Perfect TNF DraftKings Showdown Lineup Featuring Jayden Daniels And Terry McLaurin

For the third time in eight days, DraftKings is offering a single-game showdown for an NFL matchup, where the winner takes home a cool one million dollars if there is a single winner in their contest. This week’s Thursday night game is between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers.

On Monday night, 25 teams put in the same rosters, leading to each entry taking home $49,860. Here’s a look at the winning team:

Week 1 TNF Winning DraftKings Lineup — DraftKings

The winning margins in these showdown contests are minimal, and there can be wide scoring changes with each touchdown. The second-best roster (47 the same) scored 110.02 fantasy points, but each team only won $622.35.

In my game write-up for the Vikings/Bears matchup, I had three of six pieces of the puzzle right (Justin Jefferson, Caleb Williams, and J.J. McCarthy) while also liking Will Reichard (landed on the second-best roster) due to his big leg (made a 59-yard field goal). Unfortunately, I didn’t trust my projections at running back. I suggested D’Andre Swift ($8,800) when Aaron Jones ($7,400) was the winning play, highlighted by a +2.45 rating in fantasy points per $1,000 invested (Swift – +1.94).

In the end, one errant pass by J.J. McCarthy led to a long defensive touchdown by the Bears, and a caption slot on the winning roster. They scored 11.00 fantasy points for the game, compared to 9.00 by Will Reichard. Cairo Santos finished with 7.0 fantasy points, while missing a 50-yard field goal (worth 5.0 fantasy points) early in the fourth quarter, which would have changed the dynamics of this game and what team won this contest.

In tonight's game, 132,352 entries for $20 will compete for the top prize ($1,000,000). To help with a game plan for a showdown contest, I shared my thoughts earlier this season on Fantasy On SI.

The first stage in any showdown prep is getting a feel for the outlook of the game, starting with the point spread and over/under. Green Bay is favored by 3.5 points with a game total of 48.5 points. A quick thought is that this game should have a starting range of 27-24 in favor of the Packers.

A short week may impact the number of snaps for Micah Parsons. In his first game with the Packers, he was on the field for 30 of 49 plays (61.8%). His pass-rushing ability can be a game-changer, especially in single-game contests. Jayden Daniels' legs will hopefully taper Green Bay’s output in sacks.

Washington’s Offense

Austin Ekeler (shoulder) was removed from the injury report on Wednesday, giving him the green light for a full complement of snaps. The Commanders will rotate backs while relying on three key plays to score in the passing game – Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, and Zach Ertz.

Green Bay’s Offense

Jordan Love tends to spread the ball around in the passing game, keeping multiple receiving options in the mix to score over 10.00 fantasy points if they score a touchdown. The ground game will have a heavy focus on Josh Jacobs. The Packers will make some long passing plays, and their fans would love to see their 202 first-round draft pick, Matthew Golden, make an impact in this matchup.

To help get a feel for each team’s depth chart and projections, here’s a link to the Washington Commanders/Green Bay Packers preview. This article also shows which plays have the highest player prop totals at DraftKings, adding another point of view in decision-making for DFS lineups.

Here’s a look at this week’s top skill players:

Quarterbacks

TNF Quarterback Projections — Shawn Childs

Jayden Daniels gains his edge over Jordan Love in this game due to his ability to run the ball. Running quarterbacks tend to be good plays in showdown formats, keeping him in the mix as a possible captain option.

Last year, Daniels scored more than 20.00 fantasy points in 12 of his 20 games, with six falling in the impact category (30.00, 30.60, 35.15, 30.70, 39.00, and 35.05). He should be a must-roster in this contest. For someone looking for a big payday, fading the Commanders’ quarterback would create an edge due to his expected high ownership.

Game flow led to Love only attempting 22 passes against the Detroit Lions. He was efficient (72.7% completion rate) while continuing to make long pass plays (8.5 yards per pass attempt). Green Bay wants to run the ball and play well on defense. The over/under for this game points to Love having more chances to make plays with his arm.

Running Backs

TNF Running Back Projections — Shawn Childs

Based on fantasy points per $1,000, Josh Jacobs is the big favorite at running back in this showdown slate. He has 17 touchdowns over his 18 games played with Green Bay, with a reasonable floor in catches. The Packers had him on the field for 87.5% of their snaps in Week 1, accounting for 20 of 23 running back touches.

