Get your weekend off to a strong start with some Madden 21 sims setting up some Friday night fantasy football on the DraftKings Dream Stream. The featured three-game classic slate kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET, when the Washington Football Team heads to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Rams. In primetime at 8:00 p.m. ET, the San Francisco 49ers go head-to-head with the Jacksonville Jaguars before a finale featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals kicks off in an entertaining matchup on Madden After Dark at 10:00 p.m. ET.
As in all of these Madden 21 sims, it’s important to know that each roster is not impacted by COVID-19 opt-outs, injuries, suspensions or illness and that the highest-rated options have been placed at the top of the depth charts. The roster for each team includes all player movement that occurred prior to Week 1 of the 2020-21 season and uses the Madden 21 ratings from Week 1 of this season.
For more details, you can find the game settings, depth charts, abilities and X-factors for each team in Madden 21 on the Madden Stream info page, where you can also find links to the depth charts of each team.
Check out the daily DraftKings Madden Stream contests lobby with paid contests for real cash prizes now available alongside free contests. Each simulation will be played out computer vs. computer via an online Madden Stream using Madden 21. In this format, you can enjoy watching the game stream on the DraftKings YouTube channel, the DK Live app (download here) or right here in this post.
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Quarterback
Stud
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Philadelphia Eagles, $6,700 — The Bengals and Eagles both have offenses that are prone to producing big plays and defenses that have been prone to allowing big plays, so there should be plenty of fireworks in the late game. Burrow has at least 17 DKFP in six of his past seven sims and beat the Lions for 282 yards, three total touchdowns and 26.18 DKFP in his most recent contest. He racked up 273 yards and two scores in his first meeting with the Eagles on his way to a solid 18.92 DKFP, and he should be a good option once again in this rematch. Both he and Carson Wentz ($7,000) have high ceilings in this head-to-head with favorable matchups, but Burrow is a little cheaper and will likely come with less ownership.
Other Option — Carson Wentz ($7,000)
Value
Gardner Minshew II, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Francisco 49ers, $5,800 — The Jaguars have been much better in these sims than they were in real life this past season, and Minshew offers a high ceiling at QB when he’s on top of his game. He has averaged 212.1 passing yards per sim while racking up 103 total touchdowns in 64 contests. He had two touchdowns and 18.46 DKFP when he faced the 49ers earlier in Madden 21, and he would be great value under $6K if he puts up around that many points again in this rematch. The 49ers are usually pretty stout against the run, which should force Minshew to throw the ball to beat them like he did in their first meeting. If you go with a cheap QB, there’s no other player in this pool that can match Minshew’s potential.
Other Option — Jimmy Garoppolo ($5,600)
Running Back
Stud
Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars, $7,400 — Mostert has scored an impressive total of 61 touchdowns in his 63 sims in Madden 21. He is clearly the focus of San Francisco’s offense and usually adds a few catches out of the backfield to his heavy workload as the RB1. He is averaging 80.7 rushing yards and 27.5 receiving yards on 3.3 catches per sim and is the only RB on this slate averaging more than 20 DKFP per game. In his first meeting with the Jaguars, he ran for 102 yards and finished with 17.4 DKFP despite not scoring a touchdown. If he finds the end zone even just one time in this rematch against the below-averaging rush defense of the Jaguars, Mostert should be near the top of the leaderboard once again.
Other Options — Miles Sanders ($6,900), J.D. McKissic ($6,600)
Value
Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Philadelphia Eagles, $5,700 — While the pass-catching RB was released by the Bengals in real life, he is still a key part of their Madden 21 offense and usually is a reliable PPR producer. Gio has at least three receptions in six straight sims and nine of his past 10. In those 10 games, he has averaged 12.4 DKFP per sim and posted at least 9.0 DKFP eight times. He should also be involved again in this rematch with the Eagles. In his first meeting with Philadelphia, he had a pair of touchdowns, seven catches for 63 yards and a very nice total of 26.8 DKFP. Since he only has 18 total touchdowns in 63 sims, he probably won’t hit for two scores again, but he still has enough upside to be a very good play under $6K.
