This Saturday continues the fifth week of the Madden simulated season with a full schedule of six Madden 21 sims on the DraftKings Dream Stream. The latter three sims make up the featured classic contest, which gets underway at 6:00 p.m. ET with an important divisional showdown between the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The contest that kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET is a Sunshine State showdown between the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we close out the night with the Green Bay Packers going on the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
You can keep up with the standings as the season continues and check out 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
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals, $6,900 — His real-world unhappiness has had no impact on his simland production, as Rodgers keeps rolling and has helped the Packers start the season 3-1. He had 337 yards, three touchdowns and 30.58 DKFP against the Steelers in his most recent sim and has over 19 DKFP in four of his past six sims. He lit up the Bengals for 28.62 and 18.3 DKFP in their two previous meetings and comes with the highest average and the highest ceiling of any QB on this slate.
Other Option — Tom Brady ($7,000)
Value
Gardner Minshew II, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titanes, $5,600 — These two teams are tied atop the AFC South at 2-2, so this is a huge early-season game to determine who controls the division. Minshew has been good overall in these sims but has posted a few stinkers as well. He had one against the Bengals in his most recent sim, managing just 2.54 DKFP. Before that, though, he was rolling with over 16 DKFP in five of his previous six. He also has played very well against the Titans in their earlier meetings, producing 19.6, 21.72, 28.88 and 21.12 DKFP. The matchup puts him in a nice bounceback spot on this slate.
Other Option — Joe Burrow ($6,600)
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Running Back
Stud
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, $7,600 — It’s very unusual to see Henry as not the most expensive play on the slate since he is averaging 20.9 DKFP per sim and has scored 87 touchdowns in his 86 Madden 21 sims. Henry has had mixed results against the Jags with 14.1, 29.1, 22.2 and 9.3 DKFP in their earlier meetings but has been on a tear recently with 10 total touchdowns over his past six games while averaging 24.7 DKFP over that stretch.
Other Options — Aaron Jones ($7,900), Chris Thompson ($7,100)
Value
Gio Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Green Bay Packers, $5,100 — Even before Bernard was a viral sensation, he was a regular Madden 21 play in my lineups since he is so involved as the Bengals’ third-down back. He is averaging 4.1 catches for 28.9 yards per sim and has scored 24 touchdowns. He has also shown a very high ceiling when the Bengals have to go pass-heavy, which may be the game script in this contest against the Packers.
Other Options — LeSean McCoy ($4,400)
Wide Receiver
Stud
DJ Chark Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans, $5,900 — Chark is coming off a down game with just one catch and 1.8 DKFP, but he should be able to bounce back if Minshew rebounds against Tennessee. Chark had started the simulated season with 25.8, 17.0 and 27.1 DKFP with at least 90 yards in each contest. He’ll look to get back to that level of production against the Titans, who he has posted 2.0, 31.6, 3.7 and 28.0 DKFP against. As you can see from those results, he is a volatile play but does come with an impressively high ceiling.
Other Options — Davante Adams ($6,400), John Ross III ($5,600)
Value
DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $5,100 — Parker has been relatively quiet lately, but Miami’s WR1 gets a good matchup against the Bucs, who have struggled to defend the pass in Madden 21. Parker beat them for 21.8 DKFP in their most recent meeting and is averaging a solid 3.8 catches for 58.3 yards per sim to go with his 41 touchdowns in 84 games.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals, $4,100 — It’s surprising to find MVS barely over $4K since he is the Packers’ WR3 and has averaged 3.4 catches for 43.4 yards per sim with 27 touchdowns in 83 contests. He has hit double-digit DKFP in three of his five most recent sims and had 8.2 and 20.6 DKFP in his two prior matchups with the Bengals.
Other Options — Dede Westbrook ($4,300), Albert Wilson ($4,200), Jakeem Grant ($3,200)
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Tight End
Stud
Jonnu Smith, Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, $4,500 — Smith is the most reliable pass-catcher for the Titans and has a good matchup against Jacksonville. He has at least three catches in three straight sims and in 15 of his past 18. He also has 25 touchdowns in his 86 sims while averaging 4.5 catches for 48.8 yards per contest.
Other Option — Mike Gesicki ($4,700)
Value
Marcedes Lewis, Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals, $3,700 — If you need a play under $4K to make the rest of your lineup work, Lewis is a great bargain option who is regularly involved. He has at least four catches in all four Packers games this season with double-digit DKFP in three of those four games despite not scoring a touchdown. He doesn’t score a ton but his consistent PPR work makes him a nice cheap play.
Other Options — Tyler Eifert ($4,300), C.J. Uzomah ($4,100)
DST
Stud
Buccaneers DST vs. Miami Dolphins, $3,200 — The Bucs haven’t been as good as they were on their real-life Super Bowl run in Madden 21, but they definitely can get after the passer, as evidenced by their 220 sacks in 90 sims. They only have 41 takeaways and four defensive touchdowns, but that effective pass rush and a matchup against a rookie QB are enough to get them the top stud spot on this slate.
Value
Packers DST at Cincinnati Bengals, $2,800 — The Packers have 12 sacks over their four games this season and 188 total in their 86 Madden 21 sims. Like the Bucs, they haven’t posted a ton of big plays with just 30 takeaways and seven touchdowns, but they have been able to produce 9.0 DKFP or more in two of their past three sims.
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