The 2022 NFL regular season begins on Thursday Night Football with the Bills traveling out West to play the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Bills are somewhat surprisingly 2.5-point favorites, and the game has an O/U of 52, according to Sports Interaction. Buffalo has an outstanding offense led by Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs to go along with a solid defense that added former Rams EDGE rusher Von Miller in the offseason. Allen and Diggs are also highly coveted in NFL DFS and are great picks for the Captain spots in DraftKings Showdown lineups, though neither make the cut for us.
The Bills won’t have it as easy, as the Rams will be looking to defend their home turf. Matthew Stafford is coming off an outstanding 2021 season and has two fantastic wide receivers in Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. Outside of the top, high-priced players, there are a few sleepers on both teams that can help you win your respective NFL DFS showdown contest. Given the O/U, it’s clear points will be scored.
Here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They’re full-point PPR and there are three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player’s original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
DraftKings Showdown Picks: Bills vs. Rams Week 1 Thursday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): QB Matthew Stafford, Rams ($16,200)
For the Captain spot, we are going to go with Stafford, who was a stud in season-long and daily fantasy last season. Stafford is cheaper than both Allen ($18,000) and Kupp ($18,600), which should afford you some salary to fill out the rest of the roster. The veteran quarterback (and most Rams starters) did not play in the preseason, so this will be his first game action since the Super Bowl. Stafford has been dealing with an elbow injury, which might scare some fantasy owners from putting him in their lineup. However, all signs point to him playing without any issues, and he should be able to put some points against a Bills’ secondary that is missing Tre’Davious White (knee).
FLEX WR Cooper Kupp, Rams ($12,400)
If we are going to have Stafford as our Captain, we might as well stack his favorite target as one of our FLEX plays. Last season, Kupp won the triple crown in receiving with 145 receptions (191 targets) for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. The star wide receiver was unstoppable in DFS, averaging 28.3 fantasy points per game between the regular season and playoffs. Kupp also had 14 games with 20 or more fantasy points. The Bills’ defense allowed the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers last season (25.1 FPPG), but keep in mind that White is still hurt. Kupp should be able to get his catches/targets and find the end zone in the season opener.
FLEX WR Gabriel Davis, Bills ($7,200)
With Diggs likely being covered by Jalen Ramsey, Davis should have some opportunities in the Bills’ passing game on Thursday night. The last time we saw the young wide receiver playing in a meaningful game, he had one of the best playoff performances in recent memory. Davis went off for eight receptions (10 targets) for 201 yards and four touchdowns (55.1 fantasy points) in the Bills divisional-round loss to the Chiefs. Now granted, we shouldn’t expect Davis to go off for 50-plus fantasy points in Week 1, but he does have the capability to score a touchdown against Troy Hill. Obviously, we’re taking a big risk having Davis (and another Bills’ pass-catcher) while not having Josh Allen or Stefon Diggs, but sometimes you have to take those risks if you want to win. The Ramsey factor plays a big role in our lineup construction.
FLEX WR Allen Robinson II, Rams ($6,200)
We’re counting on the Rams stars’ in the receiving game coming through in this one. Robinson should feel like a kid in a candy shop playing with Stafford after years with the Bears, and given how solidly L.A.’s secondary receivers fared last year (Robert Woods, Odell Beckham Jr.), Robinson will see eight-plus targets. Van Jefferson’s knee injury will also open the door for Robinson to have an enhanced role, so despite the tough matchup, we love the value here.
FLEX RB Darrell Henderson Jr., Rams ($4,800)
Henderson Jr. will be a factor in the backfield even though Cam Akers will start. The former Memphis running back has been dealing with a soft tissue injury this summer but is practicing fully. When healthy, Henderson is a nice change-of-pace option behind Akers, who is only a year removed from a torn Achilles’ and struggled in the postseason. Last season, Henderson recorded 149 carries for 688 yards and five touchdowns, and given that the Bills were slightly below average against fantasy RBs last year, we think Henderson can make some waves as a runner and receiver on Thursday night. Fading Akers and playing Henderson gives us some more differentiation.
FLEX Isaiah McKenzie, Bills ($2,400)
If you are looking for a sleeper FLEX option, look no further than McKenzie, who appears to be the Bills’ No. 3 wide receiver over veteran Jamison Crowder. Last season, McKenzie only had 20 receptions (26 targets) for 178 yards and a touchdown. His best game last season came against the Patriots in Week 16, where he had 11 receptions (12 targets) for 125 yards and a touchdown (32.4 fantasy points). With McKenzie, you weren’t necessarily expecting him to have five receptions and 75 yards but rather one big play for a touchdown. That could change this year now that he’s expected to get more touches. Given his relatively cheap salary and new role, he should easily return value.