If game score gets out of line in favor of the Packers, Emanuel Wilson is capable of scoring a mop-up touchdown. Green Bay gave Chris Brooks RB2 snaps (9) in Week 1.

Playing from the lead helped the Commanders rotate in three running backs in Week 1. Austin Ekeler led the team running back snaps (33 – 47%), but he only touched the ball nine times. Jacory Croskey-Merritt has more shine to his stats (10/82), but more than half of his rushing yards came on a 42-yard run late in the game.

Last year, Chris Rodriguez was inactive, giving Jeremy Nichols potential goal-line carries. One of these two running backs could score in this game, so paying attention to the Commanders’ inactive list is vital in this matchup.

Based on salary, Croskey-Merritt is a fade for me. He is too reliant on big plays with a low catch floor. In addition, too many factors work against him scoring a rushing touchdown in the red zone.

Wide Receivers

TNF Wide Receiver Projections — Shawn Childs

Projecting the Packers’ wide receiver outcomes is extremely difficult early in the season. They came out of the preseason with Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks with questionable tags, and Green Bay tends to spread the ball around with their wide receiving corps.

Romeo Doubs led the team in wide receiver snaps (34 – 75%) in Week 1, and he looks mispriced ($4,000) by DraftKings in this matchup. He only needs a 4/40 day to deliver a 2X outcome for his salary investment. Doubs averaged 9.52 fantasy points in PPR formats last year.

The short week could be a factor for Jayden Reed’s snaps. I had him rated lower in my first projection update this week due to him being limited in practice. The Packers removed his questionable tag, suggesting a more active role against the Commanders. Green Bay had him on the field for only 18 plays in Week 1 (37.5%), a sign to fade in his game.

Wicks (22) and Golden (23) had a similar snap opportunity in Week 1. Their rookie wideout brings explosiveness, with an unknown floor as a chain mover. I'm putting him in the wild card category in this matchup.

As for Wicks, Jordan Love will give him scoring chances in the red zone, but he underperformed expectations last year, after setting a reasonable floor in his rookie campaign (39/581/4). He scored nine times over his first 32 games with the Packers.

For a showdown team looking for $200 dart, Malik Heath could be that guy. I have him projected for one catch for 14 yards, inviting almost a blank space if not given more snaps or targets in this matchup. Green Bay gave him WR5 snaps (11) in Week 1.

Terry McLaurin brings the highest ceiling at wide receiver on this slate. He scored 13 touchdowns last year, thanks to the improved quarterback play in Washington. In addition, he has the speed to hit on a long scoring play at any point in the game.

Deebo Samuel played well in his first game (7/77 with a 19-yard TD run) with the Commanders, and he brings explosiveness to their offense. He is a live option player to hit the winning ticket in this matchup.

The Commanders had Noah Brown on the field for 47% of their plays in Week 1. He has flashed at times over the past four seasons, putting him in wild-card status for this game.

Tight Ends

Week 2 TNF Tight End Projections — Shawn Childs

My projections have Tucker Kraft as the Packers’ top receiving option to play in this matchup. He has a +2.60 score for each $1,000 invested in his salary.

The scoring ability of Zach Ertz keeps him in the mix as a backend receiving option for this showdown slate. His salary ($5,800) will be challenging to fit for a team build with three star players.

Ben Sinnott didn’t have a catch in Week 1, and Washington only had him on the field for eight plays. He brings a second-round pedigree (2024) while waiting for his pass-catching opportunity in this offense. If Zach Ertz has an injury, he has the talent to surprise.

The Perfect DraftKings Showdown DFS Lineup

Week 2 TNF DraftKings Showdown Lineup — DraftKings

I tried my best to keep Tucker Kraft in my lineup, but I kept falling $100 short of rostering a sixth viable player. I thought about Luke Musgrave at the captain position with Kraft, but it was too risky for a single lineup. A Deebo Samuel with Chris Rodriguez could work with Kraft at captain if I dumped Terry McLaurin, but I don’t know who Washington will have active at running back when writing this article.

In the end, the best combo may come from a team willing to dump one of the top four players this week. My final structure has a piece of each team’s passing game while keeping the top volume player (Josh Jacobs) in my lineup.