On Friday, the DraftKings Dream Stream has four Madden 21 sims on the schedule before the American Ultimate Disc League has its game of the week. All four of Friday’s sims are on the main slate, which includes an oversized $7K Friday Special which will hand out $2,000 to first place. The action starts with a matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins at noon, followed by an AFC South matchup at 2:00 p.m. ET between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans. At 4:00 p.m. ET, the Carolina Panthers visit the Minnesota Vikings, and the last sim of the day kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET, including the Madden 21 cover athlete, Lamar Jackson ($8,800), as his Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams.
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
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens vs. Los Angeles Rams, $8,800 — Even in a tough matchup against the Rams, Jackson’s ceiling is too high to ignore even at almost $9K. Jackson just faced a stout 49ers defense and ripped them for 36.58 DKFP. He has over 32 DKFP in three of his past four sims and is averaging 27.5 DKFP on 152.1 passing yards and 106.1 rushing yards per sim. He has posted over 20 DKFP in each of his four prior matchups with the Rams, highlighted by an impressive 41.68-DKFP performance and including three games with over 34 DKFP.
Other Option — Deshaun Watson ($7,300)
Value
Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings, $5,800 — After the two elite options listed above, there’s a steep dropoff to the rest of the QBs on this slate with five starting options available for under $6K. Bridgewater is the best option of that group as he leads his new team back to where his career began in Minnesota. Bridgewater has averaged 16.8 DKFP per sim over his 98 sims with 150 touchdown passes. He just had 19.8 DKFP against the Vikings in a recent matchup and has over 18 DKFP in four of his six most recent contests.
Other Option — Tua Tagovailoa ($5,600)
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Running Back
Stud
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings vs. Carolina Panthers, $8,100 — Cook just had 35.4 DKFP in that recent matchup with Carolina and has averaged an impressive 22.8 DKFP per sim while scoring 105 touchdowns in 98 contests. Cook is the most reliable of the elite RB plays on this slate since he is so involved as a pass-catcher as well and has produced at least 15 DKFP in five straight sims, including that monster game against the Panthers. He should thrive in this rematch as well and continue to carry his typically immense workload in Minnesota’s offense.
Other Options — Raheem Mostert ($8,600), Christian McCaffrey ($8,200)
Value
Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $5,900 — Hines has been one of the most productive third-down backs in Madden 21, although he does still give up some early-down work to Marlon Mack ($3,000). Hines has averaged 4.4 catches per sim over his 99 Madden 21 contests and scored 40 touchdowns. He has at least three catches in 12 straight sims with double-digit DKFP in seven straight. Against the Texans, Mack finished with over 12 DKFP in four of five previous meetings, highlighted by a monster game of 27.2 DKFP in which he reached 100 rushing yards.
Other Options — Darrell Henderson Jr. ($5,600), Duke Johnson ($4,400), J.K. Dobbins ($4,300)
Wide Receiver
Stud
Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts, $5,800 — With expensive but elite options at QB and RB, it’s nice that WR offers solid midrange plays on this slate, providing salary relief. Cooks is under $6K due to his inconsistency, but he has shown a very high ceiling with Houston and gets a good matchup against the Colts’ lowly-rated secondary. Cooks has over 17 DKFP in three of his five most recent sims and went off for over 25 DKFP in two of his four prior matchups with the Colts. He’s averaging only 3.2 catches per sim but his game-breaking speed gives him a high ceiling despite the lower volume.
Other Option — Robert Woods ($6,600), T.Y. Hilton ($5,700)
Value
Curtis Samuel, Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings, $4,800 — Samuel is very involved in the Panthers’ offense and has averaged 4.4 catches per sim. He had 111 yards on six catches for 22.1 DKFP in his most recent sim against the Vikings and has posted double-digit DKFP in four of his past five overall.
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $3,900 — Campbell’s 94 speed rating gives him an extremely high ceiling, especially for a player under $4K. He flashed that ceiling with a 27.3-DKFP performance in his most recent meeting with the Texans. He is the Colts’ primary slot option and has at least four catches and at least 8.0 DKFP in three of his past four sims.
Other Options — Josh Reynolds ($4,900), Marquise Brown ($4,500), Jakeem Grant ($3,700)
Tight End
Stud
Trey Burton, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, $4,900 — Burton is another Colts pass-catcher to consider since he gets such a high volume from Philip Rivers ($5,700). Burton is averaging 4.9 catches per sim since taking over as TE1 and has at least five catches in each of his past three contests against the Texans, posting impressive totals of 35.4, 17.5 and 13.7 DKFP.
Other Option — George Kittle ($5,400)
Value
Tyler Higbee, Los Angles Rams at Baltimore Ravens, $4,100 — Higbee has at least three catches in seven straight sims, including a six-catch performance against the Ravens that netted him 17.2 DKFP. Higbee doesn’t run as many downfield routes as the truly elite TEs but is a very PPR play at this price.
Other Option — Ian Thomas ($3,700), Darren Fells ($3,600)
DST
Stud
Vikings DST vs. Carolina Panthers, $3,200 — There aren’t any elite DST plays on this slate since the best units are in bad matchups, but the Vikings are a solid option since they do get consistent pressure on opposing QBs, especially when playing at home. They have averaged 4.8 DKFP in their 46 home sims, posting 89 sacks with 28 takeaways in those contests.
Value
49ers DST at Miami Dolphins, $2,700 — In a bizarre scheduling quirk, this is the first time these two teams have met in Madden 21 even though both have played over 100 sims. The 49ers typically get very good pressure on opposing QBs and have piled up 215 sacks in 103 contests. Tua Tagovailoa ($5,600) is a rookie in these sims and prone to turnovers, so San Francisco is my favorite DST play of the day.
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