Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks: Panthers vs. Buccaneers 12/29/24

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

Before we dive into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers 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 Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers matchup.

Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks

Captain-Baker Mayfield, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers $10,200

Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield has undeniably been the driving force behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers success on the offensive side of the football this season. Having stated that, how has Mayfield performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s review Baker Mayfield’s game statistics from the 2024 season to answer that question.

In the 15 games that quarterback Baker Mayfield has played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2024 NFL regular season, Baker Mayfield compiled a rather impressive 3,920 passing yards, 34 passing touchdowns, 308 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns.

Baker Mayfield certainly stands out from a general matchup standpoint. Why? Carolina Panthers have struggled to contain opposing quarterbacks this season. To elaborate, after 16 games played in the 2024 NFL regular season, the Carolina Panthers rank an abysmal 28th in total DraftKings points allowed per game (19.4) to the quarterback position.

As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NFL showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups for this Sunday night’s NFL regular season game.

In my view, Baker Mayfield is the prime candidate to score the highest DraftKings points in this game. Consequently, I am rolling with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield at the captain for this one game Draftkings NFL Showdown slate.

Flex Plays

Mike Evans, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers $10,600

For my lead flex play, I am going to roll with talented Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. In the 12 games that Evans has played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2024 NFL regular season, Evans has accumulated a whopping 57 receptions, 819 receiving yards, and nine receiving touchdowns.

In conclusion, I fully expect Tampa Bay Buccaneers to play at a high level versus a vulnerable Carolina Panthers secondary on Sunday afternoon.

Additional flex plays I like to play well in Sunday afternoon’s NFL regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Bucky Irving, Running Back (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) $$9,600: Bryce Young, Quarterback (Carolina Panthers) $9,200: Adam Thielen, Wide Receiver (Carolina Panthers) $8,600: Raheem Blackshear, Running Back (Carolina Panthers) $2,400.