DraftKings showdown Sunday Night Football: New Orleans Saints vs Dallas Cowboys
Each week I will be breaking down the DraftKings Showdown Slates on Monday, Thursday and Sunday night football. The DraftKings showdown slate is one of the more unique game styles that you can pick from on DraftKings.
When playing a DraftKings showdown lineup you will notice that it is far different from a standard DraftKings contest. Instead of selecting a full roster of position players you have a Captain slot paired with five flex positions.
The player you select as your Captain will score 1.5x the standard fantasy point value for each statistic but drafting a player as the Captain will cost you more salary than using them in your flex position. The DraftKings Showdown slate will consist of the same scoring as all other contests not counting the Captain bonus.
Some numbers to keep in mind when building lineups for your showdown slates. Last season the winning lineup had a running back or wide receiver in the Captain slot 71% of the time on the largest prize pool showdown contests.
All Captain selections are major flex considerations
DraftKings Showdown Slate GPP Builds: Saints vs Cowboys
Captain-
Alvin Kamara – $17,700
The former Vol will need to be special Sunday night for this Saints team to have a chance against the Cowboys. He currently touches the ball on 41% of his snaps, which is only 2% less than Elliott’s touch rate.
I would expect another 20 plus touches making him one of the more popular Captain plays Sunday night. However, this is not the best match-up as the Cowboys have excellent speed at linebacker which will limit his play-making ability out of the backfield.
Last season the Cowboys were able to bottle up Kamara allowing only 72 total yards on 8 catches and 11 carries. With the Saints likely trailing, Kamara is likely to see the second most targets on the team making him one of my higher flex plays.
Ezekiel Elliott – $17,400
After a few easy workloads for Elliott, he looks poised for 20-25 touches on the road in a hostile environment. If this game is close, Elliott will play a lot more than his 66% snap share that he has seen early this season.
The Saints have struggled to stop the run as they have allowed the 8th most rushing yards this season. The match-up and workload is enough for me to have my fair share of Elliott in at Captain.
Michael Thomas – $13,800
Byron Jones coming out party as one of the leagues premier corners was against the Saints last season. He held Michael Thomas in check, allowing five catches for just 40 yards.
With the Cowboys likely leading, Thomas and Kamara both should see a ton of targets in the second half further enhancing their values. While I prefer Elliott and Cooper to both Saints options, I will have a steady build of all four in my Captain slot while jamming them in at Flex.
Amari Cooper – $15,300
I really wish that the Cowboys would play Cooper from the slot more than 10% of the time. He would be my favorite Captain pick if that were the case, alas he still gets to go against Marshon Lattimore.
According to PlayerProfile, Lattimore is currently allowing 17.1 fantasy points per game which will have to do as he is likely to shadow Cooper. While Thomas is the best Value at Captain, Cooper is not too far behind at only $15,300. Remember to build all Cooper lineups with Dak regardless if he is in your Captain or not.
Other Captain options to differentiate your lineups and give you a chance at the 200k top prize.
Randall Cobb – $10,500
Devin Smith – $7,800