Other Options — Darrell Henderson Jr. ($6,000), Joe Mixon ($5,000)
Wide Receiver
Stud
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals, $6,000 — Another veteran who was released this offseason but is still producing for his former team in these sims, Jackson is a big-play threat with his 95 speed rating and has been the Eagles’ most productive WR even though he checks in behind Alshon Jeffery ($4,600) on the depth chart. Jackson had seven catches for 117 yards and 27.7 DKFP in his first meeting with the Bengals, whose secondary has been very beatable by speed. Both Jackson and Eagles WR3 Marquise Goodwin ($5,400) make sense as a result, but Jackson has been a little more consistent, averaging 4.1 catches per sim compared to 3.8 catches for Goodwin. Both Eagles speedsters are good plays based on the matchup, but I’d go with DJax if you have the little bit of extra salary to spend.
Other Option — Robert Woods ($6,300), John Ross III ($5,700)
Value
DJ Chark Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Francisco 49ers, $5,200 — Even with X-factor Superstar CB Richard Sherman on the other side of this matchup, Chark comes with a high ceiling since he gets consistent volume as the Jags’ WR1. Chark has averaged 3.5 catches for 58.2 yards per sim while scoring 32 touchdowns in 64 contests. He had one of those scores and over 100 yards in his first matchup with the 49ers, finishing with 24.3 DKFP. If Sherman shadows Chark, which he doesn’t typically do, it could open things up for WR2 Dede Westbrook ($4,700), but Westbrook has been much less consistent than Chark, so he comes with much higher risk of a bust game.
Steven Sims Jr., Washington Football Team at Los Angeles Rams, $4,800 — Sims is Washington’s top outside WR in these sims since WR1 Terry McLaurin ($5,000) does most of his work out of the slot. Sims has produced 3.7 catches for 50.0 yards per sim as a result of his significant workload and scored 24 touchdowns in his 63 appearances. Sims had 15.7 and 16.3 DKFP in his first two meetings with the Rams, so this should be a matchup where he can find space to operate. The Rams have X-factor Superstar CB Jalen Ramsey, but the rest of their CB depth is questionable, which should often result in a good matchup for Sims.
Other Options — Deebo Samuel ($5,500), Marquise Goodwin ($5,400), A.J. Green ($5,100), Chris Conley ($4,100)
Tight End
Stud
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals, $6,200 — Ertz has been one of the most involved TEs in all of Madden, averaging 5.6 catches for 59.7 yards per sim. He has scored 29 touchdowns as well, including four in his past four games, which have been highlighted by 25.4 DKFP against the Bears and 26.6 DKFP against the Dolphins. Ertz is averaging an impressive 14.6 DKFP, which not only makes him the most productive TE available, it’s a better average than any WR on this slate. Ertz has posted double-digit DKFP in seven straight sims and also reached that level in his first meeting with the Bengals, when he finished with 11.3 DKFP.
Other Option — George Kittle ($5,500)
Value
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams vs. Washington Football Team, $4,600 — While the Rams’ offense can be hit-or-miss due to some inconsistent play from Jared Goff ($6,200), Higbee has actually been one of their most consistent producers since he regularly gets so many targets. He had a monster 12-catch game two sims ago that resulted in 36.1 DFKP against the Titans and has at least five catches in four of his past six sims. Higbee posted 9.2 and 10.0 DKFP in his two earlier Madden 21 meetings with Washington and makes a solid mid-range TE play or a worthy option to consider for your FLEX spot.
Other Option — C.J. Uzomah ($4,500)
DST
Stud
Washington DST at Los Angeles Rams, $2,900 — Washington’s defense should be able to get pressure on Goff and force him into mistakes while also limiting the Rams’ total points. Washington has been one of the best teams in Madden 21 at limiting opponents’ scoring and has averaged 6.0 DKFP per sim as as result. The team also has an impressive total of 134 sacks in 63 games and has forced 46 turnovers, resulting in eight defensive touchdowns. In each of its two prior matchups with Los Angeles, Washington had four sacks, averaging 6.5 DKFP per contest in those two sims.
Value
Jaguars DST vs. San Francisco 49ers, $2,800 — The Jaguars have also featured a good pass rush in these sims, totaling 114 sacks in their 64 sims. They have only scored three defensive touchdowns, though, which is why their average is lower than Washington’s. The Jags get a solid matchup with the inconsistent Jimmy Garoppolo ($5,600) on this slate. They could end up being a sneaky play if they can hold Mostert in check enough to make Jimmy G try to beat them through the air, which he hasn’t proven he can do very often in Madden 21.
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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.