Sunday Showdown Week 1

Disclaimer

These contests are intended to be fun as you’re watching the game. It’s incredibly difficult to get a real edge as there are so few options and in MME contests there are often many duplicate lineups. One play or one penalty can change the entire outcome of the game.

This article is going to have a heavy DraftKings lean simply because the decision-making process is more interesting with the captain having a salary premium to correspond with the scoring premium. On FanDuel, the pricing is the same for both MVP and flex, so just play either a quarterback or running back in that spot. There are scenarios where a wide receiver can pay off, but it’s difficult with it being the 0.5 per reception.

Game Strategy

This week, the real question is what you believe about the Rams running back room. Both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum are tremendous values that depending on what you want to believe on usage could easily be considered for this game. Also to be taken into consideration is the status of Cooper Kupp. It’s easy to forget that before his season-ending injury in 2022, he was the premier wide receiver in the NFL. Now, what version of him will we get back this week?

On the Lions side, the big question is who can step up as a third option beyond Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta. This is a slate where there are not a lot of great cheap options, so you may need to adjust who you’re playing at captain for example in order to build out a competitive lineup. Or, one strategy could be to just punt one flex position with a low-end player to build out a competitive roster with the captain that you want.

Key Injuries:

Tyler Higbee- Recovering from 2023 ACL/MCL

Captain Consideration:

1. Kyren Williams
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown
3. Jameson Williams
4. Cooper Kupp
5. Jahmyr Gibbs
6. Matthew Stafford

LA Rams

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford- Captain/Flex

Matthew Stafford is extremely affordable at $8,800. This is a quarterback who now has both of his top weapons healthy for the first time if we assume that Cooper Kupp was not healthy for all of last season. Taking a non-mobile quarterback as the captain is always a bit of a risky venture as typically you would want to put the wide receiver in the captain position and with the quarterback at the flex, but with Stafford, because there are at least two options and possibly three with Kyren Williams being a red zone receiving threat. Both Cooper Kupp and Puca Nacua are also significant targets so there is a scenario where Stafford puts up big numbers while spreading the ball around. 

Running Back

Kyren Williams- Great Captain/Flex

Call me still a believer in Kyren Williams, but personally not buying into the narrative that the Rams are going to be going to a committee approach when they haven’t really done that in Sean McVay’s tenure. McVay is quick to replace running backs as the primary guy dating back to when they gave up on Todd Gurley, but most of the time it’s still a primary running back until they make a change. Blake Corum is a special rookie, but taking a stand on one or the other here is critical as if you think that they’re going to be in a committee you can take a chance on Corum, or just avoid the situation altogether. Kyren Williams was tied for second in the NFL last season in total red zone rushing attempts and receiving targets.

Wide Receiver

Cooper Kupp- Captain/Flex

This is another one that it depends on the narrative that you want to believe. If you believe the narrative that Cooper Kupp was just injured last season and is now healthy, he can very easily return back to his 2021 stats of one of the league’s best receivers. Kupp should get a favorable matchup this week against Amik Robertson.

Puka Nacua- Flex

Nacua was tremendous in 2023, as he finished as the fourth overall wide receiver. So at a fair price, why isn’t he a captain play? The concern here is that he’s going to likely be the most popular captain on this slate, and he’s been dealing with a knee injury for almost all of camp. He practiced in full this week, but at the top end of the captain rankings between Amon-Ra St. Brown, Cooper Kupp, and Nacua, there’s just not enough of a factor being included that it may take a few series to get Nacua going given that he has not practiced for most of the preseason.

Demarcus Robinson- Flex

Demarcus Robinson started the year off slow last season, as he was stuck behind TuTu Atwell, Van Jefferson, and Ben Skowronek on the depth chart. However, Robinson ended the season strong as he was on the field for 80% of snaps or more in five of the team’s last six games. The team made an active choice to keep Robinson over both Jefferson and Skowronek this season. He’s not extremely cheap at $5,000 but does provide a nice deep threat averaging 14.3 yards per catch last season.

Davis Allen- Flex

With Tyler Higbee out for this game, some people are going to be looking at Colby Parkinson due to Parkinson being listed first on the depth chart. However, there’s another factor that could be contributing to Parkinson being listed over Davis Allen, and that’s pass blocking. With left tackle Alaric Jackson suspended, backup Conor McDermott being placed on IR, the Rams are incredibly thin at the position. Davis Allen in his second season is not the pass blocker that Colby Parkinson is as Parkinson is 6’7’’ 270 pounds. With Allen, the thinking here is that you might get a cheap player coming in on obvious passing downs as a receiving threat. At $1,500 he only needs to catch one or two passes to pay off as a flex spot given the lack of value on this slate as a whole.

Detroit Lions

Quarterback

Jared Goff- Flex

For Goff, there is a path for him to be a captain play that is similar to Stafford where he spreads the ball around while still accumulating the totals of a 300+ yard passing performance and multiple touchdowns. However, this is a scenario where Goff would rank as the 7^th captain play this week, just behind Stafford at 6. The reason for this is typically when you have players like Amon-Ra St. Brown who is going to see such a high volume of targets from the quarterback, it’s normally slightly better to focus in on either that player or an auxiliary player as the captain given the big play ability of that elite receiver will be worth far more with the 1.5x multiplier than it will at the quarterback position.

Running Back

Jahmyr Gibbs- Captain/Flex

Gibbs can be a frustrating player in fantasy football based on his 2023 stats. Having a committee backfield with David Montgomery can lead to games where he may only touch the ball 10-12 times making it difficult to trust the production. However, when he gets the ball, he’s as electric as just about any running back in the NFL. The Rams' defense was very strong against the run last season, but how much of that was related to Aaron Donald who has since retired. If there is a concern with Gibbs it is that his involvement in the receiving game diminished over the last seven games of the season as he only had two games with four catches or more.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Amon-Ra St. Brown- Captain/Flex

When it comes to upside, few wide receivers have as much upside as Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown topped 100 yards in nine games last season leading to his 1,515-yard season. St. Brown is a mismatch against Tre’Davious White who the Rams brought in this offseason. White may have a recognizable name but has had his play diminish greatly over the last few seasons. Entering his fourth season, St. Brown should still have a ceiling that he has not hit in terms of growth and development.

Jameson Williams- Captain Only

If you want to build a unique lineup, look at Jameson Williams as a potential captain candidate. The former first-round pick is entering a critical third season after dealing with injury, suspension, and turmoil. However, few receivers in the NFL have the big play ability as he averaged 14.8 yards per catch last season.

Other Targets-

Sam LaPorta- Flex

LaPorta is a solid option if you’re looking at a Detroit stack, but the problem is with a tight end at $7,400 on a slate that does not have much value is it will limit you in the ability to pay up for multiple of the elite wide receivers in this game. LaPorta averaged 5 receptions for 52 yards which was elevated due to a breakout 140-yard performance which was his only game over 85 yards all season.

Player Chart