This Sunday night, the NFL presents Draftkings football fans with a matchup featuring the Indianapolis Colts and the Minnesota Vikings. Let’s take a look at this NFL game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Indianapolis Colts vs. Minnesota Vikings 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 Indianapolis Colts vs. Minnesota Vikings matchup.
NFL Showdown Picks
Captain-Aaron Jones, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings $11,000
In the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings made headlines by signing former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones. Let’s take a look at Aaron Jones relevant game data from last season to see how he performed from a statistical perspective.
In the 11 games that Aaron Jones played for the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL regular season, Jones accumulated an impressive 656 rushing yards, two receiving touchdowns, 30 receptions, 233 receiving yards, and added one receiving touchdown.
Now that we have determined how Jones played last season, let’s shift our focus to 2024. In the seven games that Aaron Jones has played for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL regular season, Jones compiled 501 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 22 receptions, 227 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.
In the Minnesota Vikings dominating 34-7 victory over the Houston Texas six weeks ago, Jones played exceptionally well. More specifically, in the Vikings win over the Texans, Jones accumulated 102 rushing yards, five receptions, 46 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Vikings defeat of the Texans just noted, Aaron Jones tallied a massive 28.8 Draftkings points.
I certainly like Aaron Jones from a general matchup perspective. Why? The Indianapolis Colts have had issues containing opposing running backs this season. Let me be more specific. Through eight games played in the 2024 NFL regular season, the Indianapolis Colts are ranked a rather low 22nd in total Draftkings points allowed a game (23.4) to opposing running backs.
In summary, I think running back Aaron Jones is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this game. For that specific reason, I am backing Minnesota running back Aaron Jones at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NFL Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Josh Downs, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts $8,000
Talented young Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs has wasted little time showing the world that he belongs in the NFL. In the six games that Josh Downs has played for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2024 NFL regular season, Indianapolis Colts starting quarterbacks have targeted Downs a robust 47 times. In those 47 targets, Downs tallied 32 receptions, 351 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.
Additional flex plays I like to perform well (Draftkings price noted): Justin Jefferson, Wide Receiver, (Minnesota Vikings) $11,600: Joe Flacco, Quarterback (Indianapolis Colts) $9,800.