NFL Showdown Captain Mode: How to Choose a Captain

By Splash Play Staff · A guide to reading the tools

In NFL Showdown Captain Mode you pick six players from one game, and one of them is the Captain, who costs 1.5 times his salary and scores 1.5 times his points on DraftKings. Choosing the Captain is the main decision: it sets your salary, your story about the game and how many other entries share your lineup.

How Captain Mode works

A DraftKings Showdown lineup has one Captain and five Flex players from the two teams in a single game, with at least one player from each team. Any player can be the Captain, including a kicker or a defense. The multiplier applies to salary as well as points, so an expensive Captain leaves less for everyone else.

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Three questions for any Captain

  1. What is his ceiling in this game? The multiplier pays most when a player has his best outcome, so role and scoring chances matter more than a safe floor.
  2. What does his salary do to the rest of the lineup? Work out the five Flex players you can afford beside him before you commit.
  3. How many entries will share him? The most popular Captain can be the right one, but if he hits, a large part of the field hits with you.

Build the lineup around one version of the game

Each Captain implies a game. A receiver at Captain usually wants his quarterback in a Flex slot. A running back at Captain fits a game his team controls. A defense at Captain fits a low-scoring game where the opposing offense struggles. Flex players that contradict the Captain's story lower the lineup's best outcome.

Common mistakes

FanDuel uses the same shape with different numbers

FanDuel's single-game format has one MVP and five AnyFlex players, and the MVP also costs 1.5 times his salary and scores 1.5 times his points. The cap is $60,000, the salaries are FanDuel's own and a reception is worth half a point. The same three questions apply, but the answers change with the scoring and the prices. FanDuel single-game lineups covers it.

Work a Showdown slate

Open the NFL tool and choose the Showdown slate, or read the slate page for this week's game under slate pages. The Showdown optimizer guide goes further on building. Simulation results are part of Squirt Squad VIP and Apex; compare memberships.

Questions

What is Captain Mode in NFL Showdown?

It is DraftKings' single-game format. You roster six players from one game, and the player in the Captain slot costs 1.5 times his salary and scores 1.5 times his fantasy points.

Who should I pick as Captain?

A player with a high ceiling in the way you expect the game to go, at a salary that still lets you afford the Flex players who fit with him. Check how popular he is likely to be before you decide how often to use him.

Can a kicker or a defense be the Captain?

Yes. Any player in the game is eligible. A kicker or defense at Captain is cheap, which frees salary, and fits a low-scoring game.

Do I have to use the whole salary cap?

No. Leaving some salary unused can make a lineup less common. Leave it for a reason, not by accident.

Is the Captain projection just 1.5 times the Flex projection?

The points multiplier is 1.5, but when you move projections between tools, treat Captain and Flex as separate rows and check which one a file contains.

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