Get ready for some simulated Thursday Night Football on the DraftKings Dream Stream with the Madden simulated season reaching Week 13. There are three matchups on the featured classic slate, starting at 6:00 p.m. ET with a fun NFC contest between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. At 8:00 p.m. ET, the New York Giants take their talents to virtual South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins, and the slate finishes with an AFC South contest featuring the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans facing off on Madden After Dark.
As you build your lineups, be sure to consider the depth charts for each team. If you’re looking for gameplay details for these sims, along with the upcoming schedule, head over to the Madden Streams Information Page.
Quarterback
Stud
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, $8,400 — The Texans have had some success this simulated season while the Colts have been dreadful at only 1-11. Watson led the Texans to a 35-16 victory in their first contest of the season with 41.46 DKFP on 316 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, 39 rushing yards and a fifth score which came on the ground. He has that kind of ceiling in every contest and has put up over 28 DKFP in four of his last six sims. The Colts defense has allowed Watson to put up over 25 DKFP in each of their three most recent meetings, setting up another huge game for the most expensive QB on the slate.
Other Option — Drew Brees ($6,400)
Value
Daniel Jones, New York Giants at Miami Dolphins, $6,200 — Jones hasn’t been as outstanding as Watson, but he has been very solid and brings good upside from a salary more than $2K cheaper. Jones posted 23.6 and 17.28 DKFP in his two previous Madden 21 contests vs. the Dolphins and has also put up over 19 DKFP in three of his four most recent games. The Giants are in the middle of the close race for the NFC East, and they’ll try to pick up this road win in Miami.
Other Option — Tua Tagovailoa ($5,700)
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Running Back
Stud
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys, $7,000 — Kamara and the Saints have faced the Cowboys five times in Madden 21, and the dual-threat RB has posted at least 19 DKFP in all but one of those contests. Overall, he is averaging 17.8 DKFP on 55.8 rushing yards, with 30.5 receiving yards on 3.97 catches per contest. He has found the end zone 82 times in 98 sims, including three scores in his past four games. Kamara is a relatively safe play since he is such a focal point of both the Saints’ ground and aerial attack.
Other Option — Ezekiel Elliott ($7,900), Saquon Barkley ($7,700)
Value
Duke Johnson, Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, $4,300 — If you don’t pay up for two stud RBs, Johnson offers huge salary relief and decent contributions as the Texans’ third-down RB. Johnson had a touchdown and 8.3 DKFP in his most recent sim and now has 19 touchdowns in 83 sims. He had 10.7 DKFP in one of his three earlier matchups vs. the Colts and can be a frequent check-down target for Watson if the game script goes his way.
Other Options — Matt Breida ($6,500), Nyheim Hines ($6,000)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints, $6,600 — In the virtual Superdome, we should get plenty of points in this Cowboys-Saints game, and that should set Cooper up to continue his strong run of results. He has five touchdowns in his past five sims, with over 11 DKFP in each contest and over 30 DKFP in two of those games. Cooper had 25.8, 12, 9.5, 11.7 and 15.3 DKFP in his five earlier games vs. the Saints, with at least three catches in each contest. He’s relatively low-risk and comes with a high ceiling, especially if Dallas plays this game from behind.
Other Options — Michael Thomas ($7,200), DeVante Parker ($6,000)
Value
Tre’Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys, $4,700 — Smith is a solid play from the other side of the same matchup since he has at least four catches and at least 9.8 DKFP in six of his past seven games. He also has at least four catches in all but one of his previous games vs. Dallas, so the WR3 should get enough work to deliver solid value.
Jakeem Grant, Miami Dolphins vs. New York Giants, $4,300 — The Dolphins’ WR3 has also been playing well lately, and his 95 speed rating always gives him a high ceiling. He had three catches in each of his earlier two matchups vs. the Giants and had a streak of seven straight games with double-digit DKFP earlier this sim season. That streak came to an end in his most recent sim, but he should be able to bounce back against a Giants’ secondary that tends to give up big plays.
Other Options — Michael Gallup ($5,400), Darius Slayton ($4,900), Parris Campbell ($3,900)
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Tight End
Stud
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $5,300 — Even when the Colts have struggled, Burton has been a solid fantasy option since he gets constant attention from Philip Rivers ($5,900). Burton has averaged 4.9 catches per sim and has over 11 DKFP in seven of his nine most recent contests, including a 17.6-DKFP game vs. Houston in their first meeting of this season.
Other Option — Jared Cook ($4,700)
Value
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins vs. New York Giants, $4,600 — Gesicki hasn’t been quite as reliable as Burton, but he does have a high ceiling, which he showed with eight catches for 109 yards and 20.9 DKFP in his most recent matchup vs. the Giants. He also had over 100 yards vs. the Ravens a few sims ago and has at least three catches in 13 of his past 14 sims.
Other Option — Darren Fells ($4,100)
DST
Stud/Value
Saints DST vs. Dallas Cowboys, $3,000 — The Saints have averaged a slate-high 4.3 DKFP on defense with 188 sacks and 34 takeaways in their 98 sims. I do think there will be plenty of points in this game, which makes them high-risk, but I also think they’ll get enough pressure to force Dallas into some mistakes.
Value
Texans DST vs. Indianapolis Colts, $2,700 — The Texans’ secondary is vulnerable and usually a great option to go against, but Houston’s defense also features a strong pass rush that has led to 164 sacks in 89 sims. They had three sacks and 3 DKFP in their first meeting this season vs. the Colts, which started them on their current streak of five straight games with at least 3 DKFP in each sim.
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