Cowboys vs. Giants DraftKings Showdown Picks: Captain, FLEX and Ownership
Cowboys vs. Giants DraftKings Showdown picks for Sunday Night Football, including Captain rankings, FLEX plays, projected CPT and FLEX ownership, GPP leverage and a sample lineup.
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Sunday Night Football gives us a classic DraftKings Showdown problem: the safest plays are expensive, the cheap tier is thin, and the biggest ownership decisions are likely to come from the same seven or eight players. Dallas enters as a small road favorite against the Giants, with enough offensive talent on both sides for a competitive game script.
- CTS Cowboys-Giants Showdown decision board
- DraftKings Showdown Captain picks
- CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys, $16,200 CPT
- Jaxson Dart, Giants, $14,400 CPT
- Javonte Williams, Cowboys, $13,500 CPT
- Dak Prescott, Cowboys, $15,600 CPT
- George Pickens, Cowboys, $14,700 CPT
- Best FLEX plays
- Dak Prescott, $10,400
- Jaxson Dart, $9,600
- CeeDee Lamb, $10,800
- Javonte Williams, $9,000
- George Pickens, $9,800
- Malik Nabers, $9,400
- Cam Skattebo, $8,400
- Isaiah Likely, $6,400
- Brandon Aubrey, $5,400
- Jake Ferguson, $5,800
- Value and GPP FLEX options
- CTS projected DraftKings Showdown ownership
- Sample GPP lineup
- Final Showdown strategy
CTS Cowboys-Giants Showdown decision board
Favorite Captain: CeeDee Lamb, $16,200 CPT
Best salary-adjusted Captain: Javonte Williams, $13,500 CPT
Favorite GPP Captain: George Pickens, $14,700 CPT
Best QB Captain: Jaxson Dart, $14,400 CPT
Top FLEX priorities: Dak Prescott, Jaxson Dart, CeeDee Lamb, Javonte Williams
Favorite midrange FLEX: Isaiah Likely, $6,400
Favorite cheap GPP value: Ryan Flournoy, $3,800
DraftKings Showdown Captain picks
CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys, $16,200 CPT
Lamb is our favorite combination of floor and true slate-breaking receiving ceiling. The case for a wide receiver at Captain is simple: when Lamb posts the best fantasy score in the game, he can outscore Dak Prescott while still allowing us to roster Prescott in FLEX and capture the passing touchdowns twice.
George Pickens gives Dallas another elite receiver, which lowers the certainty that Lamb dominates targets. It also keeps Lamb from becoming an automatic Captain lock. We still prefer him when building around a Dallas passing script because double-digit targets, the 100-yard bonus and multi-touchdown upside all exist in the same outcome.
Jaxson Dart, Giants, $14,400 CPT
Dart is likely to be the most popular Captain or very close to it, and we think the field has a good reason. In 12 starts as a rookie, he produced 487 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. That rushing role gives him a path to being the highest scorer even if the Giants passing game is only average.
At $1,200 less than Lamb in the Captain spot and $1,200 less than Prescott, Dart also makes the rest of the lineup easier to build. The ownership is the drawback, not the play itself.
Javonte Williams, Cowboys, $13,500 CPT
Williams is the Captain who changes the construction most. Dallas ruled out Malik Davis, leaving Williams with a clearer path to the heavy backfield workload. If the Cowboys play from ahead and finish drives on the ground, Williams can beat the higher-priced passing pieces while saving meaningful Captain salary.
He is especially attractive in lineups that do not force both Lamb and Pickens. A Williams Captain build is a direct bet that Dallas scores efficiently without all of the fantasy production flowing through Dak’s receivers.
Dak Prescott, Cowboys, $15,600 CPT
Prescott is an excellent raw play and one of the safest FLEX options on the slate. At Captain, we are a little more selective. He needs the Dallas passing touchdowns to be distributed enough that no individual receiver outscorces him. That can absolutely happen, but Lamb and Pickens both have legitimate 100-yard and two-touchdown paths.
George Pickens, Cowboys, $14,700 CPT
Pickens is our favorite large-field Captain. He gives us the same Dallas passing-game ceiling as Lamb at lower projected Captain ownership and a slightly lower salary. Pickens posted 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season, and his downfield role creates a very clean path to the 100-yard bonus.
This is not a fade of Lamb. It is a leverage decision. When Pickens catches the long touchdown or leads Dallas in receiving, a Pickens Captain lineup can pass a large group of otherwise similar Dak-Lamb builds.
