Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks: Buccaneers vs. Falcons 10/3/24

This Thursday night, the NFL presents Draftkings football fans with a matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons. Let’s take a look at this NFL game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.

Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules

You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.

The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.

*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this week’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons matchup.

Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks

Captain-Kirk Cousins, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons, $8,600

How important has quarterback Kirk Cousins been to the Atlanta Falcons offense this season? Let’s review Cousins relevant player data from the 2024 NFL regular season to answer that question.

In the four games that Cousins has played for the Atlanta Falcons in the 2024 NFL regular season, Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins has compiled 864 receiving yards and four passing touchdowns.

More recently, in the Atlanta Falcons 22-21 upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago, Kirk Cousins accumulated 241 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.

Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the Falcons victory over the Eagles just mentioned, Kirk Cousins tallied a robust 17.5 Draftkings points.

Additionally, I like Kirk Cousins from a general matchup perspective. Why? The Buccaneers have had issues containing opposing quarterbacks this season. Let me be more specific. Through four games played in the 2024 NFL regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are ranked a rather low 23rd in total Draftkings points allowed a game (14,6) to opposing quarterbacks. Keep in mind that the NFL has 32 teams in the entire league. Having stated that, being ranked 23rd in any defensive category is clearly not good.

In summary, I think quarterback Kirk Cousins is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in Thursday night’s NFL regular season game. For that specific reason, I am backing Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NFL Showdown slate.

Flex Plays

Baker Mayfield, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers $8,800

Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield has certainly played at a high level to this point in the 2024 NFL regular season. Let’s take a look at Mayfield’s game statistics from last week’s game to better shed light on my previous statement.

Last week, in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield accumulated a massive 347 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and added ten rushing yards.

I fully expect Baker Mayfield to continue his outstanding play versus the Atlanta Falcons vulnerable secondary on Thursday night.

Additional flex plays I like to perform well (Draftkings price noted): Chris Godwin, Wide Receiver (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) $10,000: Bucky Irving, Running Back (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) $6,400: Darnell Mooney, Wide Receiver (Atlanta Falcons) $7,200.