Week 1 DraftKings Plays for Monday Night Football

There is one more game on the Week 1 slate. The Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings will conclude the first week of NFL action on Monday night with an NFC North showdown. This game will see some highly anticipated debuts. Ben Johnson will debut as head coach of the Chicago Bears. It certainly looked like the Detroit Lions really missed him with their performance against the Packers. Keep a close eye on the offense in Chicago to potentially have a great night.

Minnesota will have a debut of its own. J.J. McCarthy will make his regular-season debut for the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2024. Excitement and potentially point scoring will be at an all-time high on Monday night. Below are some DraftKings plays to increase the upside of your showdown lineups.

Players to Target For DraftKings MNF Showdown

Captain: Rome Odunze (12k) (1.5X Multiplier)

Playing Odunze in the captain slot is the ultimate bet on Ben Johnson and his offense. The Minnesota Vikings’ secondary was weak against the pass last year, and the team chose to address it by only adding Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah.

Rodgers had some promising moments in Philadelphia last year, while Okudah, a former top-three pick, is looking to rejuvenate his career in Minnesota. Odunze is beginning his second year against a very beatable defense, and has gotten high praise from new coach Ben Johnson. He and DJ Moore have an equal chance at being the top target earner, and I will take the discount in salary every time.

Other captain plays to consider: Caleb Williams, Jordan Mason, J.J. McCarthy

Flex plays

Justin Jefferson (10.8K)

There is not much to say about Justin Jefferson on this Monday night DraftKings slate. Everyone knows he is one of the best in the game and has succeeded with anyone at quarterback. The only questions regarding Jefferson are how much Jaylon Johnson will draw in coverage and how Jordan Addison’s absence will impact coverage. Besides that, he is a lock for a massive target share, and if he scores, he will likely be in the optimal lineup.

Caleb Williams (9.2K)

Going from Matt Eberflus to Ben Johnson is quite the upgrade for generational prospect Caleb Williams. Williams will provide your DraftKings lineups with a floor and a potential optimal ceiling as the Bears are slight underdogs entering the night.

Everything is in place for Caleb to succeed; the offensive line, coaches, and skill players are all among the league’s best. Now he will have to convert that into a successful offense. He has all of the talent in the world and could carve up Minnesota’s weaker secondary on one of the biggest stages to silence the doubters. Williams also has an underrated rushing upside that he showed off in a few games last year. Stacking him with Odunze, Moore, or even both of them could be the key to success on this slate.

J.J. McCarthy (9k)

After sitting out his rookie season due to injury, McCarthy will make his long-awaited debut on Monday Night Football. And any quarterback that plays in O’Connell’s system is worth at least a look in DraftKings showdown formats. We have seen what Josh Dobbs and Sam Darnold have done in that system. Now O’Connell gets a player who has a ceiling that is higher than both of them. McCarthy is an elite system, and has potential rushing upside if he is fully healed from his torn meniscus. Everything is there for McCarthy to succeed; the only question mark is whether he will be eased in during his first start or not. I like him as an upside pick for the captain slot, and will be locking him into the flex spots in my lineups for this potential shootout.

Jordan Mason (7K)

Mason is making his Vikings debut after he was traded from the 49ers for a sixth-round pick this past offseason. And the buzz is that he will be their goal-line running back and more of a 1B rather than a backup. I will trust that Kevin O’Connell will not want to throw McCarthy straight into the deep end during his first start and will rely heavily on the running game. Mason will have a chance to score and then some in what should be an offensive matchup. However, Aaron Jones could be a great contrarian play with all of the hype going Mason’s way. Either way, I want a part of this backfield on DraftKings because the Vikings will lean on it heavily in McCarthy’s first start.

Adam Thielen (4.4K)

The new guy in town is actually the old guy in Minnesota. Thielen gets to return to his old home after a few productive years in Carolina. Thielen could be the perfect salary-saving option on this slate. Granted, he will be popular as well. However, we have already seen Keenan Allen return home and make people money in Week One. Thielen is already familiar with O’Connell, having played for him for a year in 2022. Thielen could have an impact in his return, and I see him scoring in his homecoming and providing a stable target for J.J. McCarthy.

Kickers/Defenses

I do not have a strong inclination to play either defense in this showdown. The game could devolve into a back-and-forth affair, in which your DraftKings lineup will likely not cash at that point. These are two offensive geniuses facing off, but the argument is that either quarterback can struggle. So, while I will not be playing them, they could be good contrarian options to mix things up when everyone is playing straight offense.

As for the kickers, both are viable options. Cairo Santos (4.8k) and Will Reichard (5K) can both easily hit the optimal lineup if these young quarterbacks struggle to finish drives. Both kickers in that range have some of the highest upsides of anyone at the 5K salary mark or lower. Adam Thielen, Luther Burden III (4.6K), and Cole Kmet (4K) are potential plays at salaries below the kickers. However, those players could give you zeros, while the kickers have a safe floor. I would lean the kickers for cash games, and for tournaments, take the chance that one or two of these pass catchers could be on the field more than expected to start the year.