We are here to cover the DraftKings Showdown slates for the 2021 season, continuing with Tampa Bay @New England. This will be an emotional game for the leader of Tampa Bay as he faces his former team and goes against a bunch of familiar faces. Bill Belichick, the head coach for New England, mentioned “there’s no quarterback I would rather have than Tom Brady… I was very luck to have Tom as the quarterback, to coach him” after recounting their 20 seasons together. Vegas has set the O/U to 49.5 and Tampa Bay winning the game by a touchdown. This doesn’t bode well for New England and Brady time after time has shown us that lives for games like these. I expect Tampa Bay to take an early lead, create a lot of turnovers and make New England look like a practice squad college team.
DraftKings Showdown- Tampa Bay @New England Captain Picks
Tom Brady ($19,200 Capt/ $12,800 Flex)
The GOAT is back in town and ready to make a statement. Brady said he is not having extended conversations with old teammates and coaches until after this game is over. He is locked in and ready to bounce back from the lost game against the Rams. Brady leads the league in passing touchdowns and is second in the league in QB rating. Today he may break the record of most passing yards against his former team. I want as much Brady as possible and love him in the captain spot as he likes to spread the ball around.
Mike Evans ($15,600 Capt/ $10,400 Flex)
Mike Evans in his first game was non existent. 3 catches for 26 yards and no touchdown. Week 2, he turned things around with 5 catches for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns. Then last game 8 catches and 106 yards. Evans is warming up and should be a target monster for Brady as they play in this highly anticipated matchup. I like him a lot because I think Belichick will game plan to shutdown Godwin which will open up many opportunities for Evans. His price tag isn’t overly expensive and pairs nicely with Brady in the flex.
DraftKings Showdown- Tampa Bay@New England Flex
Buccaneers DST ($6,600 Flex)
Lately, the Buccaneers have had trouble getting to the quarterback over the last two games. Arians came out publicly saying that is unacceptable and the defensive line needs to start generating pressure. Todd Bowels may try to spice things and experiment against this rookie quarterback. Honestly the Patriots are really bad and even with JPP out we can expect plenty of turnovers by New England. I think Bucs D shapes up to be a great play especially if this game blows out.
Leonard Fournette ($7,600 Flex)
Fournette appears to emerge as the primary rusher in Tampa Bay. Gio Bernard has been ruled out of this game so Fournette may take on pass-catching duties. In the last game against the Rams, Tampa Bay was playing from behind and forced to throw. This eliminated Fournette from the game plan. This week, if Tampa gets to an early lead Fournette, could have a big day. I like pairing him up with the Buccaneers D for correlation.
Antonio Brown ($7,000 Flex)
Antonio Brown missed last week’s game due to a positive COVID-19 test. He lead the team in receiving yards against Dallas but was a non-factor against the Falcons. I have a hunch Brady will do everything in his power to run the score up against his former team so might as well use this time to regain chemistry with the 33-year-old receiver. Also it helps that Scotty Miller, who assumed most of Brown’s responsibilities last week, was placed on IR.
Chris Godwin ($11,200 Flex)
Brady will eat this game and Godwin will feast. He leads the team in target shares at 19% and has at least 4 catches and a touchdown in each game. Rob Gronkowski didn’t travel with the team to Gillete Stadium so we can expect more opportunities to fly Godwin’s way. Although he is over $11k, he is a safe play with a high floor. Pairing him with Brady and adding in the correlation will help boost your lineup to the top of the leaderboard.
Gunner Olszewski ($200 Flex)
N’Keal Harry was activated off IR and started practicing with the team this week. This should cause concern for Gunner Olszewski and question his role over the upcoming weeks. For today’s game, Olszewski should have nothing to worry about and will continue his duties as the team’s primary punt returner. My plan for this slate is to jam in as many Tampa Bay players and the only way to do so is to take a risk on a cheap low owned Patriot.
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the 2021 Showdown of Tampa Bay @New England! Remember any DFS questions, you can check out our articles here. Or you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Image Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports
