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NFL DFS DraftKings Showdown Week 1 Picks: Bills at Rams

All hail Cooper Kupp. Picking the best players to put in your Captain and Flex spot for Week 1's Bills at Rams DFS DraftKings Showdown.

The wait is finally over. We have meaningful NFL games beginning with Thursday Night Football as the Buffalo Bills visit the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. We aren’t subjected to playing preseason NFL DFS anymore (until next year). Instead it’s time for DraftKings weekly showdown contests!

For those new to DraftKings Showdown, there is a captain spot where the player’s salary is 1.5x their usual while also having their points multiplied by 1.5. Besides the single captain spot, you have 5 flex spots in each lineup and you have a total of $50,000 in salary at your disposal.

The green site has full-point PPR (points per reception) scoring with bonuses for reaching 300-plus passing yards for quarterbacks and 100-plus yards for running backs and wide receivers. Taking the salary and scoring rules into consideration, I’ll be discussing my favorite captain and flex picks for each Thursday night game, beginning with the season opener between the Bills and the Rams.

Captain Spot Considerations

Cooper Kupp ($18,600)

When taking a look at the player pool, Cooper Kupp is the most expensive player in Thursday’s showdown contest—and reasonably so. Last year’s WR1 is coming off a historic season in his first year catching passes from Matthew Stafford where he led the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and receiving touchdowns (16).

No team targeted their wide receivers more than the Rams in 2021 (71.8% rate), and with DraftKings being a full-point PPR site, wideouts find themselves being the ideal captain in showdown contests fairly often. Even in a tough matchup versus a formidable secondary of the Bills, the All-Pro wide receiver recorded 20-plus DraftKings points in 17 of his 21 appearances (including the playoffs) last season.

Josh Allen ($18,000)

Having too much exposure to quarterbacks in your captain spot can be a recipe for disaster in showdown contests unless they are a unique player like Josh Allen. Dual-threat quarterbacks are typically the exception as they provide a safe floor with their legs and their arm, along with a much higher ceiling.

Amid another spectacular season from the former No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Allen had the third-most non-passing fantasy points per game (6.3), only behind Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson. With Allen giving us an average of 6.3 fantasy points before he even attempts a pass, he’s always a…

Each week, Skyler Carlin will be writing up his top picks for TNF DraftKings Showdowns throughout the 2022 season. Don’t miss out on his DFS advice this year. Make sure you join our Patreon to help bring home big winnings this season.

 

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