Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks: Cardinals vs. Panthers 12/22/24

This Sunday afternoon, the NFL presents Draftkings football fans with a matchup featuring the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals. Let’s take a look at this game from a Draftkings perspective.

Before we dive into the Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals 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 Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers matchup.

Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks

Captain-James Conner, Running Back, Arizona Cardinals $11,000

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner has been an integral component of the team’s offensive success this season. Assessing his impact from a statistical standpoint requires a thorough analysis of Conner’s game data from the 2024 NFL regular season.

In the 12 games that James Conner has played for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL regular season, Conner compiled an impressive 973 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 41 receptions, 361 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

Last week, in the Arizona Cardinals dominant 30-17 win over the New England Patriots, Arizona running back James Conner tallied a robust 110 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, five receptions and 28 receiving yards

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Arizona Cardinals victory over the New England Patriots, James Conner accumulated a massive 33.8 Draftkings points. What did we learn? The data just presented tells us that James Conner is playing outstanding football entering this week’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers.

I also like James Conner’s matchup in this game. The reason? The Carolina Panthers have had issues containing opposing running backs this season. Let me be more specific. Through 14 games played in the 2024 NFL regular season, the Carolina Panthers are ranked a dreadful 32nd in total Draftkings points allowed a game (28.4) to the running back position. Keep in mind that the NFL has 32 teams in the entire league. Having stated that, being ranked 32nd in any defensive category is clearly not good.

In my view, James Conner is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NFL regular season game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NFL Showdown slate.

Flex Plays

Chuba Hubbard, Running Back, Carolina Panthers $10,800

Talented Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard has certainly been a key contributor to the Panthers offense in 2024. Let’s review Hubbard’s recent statistical player data to better shed light on my previous statement.

In the 14 games that Chuba Hubbard has played for the Carolina Panthers in the 2024 NFL regular season, Hubbard has amassed 1,043 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 39 receptions, 158 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

In conclusion, I fully expect Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard to continue his outstanding play versus a vulnerable Arizona Cardinals defense on Sunday afternoon.

Additional flex plays I like to perform well this week (Draftkings price noted): Kyler Murray. Quarterback (Arizona Cardinals) $10.000: Adam Thielen, Wide Receiver (Carolina Panthers) $8,600: Tre McBride, Tight End (Arizona Cardinals) $9,600.