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The NFL couldn't flex a Monday Night Football game so the Green Bay Packers are at home against the Jimmy Garoppolo-less San Francisco 49ers. Fortunately, the 49ers have played a few close games now, so maybe they can potentially keep Aaron Rodgers somewhat in check ... maybe. Fortunately, DraftKings is offering some huge showdown options for this game, so even if it does get ugly we should have plenty to watch for.
For those who haven't played a DraftKings showdown game, there's almost an art to building these lineups, because you have to be unique. The price tags on players for showdown slates are far different than normal games, and you'll also select a captain who costs 1.5-times the salary but also earns 1.5x the points (more on this as we go on).
For the Monday night matchup between the 49ers and Packers, the daily fantasy site has upped the action a bit by offering a variety of different types and sizes of games. The $10 game is always popular, and it features a massive $1,250,000 guaranteed and $250,000 to first.
Along with the huge headliner game, they've bumped up the $33 payout as well, and it now features $100,000 guaranteed and $20,000 to the eventual winner. The $12 single entry ($40,000 guaranteed) is always popular and for players looking for lower buy-in options, a $3 game with 20-max entries and $300,000 guaranteed is a great option.
Overall, the daily fantasy sports site seemingly increased many of the guarantees for Monday Night Football this week, so there's plenty on the line.
Before we dive into the action for Week 5 and the game let's offer a quick insight into how showdown games work.
– Six total players (one captain, five flex players)
– Captain selection costs 1.5 times standard salary but scores 1.5 times the standard points
– Can choose from any position (QB, RB, WR, TE, K, DST)
– $50,000 salary cap
– You can use more than one quarterback
I'll go through and first offer up my favorite choices at captain and then a few different types of lineups. There will be one optimal lineup, a lineup for 150-max games (more risk), and one for single entries/cash games (higher-floor players).
To start, let's run down the captain spot and give some insight into the top plays and names to consider.