmakers than the other cheap DSTs on this 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.