Continuing our DraftKings Showdown coverage of the 2021 season, we look at the New York @Washington matchup. After being treated to three scintillating prime-time matchups in Week One, this week’s TNF fixture will probably be a little less exciting. Last Thursday we were treated to Tom Brady versus Dak Prescott, and this week? Daniel Jones versus Taylor Heinicke – yikes. All jokes aside I still think this one is a fascinating matchup. Vegas has the Washington Football Team as 3.5-point home favourites, with the O/U the lowest of any game this week at just 40.5. Both teams sit at 0-1 in the NFC East, after Washington’s narrow defeat to the Chargers, and New York’s embarrassing loss at home to Denver. Both sides will be looking to bounce back under the lights on Thursday night. But I expect it to be Washington who finish this one on top, carried by their dominant defence.
DraftKings Showdown 2021 New York @Washington Captain Picks
Antonio Gibson ($14,400/$9,600)
Last year the Washington backfield seemed easy to predict. Gibson on the ground, and McKissic through the air. This year it looks to be even easier, With Gibson going 90 yards from 20 carries on the ground and catching 3 of 5 targets for 18 yards on Sunday. No other Washington player saw more targets than Gibson last week, and I fully expect Gibson to have a big game on Thursday. I will look to build my cash line-ups based on a low-scoring WFT victory. I believe they’ll look to slow down the game in the latter stages and pound the rock with Gibson on the ground. It’s obviously a small sample size of just one game, but the Giants sit bottom in terms of rushing YPC surrendered, giving up 5.9 to Denver last week. Heinicke will probably also end up looking Gibson’s way frequently through the air, and his PPR potential here is too good to pass up on – but expect him to be very highly owned.
Logan Thomas ($11,100/$7,400)
Logan Thomas should feast under the lights at FedExField on TNF. He’s a fairly reliable target for Heinicke, and I think the QB could look his way a fair amount. It’s not looking like there’s going to be a huge number of TDs in this game, but Thomas is currently sitting at a nice 2.88 (+188) so Vegas seems to think there’s a chance there. In a game that should stay somewhat close, Thomas seems a safe choice. In Heinicke’s start in the NFC Wild Card game versus the Bucs last season, he saw the second-most targets on the team (behind Cam Sims of all people), catching 5 for 74 yards. Not eye-popping numbers, but certainly solid. I can think of worse captains on Thursday.
Dyami Brown ($2,100/$1,400)
I always like rounding off my captain picks with a value play in the captain spot, and rookie Dyami Brown fits the bill perfectly. With Curtis Samuel landing on IR, it looked like the rookie could split snaps with Cam Sims, but this wasn’t the case at all. Brown saw the field on 93% of offensive snaps, compared to Adam Humphries’ 60% and Cam Sims’ 4%. I’m hoping people look at Brown’s underwhelming 1 catch for -2 yards in Week One, because I really like him in this matchup.
DraftKings Showdown 2021 New York @Washington Flex Picks
Taylor Heinicke ($10,200)
Heinicke gets a decent opportunity for his first start of the season. With Ryan Fitzpatrick hitting IR this week, there were question marks about the direction of the WFT QB room. But it looks like Heinicke has done enough to impress and be given the opportunity of making the starting QB job his own. In his NFC Wild Card start last year, he went for over 300 yards through the air, but also managed 46 yards and a TD on the ground too. He definitely has upside in this one, and I can think of worse defences he could be facing in his first start of the year.
Terry McLaurin ($9,000)
I promise I’ll pick a Giants player soon, but Jones and Barkley aren’t a high priority for me on TNF. There’s too much of a chance Jones finishes with multiple turnovers and the Giants beat reporters seem to believe Barkley won’t be ‘unleashed’ versus WFT. There’s no doubt about Barkley’s ability, but I just don’t trust him against this stout Washington defence. McLaurin might be a touch too expensive for him to fit into too many of my line-ups, but he’s another solid receiving option in this one. He’s shown himself to be an elite-level NFL receiver, and Heinicke should look his way a nice amount again this week.
Sterling Shepard ($8,000)
If I’m taking a Giants receiver in this one, Sheppard would probably be my preferred option. He looked to be the team’s WR1 last week, seeing the most targets, receptions and highest snap count of the receivers. Daniel Jones isn’t necessarily a QB I trust to hit the big plays, but it’s hard to look away from Shepard’s PPR upside, especially if New York are playing this game from behind.
Kyle Rudolph ($3,200)
Like I said, Giant’s receivers aren’t necessarily a priority for me this week, but at such a low price, it’s hard to look away from the Giants’ TE, who saw the joint-most red zone targets last week. With Engram ruled out of this one, Rudolph should see the 77%+ offensive snap count he saw last week.
Devontae Booker ($2,800)
If Barkley is limited again in this one, Booker projects as a nice value play in this one. He saw a red zone carry last week, as well as one target through the air. He’s not a ‘sexy’ play by any means, and is certainly a GPP-play, but I don’t think he’s a terrible option. All he needs is a handful of rushes and targets again and could hit value.
Defences and Kickers
With the game having such a low total, I will probably stay off both kickers in this one. In terms of defences, the Washington Football Team ($5,600) are firmly on my radar. It’s no secret that Jones is prone to turning the ball over, fumbling 29 times across his first two years, and again on Sunday. WFT have potentially one of the most dangerous defensive lines in football, I don’t think they should have much trouble reaching Jones on Thursday. I think Chase Young and co. should lead the WFT to victory under the lights on TNF.
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the 2021 Showdown of New York @Washington! Remember any DFS questions, you can check out our articles here. Or you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or jump into our Discord server
Image Credit: Jerome Miron – USA TODAY Sports
