Week 10 opens with an NFC South matchup between the Falcons and Panthers on Thursday Night Football. These two teams just played each other in Week 8, where Atlanta defeated Carolina 37-34 in overtime. The Falcons are three-point favorites over the Panthers, and the game has an O/U of 43, according to BetMGM. On paper, this is not a great matchup, but DFS players can find some value and save some salary at the Captain spot for their DraftKings Showdown lineups.
For the Panthers, you have D.J. Moore, P.J. Walker, D'Onta Foreman, and Chuba Hubbard as viable Captain candidates. On the Atlanta side, DFS players could play a combination of Marcus Mariota, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kyle Pitts, and Tyler Allgeier. Mariota and Allgeier made the cut for our Showdown lineup, while Patterson and Pitts did not.
Before we get into all of our picks, 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: Falcons vs. Panthers Week 10 Thursday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): WR DJ Moore, Panthers ($13,800)
Moore had a rough performance last week but so did the rest of the Panthers' offense, as they could not get anything going. Moore scored just 4.4 DraftKings points, which has his third-lowest scoring performance this season. However, we should expect a bounce-back outing against the Falcons on Thursday night. Moore torched Atlanta for a season-high 30.5 DraftKings points (six receptions for 152 yards, TD) back in Week 8. The Falcons also gave up 100-plus receiving yards to Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer last week and has allowed the second-most DraftKings points per game to WRs (47.6) this season. Panthers QB P.J. Walker will make a concerted effort to get the ball to Moore early and often on Thursday night.
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FLEX QB Marcus Mariota, Falcons ($10,200)
Mariota does not have gaudy passing or rushing stats this season, but he's scoring 16.2 DraftKings points per game, giving him a relatively high floor most weeks The Falcons did not have to depend on Mariota a lot last week, as the ground attack stole the show. However, Carolina's defense will look to contain the trio of Patterson, Allgeier, and Caleb Huntley and force Mariota to beat them. In their first meeting, Mariota went off a season-high 24.4 DraftKings points thanks to 296 yards of total offense and three passing TDs. He should not have any issues with this Panthers' defense, which gave up 42 points last week to the Bengals.
WEEK 10 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
FLEX QB P.J. Walker, Panthers ($9,600)
Walker is looking to play better this week after being benched for Baker Mayfield at halftime. Atlanta's defense has been horrid this season, allowing 300 passing yards per game and the fifth-most DraftKings points per game to QBs (22.1). The former XFL should score at least 20 DraftKings points in prime time after he had 20.7 DraftKings points against the Falcons in Week 8.
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FLEX RB Tyler Allgeier, Falcons ($6,200)
Even though the Falcons have Patterson back in the fold, Allgeier still found a way to be productive in last week's loss to the Chargers. The rookie running back led the team with 99 rushing yards on 10 carries and added a 24-yard reception for 13.3 DraftKings points. He has scored 10 or more DraftKings points in three-straight games and is averaging 13.9 DraftKings points per game over that span. Allgeier should get at least 10 carries on Thursday night against a bad Panthers' rushing defense that allows 139.3 rushing yards per game this season.
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FLEX RB Chuba Hubbard, Panthers ($5,800)
Hubbard will be back on the field after missing the past two games with an ankle injury. The last time we saw the second-year running back was in Week 7 when he produced a season-high 15.3 DraftKings points (63 yards on nine carries and a TD). Hubbard will likely be playing second fiddle to D'Onta Foreman, but it shouldn't stop DFS players from starting him. He has a favorable matchup against Atlanta's defense, which allows the 11th-most DraftKings points per game to RBs (24.7) this season, and he could provide some lineup differentiation.
WEEK 10 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
FLEX TE Tommy Tremble, Panthers ($3,200)
For our last Showdown lineup pick, we will take a flier on Tremble, who has scored two touchdowns in the past three weeks. If you put Tremble in your lineup, you are looking for him to be a threat in the red zone and hopefully score a touchdown. It would not be a surprise to see the young tight end play a factor in this game, as the Falcons allow the sixth-most DraftKings points per game to TEs (15.1) this season.
