Wednesday's Madden showdown on DraftKings is a one-game slate, IND @ JAX, with a $50,000 salary cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. The slate locks Wed 11/4 at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT).
Our model's top play is Trevor Lawrence (JAX) at $11,600, with a ceiling of 38.5, the highest on the board, against a DraftKings average of 20.6. Bhayshul Tuten (JAX) at $9,200 carries a 33.1 ceiling and a 16.7 average. Daniel Jones (IND) at $9,600 has a 29.8 ceiling, and Jonathan Taylor (IND) at $10,000 sits at 27.8, with his 13.4 average well below the others at the top.
The value is on the IND side. Josh Downs costs just $4,000 and still shows a 31.4 ceiling, though his DraftKings average is only 6.9. Tyler Warren at $6,600 has a 19.5 ceiling and a 9.4 average. On the JAX side, Brian Thomas Jr. at $7,800 and Brenton Strange at $7,200 both show a 26.6 ceiling, with averages of 13.1 and 13.3.
The crowd is likely to gather around the top salaries. Lawrence is projected at 67% ownership, Jones at 54% and Tuten at 47%. Thomas Jr. comes in at 38% and Strange at 33%. Taylor is projected at 30% and Downs at 24%, and Warren at 20% is the least owned of our top eight. Players like Taylor and Downs offer a way to separate from the field.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,200 of the $50,000 cap. It puts Jones at captain for $14,400, then adds Taylor at $10,000, Tuten at $9,200, Warren at $6,600, Spencer Shrader at $4,600 and Keenan Allen at $4,400, all in FLEX spots. It leaves Lawrence out despite his big ceiling, which also keeps the build away from the most popular player on the slate.
Lineups lock Wed 11/4 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
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