Valhalla at ya boy! The Minnesota Vikings are set to play host tonight on MNF against the San Francisco 49ers. We’ll look to exploit what promises to be a heavy-hitting matchup tonight. With fantasy glory and a hefty $500,000 on the line, it’s now more crucial than ever to assemble a winning DraftKings lineup that can dominate the competition. This article offers DFS insights on who should take the coveted captain slot, which core player should anchor your player pool, a value gem that can boost your salary cap flexibility, a sleeper pick with breakout potential, and one player to steer clear of – the dreaded bust. Get ready for an interesting DFS showdown on MNF.
*Disclaimer: These picks have been constructed with the mindset of building a single lineup. When building large field/multi-entry tournaments, if the player sees the field you’ll want to have a piece of him somewhere, my “busts” included.*
Monday Night Football Showdown DFS Picks
Captain
Brandon Aiyuk
DraftKings Captain Salary- $16,200
When the 49ers take the field, the captain spot on DraftKings is usually reserved for Christian McCaffrey. This offense generally flows through CMC. However, tonight there are too many question marks surrounding the star running back. There is history on the line for McCaffrey tonight, so I don’t see him playing if he’s still banged up. A touchdown on MNF would inch him closer to the NFL touchdown streak record. There’s always a chance that CMC could be limited, so while I’ll roster him if he plays, he’s not a true consideration for my captain slot tonight.
Drafted Bradon Aiyuk absolutely EVERYWHERE I could in fantasy this year
— Monte (@MONTECRI5TO) September 10, 2023
With Deebo Samuel already ruled out of MNF, Brandon Aiyuk will have to pick up the slack. He’s already shown this season that he can shoulder the load. In fact, we saw it in the very first week of the season. Against Pittsburgh in Week 1 Aiyuk torched the Steelers’ secondary for 129 yards and 2 TDs on eight grabs. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark again in Week 4 when he hung a 6-148-0 line on the Arizona Cardinals. His last time out, Brock Purdy smothered Aiyuk with 10 targets. That number may increase tonight with no Deebo and a possibly limited McCaffrey.
Core Play
T.J. Hockenson
DraftKings Salary-$8,800
Happy belated National Tight Ends Day for those of you who celebrate. While George Kittle gets credited with the creation of the holiday, I believe that it’ll be T.J. Hockenson who benefits on MNF. Hockenson has only played one full game without Justin Jefferson (IR). However, that one game saw him receive his second-highest amount of targets (9) this season. It was clear that in his first game without Jefferson, Kirk Cousins would lean on Hockenson. Tonight should be no different. I fully expect Hockenson to be the focal point of the Vikings’ pass attack. Look for T.J. to improve on his 6-50-0 line from last week.
Value
Alexander Mattison
DraftKings Salary- $6,600
Alexander Mattison isn’t having the year that most expected after the team let Dalvin Cook walk. While he’s had his ups and downs in real life on the football field, Mattison is doing just fine in the fantasy realm. At least at his MNF DraftKings price. Mattison only has one game this season in which he did not generate double-digit fantasy points. That was Week 2 against a very stout Philadelphia Eagles defensive line. Alexander Mattison does get another tough matchup tonight against the 49ers DST, but with a lack of other options, he should be okay.
#Vikings' Rookie RB DeWayne McBride and veteran RB Alexander Mattison take their turn for their Halloween fun! pic.twitter.com/ChdxXglFMu
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) October 20, 2023
Mattison has at least 17 rush attempts in three of his last four games this season. It would be a strategically wise tactic for the Vikings to run the football tonight. With a lack of explosiveness, they really want to drain the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of 49ers playmakers. With 18 receptions on the season, Mattison won’t be completely phased out of the game plan in the case of a blowout.
Sleeper
Brandon Powell
DraftKings Salary- $2,800
Let’s continue to follow the theme of “Justin Jefferson is on IR”. What does this mean? It means that Kirk Cousins needs his other wide receivers to step up. It appears that the Vikings coaching staff believes that Brandon Powell can be that guy. When Jefferson went down in Week 5, Powell saw his snaps that game increase, leading to his highest share of the season. As to be expected, Powell saw an increased role last week. The 60% snap share he received is actually the second-highest of his NFL career.
Don’t get it twisted. I’m not saying that Brandon Powell is going to light up the stat sheets tonight. I’m merely suggesting that he’ll have the opportunity to pay off his $2,800 DraftKings salary tonight on MNF. In his first start of the season last week, Powell was targeted four times. He was able to reel in three catches for 20 yards, “adding” negative one yards on a single rushing attempt. He’ll likely need a bit more tonight, but with all eyes on T.J. Hockenson, he might be able to sneak by the 49ers DST.
MNF Bust
Kirk Cousins
DraftKings Salary- $10,600
Well, someone has to bust on MNF. All signs point to Kirk Cousins being the guy. Cousins got off to a hot start this season. The veteran quarterback threw for over 340 passing yards in his first three starts this year. However, Cousins would come crashing back down to Earth (139 yards) in Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers. Cousins struggled again in his first game without Justin Jefferson last week. His performance was one to forget as his 5.8 yards per completion was his lowest of the season. The saving grace is the fact that Cousins has protected the football. He has not thrown an interception in the last two games. Unfortunately for him, the 49ers defense already has recorded an interception in every game but one this season.