Draftkings Best NFL Showdown Picks: Texans vs. Colts 9/8/24

The NFL presents Draftkings football fans with a matchup between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts. Let’s take a look at this NFL game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts 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 Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts matchup.

Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks

Captain-C.J. Stroud, Quarterback, Houston Texans $11,400

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud was the driving force behind the Houston Texans success on the offensive side of the football in 2024. How well did Stroud play? The talented young quarterback won the 2023 NFL offensive rookie of the year award. Having stated that, how did Stroud perform from a statistical perspective? Let’s review C.J. Stroud’s relevant key player game data from the 2023 NFL regular season to answer that question.

In the 15 games that quarterback C.J. Stroud played for the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL regular season, Stroud tallied an impressive 4,108 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 167 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns.

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 15 regular season contests that Stroud played for the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL regular season, Stroud averaged a whopping 22.2 Draftkings points a game.

It should be noted that these two teams last played in January of this year. Who won the game? How did Stroud perform? In week 16 of the 2023 regular season, the Houston Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts 23-19. C.J. Stroud compiled 264 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and added 20 rushing yards in the Texans victory over the Colts.

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 Houston Texans starting quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Flex Plays

Nico Collins, Wide Receiver, Houston Texans $9,000

In addition to C.J. Stroud, Houston wide receiver Nico Collins was a key contributor to the Houston Texans offense last season. Let’s take a quick look at Collins game data from the 2023 regular season to better shed light on my previous statement.

In the 15 Games that wide receiver Nico Collins played for the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL regular season, Collins accumulated an impressive 1,297 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns.

In suMMAry, I am backing Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins as a flex play for this one Game NFL DFS slate.

Additional flex plays I like to perform well (Draftkings price noted): Anthony Richardson, Quarterback (Indianapolis Colts) $10,400: Jonathan Taylor, Running Back (Indianapolis Colts) $9,800: Michael Pittman, Wide Receiver (Indianapolis Colts) $8,800.