Finishing Week 2, in the second game on Monday, the 2023 DraftKings showdown slate- New Orleans @Carolina. The O/U is set at 40, with the Saints a favorite by around a FG. The story here will be how rookie QB Bryce Young performs against this Saints defense at home.
DraftKings MNF Showdown 2023 – New Orleans @Carolina Captain Picks
Chris Olave ($17,100 Capt/ $11,400 Flex)
Olave is ready to thrive with the best QB that he has had in his career. Hard to see any of the Saints (unless Taysom Hill just has one of those games) outscoring him with DK’s PPR scoring. With how the team are playing on offense, for me, he has to be a CPT play.
Miles Sanders ($12,900 Capt/ $8,600 Flex)
This backfield is Sanders, and with Young finding his feet in the league, is set for a decent workload. The Saints defensive line do make it tough to move the ball on them, but just on volume he could hit value. If he were to get into the endzone, he would hit value. If it’s not Olave in your CPT slot, go with Sanders and then stack with Saints.
Rashid Shaheed ($10,500 Capt/ $7,000 Flex)
Shaheed is the WR3 in the offense, but with Alvin Kamara on suspension, there are targets to go around. Derek Carr seems to have faith in him as a deep threat, as shown last week, which gives him a great ceiling. If you have him as CPT, you have to accept there isn’t much floor though.
DraftKings MNF Showdown 2023 – New Orleans @Carolina Flex Picks
Derek Carr ($10,400 Flex)
Carr is a good passer, and can lead a team. With a great group of talent around him, he should have some decent fantasy performances this season. This Carolina secondary isn’t one to be particularly worried about, so I’d be fine with him as a flex. Doesn’t have the rushing upside to be considered a CPT play.
Bryce Young ($9,600 Flex)
Young has talent. But this matchup is going to be a tough one for him with the pressure that the Saints defense can give him upfront, and the coverage in the secondary. At the price, it’s hard to really consider him at this point of the season.
Jamaal Williams ($8,800 Flex)
Williams didn’t do too much last week against the Titans, but that is a tough run defense to play. I hope that the combination of that and the (likely) debut of Kendre Miller hurts his ownership, because I think he is most likely to get early down work and be used at the goal-line. I’ll have plenty of Williams in my flex. **With Miller now ruled out, I’m happier with Williams in the flex, and will mix him in the CPT spot**
Michael Thomas ($8,400 Flex)
Thomas looks like he might actually be back and healthy. The other weapons in this offense should give him the space to operate effectively, and could see a decent number of snaps from the slot. Should have a nice floor, but not sure about his ability to take the top off a defense which limits his ceiling. To be clear, I’ll still be having plenty of him in my flex position.
Adam Thielen ($6,600 Flex)
Thielen didn’t do too much in Week 1, but he is the veteran receiver in this offense and is a steady hand for Young. The price tag makes him a nice option, and he has some upside with the Saints coverage sometimes having lapses of concentration. I’ll grab him in the flex in some lineups, but not going crazy here.
DJ Chark ($6,400 Flex)
Chark looks like he is going to be playing in this one, and it’ll be interesting to see how he plays with Young. I’m not sure I want to go with him too much though, as his hamstring injury could easily get reinjured- combined with the new QB it’s a risk you don’t need to take at the price.
Hayden Hurst ($6,200 Flex)
Hurst seems to have established himself as a favored target of Young, and scored his first touchdown last week. At this price, he should be able to hit value- either by scoring a TD or a handful of passes in what looks like a low-scoring game. For me, second favorite Panther behind Sanders.
Juwan Johnson ($5,800 Flex)
Johnson has had big games in the past, and could do the same here. The big-bodied TE had 5 targets last week, and has TD upside with his ability in the redzone. In a game where we might only get 2 or 3 TDs scored, Johnson has a good chance to snag one.
Chuba Hubbard ($5,000 Flex)
Hubbard is the clear RB2, with Sanders taking the volume out of the backfield and looking good for it. But, Hubbard has been efficient on minimal usage, with just nine touches converting to 60 yards. The price feels a little high, considering the usage that he gets, but I’ll mix him into lineups.
Taysom Hill ($4,800 Flex)
Hill is the type of player that can destroy a slate single-handedly. You can never feel great putting him in your lineups truly, because he has literally no floor. But, in GPPs you need to have at least one lineup with him in- or it’ll be the game he goes off with 5 TDs on 5 touches.
Kendre Miller ($3,000 Flex) NOW RULED OUT
Miller looks like he is going to be the backup RB for this one, after missing the season opener with an injury. The Saints coaching staff seem to like him, so he should get some touches here. Might be limited to a pass-catching role only, but at the price with DK’s PPR scoring, he could hit value.
**With Miller ruled out, if you want exposure to the RB2 it’ll be Tony Jones ($1,800). But this backfield isn’t going to be much of a share after Williams- GPP flier only**
Jonathan Mingo/ Terrace Marshall ($2,400/ $1,400 Flex)
Mingo got 5 targets last week against Atlanta, and has a low price-point- which is going to make him a popular play on the slate. The issue is that Chark’s return could limit his snap count and production. Think it’s more likely to hurt Marshall’s role in the offense- but worth noting.
Marshall had a nice outing against the Falcons, with 6 targets in the game. Not sure who gets impacted more by Chark’s return, but I think it’s Marshall. At the price, he doesn’t need to do too much to hit value.
DraftKings MNF Showdown 2023 – New Orleans @Carolina Kickers and DSTs
The kickers are massively in play with the game expected to be low-scoring. Blake Grupe ($4,200) hit everything that he was given in Week 1, including a long-range kick. Eddy Pineiro ($4,000) could struggle for in this slate, with Young not getting the team in position against this Saints defense. You can’t fully discount him, because he is a good real-life kicker, but I just don’t know about the opportunity here.
The Panthers DST ($3,400) are off my core group, with a lack of playmakers combined with Carr looking after the ball effectively, there isn’t much to rely on for fantasy here- even in a low-scoring game. The Saints DST ($5,600) are on the other hand a strong consideration, and potentially even as a CPT play in some GPP lineups. They have playmakers at each level of defense and can force turnovers. Young coughed the ball up three times in his debut and faces a much tougher DST in this one.
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the 2023 Showdown of New Orleans @Carolina! Remember any DFS questions, you can check out our articles here. Or you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Image Credit: Bob Donnan – USA TODAY Sports