Deep GPP Captain: Isaiah Likely at $9,600 CPT is the uncomfortable version we actually like. If Malik Nabers is limited or inactive and Likely becomes Dart’s most efficient red-zone target, the salary savings can create a lineup construction the expensive Captains cannot reach.
Best FLEX plays
Dak Prescott, $10,400
Dak is our first FLEX priority. He projects for one of the highest raw scores in the game, and most Lamb or Pickens Captain lineups should include him. Even in a Javonte Captain lineup, Prescott can still get there through yardage and one or two passing scores.
Jaxson Dart, $9,600
Dart is almost as important in FLEX as he is at Captain. His rushing floor makes him less dependent on a specific receiver, and the Giants are home underdogs in a game with a total near the high 40s. In competitive or trailing scripts, the ball stays in Dart’s hands.
CeeDee Lamb, $10,800
Lamb is expensive, but he belongs in the primary pool even when he is not Captain. If Dak is in the lineup, Lamb is the first receiver we want to pair with him. The decision is whether to add Pickens too or use the salary elsewhere.
Javonte Williams, $9,000
Williams is our favorite non-quarterback FLEX when we want a Dallas control script. He becomes even more attractive in lineups that fade one of the expensive receivers.
George Pickens, $9,800
Pickens is slightly harder to fit than Williams, but his ceiling is higher. We prefer him in Dak stacks and as the GPP Captain, while Lamb remains the steadier one-off receiver.
Malik Nabers, $9,400
Nabers is the slate’s biggest uncertainty. He practiced fully throughout the week but carries a questionable designation as he returns from major knee surgery. If active without a clear limitation, his talent and target ceiling keep him in the high-end pool. The uncertainty makes him easier to use in tournaments than in conservative builds.
Cam Skattebo, $8,400
Skattebo should lead the Giants backfield and has enough receiving ability to survive a Dallas lead. The concern is that Dart can steal rushing production near the goal line, while New York has multiple backs available behind Skattebo. He is a strong game-script play rather than a universal core piece.
Isaiah Likely, $6,400
Likely is our favorite midrange FLEX. The Giants brought him in to be a real passing-game weapon, and he gives Dart a large target in the middle of the field. His role gets even better if Nabers is inactive or limited.
Brandon Aubrey, $5,400
Aubrey is expensive for a kicker, but his range gives him a ceiling most kickers do not have. He will also be popular. We like him in balanced builds and Dallas-favored scripts, but there is no need to force him into every tournament lineup.
Jake Ferguson, $5,800
Ferguson sits behind Lamb and Pickens in the target hierarchy, but his red-zone role keeps him viable. He is most interesting in Dak Captain builds where we want multiple touchdown catchers without paying for both star wide receivers.
Value and GPP FLEX options
- Malachi Fields, $5,000: the Giants’ young perimeter receiver becomes a priority value if Nabers is inactive. Even with Nabers active, Fields should have a real route role.
- Ryan Flournoy, $3,800: our favorite cheap Dallas tournament receiver. He has established himself as the WR3 and gives us correlation with Dak at a fraction of the Lamb/Pickens salary.
- Darnell Mooney, $4,000: viable slot exposure, with a much larger role if Nabers cannot handle a normal workload.
- Najee Harris, $2,000: cheap enough to open stars-and-scrubs builds. He does not need a huge workload to pay off the salary, but his role behind Skattebo is less secure than the price may make it look.
- Theo Johnson, $1,800: New York can use two tight ends, and Johnson offers touchdown equity at a salary that changes the entire lineup.
- Dominic Zvada, $4,800: useful when the lineup tells a Giants-move-the-ball-but-stall story.
- Cowboys DST, $4,400: the preferred defense. Dart’s aggressiveness and Dallas’ upgraded front create sack and turnover upside.
- Emari Demercado, $1,000: Dallas’ backup running back with Malik Davis out. He is a thin GPP play, but one reception, a change-of-pace series or a touchdown can make $1,000 work.
