Get ready for an electrifying Monday Night Football showdown on DraftKings as the New York Jets clash with the Buffalo Bills. With fantasy glory on the line, it’s crucial to assemble a winning lineup that can dominate the competition. In this DFS article, I’ve dissected key players for your lineups, offering 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. Strap in, as we dive into the tactical choices that could lead you to DFS victory in this primetime battle!
NFL DFS: Monday Night Football Showdown Picks
CAPTAIN
Josh Allen ($17,100)
When it comes to selecting my captain on DraftKings I want the guy who does the most with the ball in his hands. This makes back-to-back showdowns that I’m telling you to take the highest salaried player. Just as Mahomes did on TNF, I believe that Josh Allen has the stuff to pay off his price and become tonight’s optimal captain. Spoiler alert, I believe that Sauce Gardner absolutely straps Stefon Diggs tonight on MNF. Thus, it is my expectation that Allen will have to get very creative tonight.
Contain is going to be the name of the game for the Jets defense if they are going to be able to limit Allen in this matchup. Last season against the Jets, Josh Allen had more success on the ground than he did through the air.
| DATE | PASSING YARDS | RUSHING YARDS | PASSING TDS | RUSHING TDS | INTERCEPTIONS |
| 11/06/2022 | 205 | 86 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12/11/2022 | 147 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
I don’t believe that I’m mistaken in saying that the Bills haven’t gotten any better on offense in terms of their passing attack. They’ll still be trotting out the same receivers (Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Khalil Shakir) that they had last season, so I expect more of the same. Sit back and get your popcorn ready. It should be the Josh Allen show tonight.
Captain to consider: Garrett Wilson ($15,600)
CORE PLAY
Dalvin Cook ($7,800)
This one might come as a shock to most, but give me a second and I’ll get you in tune with my thought process here. Here’s a football SAT question for you. True or False? Dalvin Cook is to Aaron Jones as Breece Hall is to AJ Dillon. True, the answer is true. Both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon possessed the ability to run in between the tackles, but only one back was known for being Aaron Rodgers’ safety valve in the passing game. That was Jones, and I believe that Dalvin can act as that safety valve for Rodgers tonight.
It certainly doesn’t hurt to mention that Breece Hall, who did not suit up during the preseason, is likely to be very limited in his first game action since tearing his ACL on October 23, 2022. I would be shocked if Hall garnered more than 8-10 total touches tonight. Cook is coming off of a shoulder injury himself, but this is an injury that we’ve seen him play through before. However, the fact that Cook will be out there tonight without his patented shoulder harness is a great sign that he’s made a full recovery.
Core play to consider: Aaron Rodgers ($9,800)
Value
Damien Harris ($5,400)
Remember when Jahmyr Gibbs was supposed to go nuclear in Week 1? It was David Montgomery who emerged from the hype storm. I’ve been hearing a whole lotta chatter about James Cook, but not so much as a peep about Damien Harris. This Jets defensive line is no joke. To be honest, I don’t see a running back who is listed at 5’11” and 190 lbs (I call cap, he’s smaller) having much success running the ball in between the tackles. That sentiment goes double for when the Bills near the goal line. James Cook’s success tonight is destined to come via the passing game.
Damien Harris's 1st Rushing TD as a Buffalo Bill proves he is capable of double-digit TD's in 2023 #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/Q5wFhCQA72
— BillsNewsConsolidated (@BillsNewsConso) September 3, 2023
To be clear, I’m not predicting that Harris out-snaps Cook the way that I predicted Montgomery to out-snap Gibbs. On the contrary, I think Cook is on the field twice as much as Harris. We all got a sneak peek into Damien’s role on this team during the preseason finale against the Chicago Bears. James Cook started the drive with 18 yards on four carries, while Harris finished off the drive by punching in a touchdown from the two-yard line. It was interesting to note that Cook didn’t even get a crack at it from inside the 5, the team subbed Damien in right away. Fingers crossed I’m not reading too much into this, I’m banking on Harris’ role as the goal line back to sneak us some points tonight.
Value to consider: Allen Lazard ($6,400)
SLEEPER
Mecole Hardman Jr. ($3,000)
I think the most Aaron Rodgers thing that Aaron Rodgers can do tonight is prove that he can make something out of Mecole Hardman when Patrick Mahomes couldn’t. Garrett Wilson is the uncontested WR1 on this team, with Allen Lazard being a pretty convincing number 2. The WR3 role, however, is completely up for grabs. Hardman, Randall Cobb, and UDFA Jason Brownlee are the likeliest candidates to fill that role. Hardman (finger) is fresh off the injury report and ready to go tonight.
Every good lineup needs a low-owned sleeper to pop off, that’s what sets most builds apart. At $3,000 on DraftKings, Mecole Hardman Jr. is literally only one big catch away from paying off his salary and separating your lineup from the pack. All it takes here is one busted play, one time for Rodgers to catch the Bills’ secondary doubling Wilson and Hardman could be off to the races. It must be noted that Cobb had been seeing more first-team work as of last week, but regardless of whether Cobb or Hardman serves as the Jets’ starting slot man tonight against the Bills, both players will end up splitting the snaps. However, I’m predicting that Hardman’s speed will have a greater impact on this game.
Sleeper to consider: Michael Carter ($2,000)
BUST
Stefon Diggs ($10,600)
It’s the only first week of the season and here I go predicting that a perennial top-10 WR is going to bust on primetime television. The audacity! I promise that it is not without good reason. In their last matchup on 12/11/2022, Sauce Gardner covered Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs for a combined 25 snaps and gave up one target for six yards, no first downs. That is absolute clamps. With a year of roaming the secondary under his belt, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Jets had Sauce shadow Diggs this entire matchup. If this is the case then it would be pretty tough sledding for the all-pro WR.
Stefon Diggs upset on the sideline with Josh Allen 👀 #BillsMafia #Bills #BengalsVsBills pic.twitter.com/k5oIL8pWHU
— MaxCoverageTV (@MaxCoverageTV) January 22, 2023
Please, please, please understand this. Stefon Diggs is Josh Allen’s preferred, most talented, and most reliable WR. Stefon Diggs is also often extremely vocal about wanting the football. Though the separation might not be there, I’m still predicting that the targets (15 targets in 2 games vs. Jets in 2022) will be. It’s obviously possible that one of these targets ends up being a dagger to those who omitted him from their lineups. For me Diggs is a bust tonight because his high DraftKings salary severely hinders you from rostering players that are going to be more involved overall. If Diggs doesn’t have a fire icon next to his name at the end of this game was he even worth rostering?
Bust to beware: Breece Hall ($8,200)