Giants vs. Rams DraftKings Showdown: Captain Picks, Ownership & MNF DFS Strategy | September 21, 2026

Monday Night Football closes Week 2 with the Giants visiting the Rams. DraftKings gives us several legitimate Captain paths, and one major decision hangs over everything: Puka Nacua is questionable. The Rams also list Jordan Whittington as doubtful.

CTS Showdown Board

Best Captain: Jaxson Dart, $14,700 CPT
Best raw ceiling if active: Puka Nacua, $17,100 CPT
Favorite GPP Captain: Malik Nabers, $13,500 CPT
Favorite leverage Captain: Davante Adams, $13,200 CPT
Favorite RB Captain: Kyren Williams, $14,400 CPT
Favorite value Captain: Isaiah Likely, $11,100 CPT

Captain ownership projection

Captain	CPT Salary	Projected CPT Ownership
Puka Nacua	$17,100	18%
Jaxson Dart	$14,700	16%
Malik Nabers	$13,500	14%
Kyren Williams	$14,400	13%
Matthew Stafford	$15,000	11%
Davante Adams	$13,200	9%
Cam Skattebo	$14,100	7%
Isaiah Likely	$11,100	4%
Malachi Fields	$8,400	2%
Colby Parkinson	$5,400	1.5%
Rams DST	$6,300	1%
Harrison Mevis	$7,500	0.8%
Dominic Zvada	$7,200	0.6%
Blake Corum	$6,900	0.6%
Theo Johnson	$3,600	0.4%
Tyler Higbee	$4,200	0.3%
Tyrone Tracy Jr.	$5,100	0.2%
Other	Varies	0.6%

Captain picks

Jaxson Dart, $14,700 CPT

Dart is our favorite combination of ceiling, salary and game-script flexibility. He threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1 and added 54 rushing yards on 11 carries. The rushing role gives him a path to outscoring the pocket passers without needing four passing touchdowns.

Puka Nacua, $17,100 CPT

If Nacua is active without meaningful limitation, he owns one of the highest raw ceilings on the slate. The problem is the price and the hip/groin issue that kept him out of the final two practices. We will not treat an active designation as proof that he is completely unrestricted.

Malik Nabers, $13,500 CPT

Nabers is our favorite large-field receiving Captain. He drew nine targets in Week 1 and costs less at Captain than every premium Rams skill player except Adams. A Giants trailing script can push volume directly toward him.

Davante Adams, $13,200 CPT

Adams is the leverage Captain we want most. His Week 1 role was quieter than expected, but he has no injury designation and Nacua’s status creates an obvious path to more targets. Even if Puka plays, Adams can still win Captain through touchdown concentration.

Kyren Williams, $14,400 CPT

Kyren is our preferred Captain when building for a Rams-control game. He can win without Stafford producing a tournament-breaking score, and his receiving role gives him more paths than a pure rushing touchdown bet.

Isaiah Likely, $11,100 CPT

Likely is our favorite value Captain. He drew eight Week 1 targets, including four in the red zone, and finished with 78 yards and two scores. We should not project another two-touchdown game, but that usage gives him real ceiling.

FLEX picks

Matthew Stafford, $10,000: easier to use in FLEX than Captain. He can support multiple Rams pass catchers without necessarily being the slate’s top scorer.

Jaxson Dart, $9,800: one of our strongest FLEX plays in almost every competitive-game build.

Kyren Williams, $9,600: premium FLEX in Rams-positive scripts.

Cam Skattebo, $9,400: expensive enough to be uncomfortable, which can suppress ownership. He handled 18 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.

Malik Nabers, $9,000: our preferred Giants receiver and an excellent pairing with Dart.

Davante Adams, $8,800: one of the most important Rams pieces, especially if Nacua sits.

Isaiah Likely, $7,400: the best mid-tier Giant for us after his Week 1 usage.

Malachi Fields, $5,600: played 72% of the snaps in Week 1 and gives us a cheaper route into the Giants passing game.

Harrison Mevis $5,000 / Dominic Zvada $4,800: viable when salary is tight, particularly in builds expecting drives to stall.

Blake Corum, $4,600: our favorite backfield leverage piece on Kyren-heavy builds.

Rams DST, $4,200: fits Rams-control builds but conflicts with lineups built around Dart’s ceiling.

Colby Parkinson, $3,600: one of the better cheap Rams pieces. His value improves if Nacua sits.

Theo Johnson, $2,400: cheap touchdown-driven GPP option.

If Puka Nacua plays

Puka immediately returns to the top tier at both Captain and FLEX. Adams remains viable, but we become less interested in forcing the cheap Rams receivers. Stafford becomes easier to justify because his pass-catching group is intact.

If Puka Nacua sits

Adams becomes one of the strongest overall plays on the slate. Parkinson, Higbee, Tutu Atwell and Konata Mumpfield become more relevant salary savers, although we still want actual role evidence rather than blindly assuming one player inherits every Nacua target.

Lineup construction

3 Rams, 3 Giants

Our preferred starting point. The market total supports a competitive game, and both offenses have multiple usable pieces.

4 Rams, 2 Giants

Best for Kyren or Stafford Captain builds where Los Angeles controls the game. Dart or Nabers is our favorite Giants bring-back.

4 Giants, 2 Rams

Our favorite contrarian structure. Dart Captain works especially well because his rushing production can separate him while Nabers or Likely captures the passing scores.

5-1

Reserve this for aggressive large-field scripts. Rams 5-1 belongs with Kyren, Stafford or Adams at Captain. Giants 5-1 should generally start with Dart.

GPP lineup scripts

Dart ceiling: Dart CPT + Nabers + Likely + Stafford + Adams/Kyren + one value.

Rams control: Kyren CPT + Stafford + Adams + Rams DST/kicker + Dart or Nabers + one value.

Adams eruption: Adams CPT + Stafford + Kyren + Dart + Nabers/Likely + value.

Giants upset: Nabers or Dart CPT + Dart/Nabers + Likely + Skattebo + Stafford + one Rams receiver.

Final CTS take

Dart is our favorite Captain before final actives because his rushing role gives him the cleanest path to beating salary-based expectations. Nabers and Adams are our favorite tournament receivers. Puka is a raw-ceiling play if active, but his health status matters enough that we are not treating him like a normal $17,100 Captain until the Rams make his availability clear.