Week 2 is almost in the books, but we get one more NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook as we get a matchup out of the NFC. The New York Giants head west and visit the Los Angeles Rams to close out the second week of the NFL season.

The Rams are no doubt viewing this as a “get right” game following their disappointing performance in Week 1 for their divisional matchup in Australia. But they’re back on U.S. soil with plenty of rest. The Giants are coming off an impressive victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. Can the Giants continue to surprise us in John Harbaugh’s first year as head coach? Or do the Rams successfully avoid going 0-2 which is more than we can say for their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers? Let’s take a look at the top Giants vs. Rams DFS picks for Monday night’s matchup!

 

 

 

NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook; Giants vs. Rams Game Preview

As of Monday morning, the Los Angeles Rams are seven-point favorites with an implied team total of 27.25 points while the Giants sit at 20.25 points. That gap does seem a bit wide when you consider how these teams looked in their first matchups of the season. Sure, the Rams had to play in Australia against the San Francisco 49ers. They took the loss and a lot was made about the team’s travel arrangements for that game. They definitely didn’t look like a Super Bowl contender and the 49ers took advantage.

But the Rams are now rested so all should be fine, right? Wrong. Star wide receiver, Puka Nacua, missed practice late last week and as of Sunday afternoon, his status was trending the “wrong direction” according to Adam Schefter. Nacua’s absence would open up plenty of snaps, routes, and targets for their other pass catchers and there are plenty of value options to consider among our MNF DFS picks if Nacua does have to sit this game out.

The Giants are riding momentum coming off a big Week 1 win over Dallas. And it really felt like the team was just scratching the surface in terms of what this offense could be. Malik Nabers was limited but still saw nine targets. And Cam Skattebo didn’t receive a single target in the passing game. And as always, Jaxson Dart is an injury risk anytime he takes off running. But it was an impressive showing all around for the team in John Harbaugh’s first game as head coach.

It feels as if this game should be lined a bit closer, but perhaps that would be the case if this matchup were in the Meadowlands and not Los Angeles. But the implied total is promising and if the Giants continue to round into form then they could make this a competitive game when you consider the injuries that are mounting up for Los Angeles.

 

 

 

Giants vs. Rams Notable Injuries & Inactives

The biggest injury news to monitor for the Giants is on the defensive side of the ball. Deonte Banks didn’t practice Friday or Saturday. He carries a questionable tag heading into this game but I would anticipate him being ruled out. Similarly, Micah McFadden is questionable but he at least practiced in a limited fashion late in the week. Andrew Thomas is a presence the offensive line is going to need for this matchup. He was limited in practice but it sounds like he’ll be able to play Monday night.

The Rams are off to a rough start in terms of injuries to start the 2026 campaign. Myles Garrett was not a huge contributor in Week 1. He had a small procedure on his knee and will miss four games after being placed on IR. It does sound like they’ll get Aaron Donald back for this matchup but it remains to be seen how much of an impact he can make after a few seasons away from the league. Rams safety, Kamren Kinchens, has already been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

The biggest injury news everyone has been monitoring this weekend pertains to Puka Nacua, who is working through a hip injury. As of Sunday afternoon, it seems as if he won’t be available for tonight’s game. But nothing is official just yet. Moreover, the Rams could also be without fellow wide receiver, Jordan Whittington, who is doubtful with a quad injury.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Showdown MVP/Captain for Monday Night Football, 9/21

Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $12,200

A week ago, I wasn’t excited about rostering either quarterback at MVP/Captain for the Showdown slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. But here we are in a potential shootout although there are obvious injuries we’re monitoring. There’s no beating around the bush, the Rams were not physically ready for their Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. They got bested and they’re ready to put that behind them and hopefully get a win later this evening.

Stafford may very well not have one of his top pass catchers, but he has other weapons at his disposal to work with. