Draftkings Best NFL Showdown Picks: Cowboys vs. Browns 9/8/24

This Sunday afternoon, the NFL presents Draftkings football fans with a matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns. Let’s take a look at this NFL game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns 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 Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns matchup.

Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks

Captain-Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys, $9,800

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was the driving force behind the Dallas Cowboys success on the offensive side of the football in the 2023 NFL regular season. Having stated that, how did Prescott perform from a statistical perspective? Let’s review Dak Prescott’s relevant player data from the 2023 NFL regular season to answer that question.

In the 17 games that quarterback Dak Prescott played for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2023 NFL regular season, Prescott tallied an impressive 4,516 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns, 242 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns.

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 17 regular season contests that Prescott played for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2023 NFL regular season, Prescott averaged a robust 23.8 Draftkings points a Game.

It is noteworthy that the Dallas Cowboys have had some personnel changes on offense entering the first game of the 2024 NFL regular season. Obviously, those changes will inevitably have an impact on Prescott’s ability to perform at a high level. Let’s discuss the largest change in the running back room.

Last season’s starting running back Tony Pollard is no longer with the team. (Pollard signed with the Tennessee Titans in the offseason.) Who will take the reins as the starter? The answer to that question is Rico Dowdle. Dowdle has been serviceable as a back-up running back to this point in his career. Time will tell if Dowdle is good enough to be a starting running back in the NFL.

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 determine which player to select as your captain for this one game Draftkings contest. For me, the obvious first choice at the captain position for this NFL DFS contest is Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott.

Flex Plays

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys, Wide Receiver $12,400

In addition to Prescott, Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was a key contributor to the Dallas Cowboys offense last season. Let’s take a quick look at Lamb’s Game data from the 2023 regular season.

In the 17 games that wide receiver CeeDee Lamb played for the Cowboys in the 2023 NFL regular season, Lamb accumulated a whopping 135 receptions, 1,749 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.

CeeDee Lamb recently ended his contract holdout. I am sure that Dak Prescott is thrilled to have Lamb back with the team. I fully expect that Lamb will be active for the Dallas Cowboys week one contest with the Cleveland Browns.

Additional flex plays I like to perform well (Draftkings price noted): Jerome Ford, Running Back, (Cleveland Browns) $7,800: Deshaun Watson, Quarterback (Cleveland Browns) $9,000: David Njoku, Tight End (Cleveland Browns) $8,000.