CTS projected DraftKings Showdown ownership
Showdown ownership needs to be read differently from a normal slate. The Captain column should total roughly 100 percent because every lineup has one Captain. The FLEX column should total roughly 500 percent because every lineup has five FLEX spots. Our estimates below are built to respect both realities, which is why the top FLEX plays are intentionally much higher than a classic-slate ownership number.
| Player | Team | FLEX Salary | CPT Own. | FLEX Own. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaxson Dart | NYG | $9,600 | 17.5% | 55% |
| CeeDee Lamb | DAL | $10,800 | 16.0% | 50% |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | $10,400 | 14.5% | 57% |
| Javonte Williams | DAL | $9,000 | 13.0% | 40% |
| George Pickens | DAL | $9,800 | 11.5% | 36% |
| Malik Nabers | NYG | $9,400 | 7.5% | 32% |
| Cam Skattebo | NYG | $8,400 | 6.5% | 28% |
| Isaiah Likely | NYG | $6,400 | 3.0% | 24% |
| Brandon Aubrey | DAL | $5,400 | 2.5% | 26% |
| Jake Ferguson | DAL | $5,800 | 2.0% | 20% |
| Malachi Fields | NYG | $5,000 | 1.2% | 15% |
| Ryan Flournoy | DAL | $3,800 | 1.0% | 13% |
| Dominic Zvada | NYG | $4,800 | 0.8% | 18% |
| Cowboys DST | DAL | $4,400 | 0.7% | 12% |
| Darnell Mooney | NYG | $4,000 | 0.5% | 11% |
| Najee Harris | NYG | $2,000 | 0.4% | 16% |
| Theo Johnson | NYG | $1,800 | 0.3% | 8% |
| Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG | $3,000 | 0.0% | 7% |
| KaVontae Turpin | DAL | $2,600 | 0.0% | 6% |
| Giants DST | NYG | $3,400 | 0.0% | 5% |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | $2,200 | 0.0% | 4% |
| Emari Demercado | DAL | $1,000 | 0.0% | 4% |
| Devin Singletary | NYG | $1,400 | 0.0% | 3% |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | DAL | $1,600 | 0.0% | 2% |
| Luke Schoonmaker | DAL | $600 | 0.0% | 2% |
| Hunter Luepke | DAL | $800 | 0.0% | 2% |
| Jonathan Mingo | DAL | $1,200 | 0.0% | 1% |
| All other eligible players | varies | 1.1% | 3% |
Model check: Captain ownership totals 100.0%. FLEX ownership totals 500%.
How we want to use the ownership
Dart, Lamb, Dak and Javonte are popular because they deserve to be. We do not want to fade all of them in the same lineup. The more useful approach is to decide where to accept chalk and where to create one meaningful point of leverage.
Our favorite leverage route is Pickens at Captain while keeping Dak in FLEX. Another is paying up for Likely instead of using every lineup spot on the obvious Dallas stars. Ryan Flournoy can differentiate a Dak stack without asking us to roster a player with no path to routes.
If Nabers is inactive, the entire Giants ownership tree changes. Dart becomes even more concentrated, while Fields, Likely, Mooney, Theo Johnson and Beckham all gain target equity. Do not simply delete Nabers and leave the rest of the ownership board unchanged.
Sample GPP lineup
| Slot | Player | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| CPT | George Pickens | $14,700 |
| FLEX | Dak Prescott | $10,400 |
| FLEX | Jaxson Dart | $9,600 |
| FLEX | Isaiah Likely | $6,400 |
| FLEX | Dominic Zvada | $4,800 |
| FLEX | Ryan Flournoy | $3,800 |
| Total | $49,700 | |
This is a tournament example, not a claim that these are the six highest-projected plays. Pickens Captain is correlated with Dak, Dart and Likely give us the Giants’ passing response, Flournoy adds a lower-owned Dallas receiving path, and Zvada works if New York moves the ball without finishing every drive. Leaving $300 unused is also perfectly acceptable in Showdown, where duplicated lineups matter.
Final Showdown strategy
The expensive tier is strong enough that we do not want to get different just for the sake of being different. Start with a game script, then make the lineup tell that story. Dallas passing dominance points toward Lamb or Pickens Captain with Dak. Dallas control points toward Javonte. A back-and-forth game makes Dart one of the best raw plays on the slate. A Giants upset increases the value of Dart, Skattebo and the Giants pass catchers while making Dallas receivers better bring-backs than automatic cores.
Our favorite single-entry structure is to keep both quarterbacks available, choose one Dallas star to build around, and use one midrange or cheap player whose role actually fits the lineup. The biggest mistake is not eating chalk. It is eating every piece of chalk in the same construction and ending up with the exact lineup thousands of people can build.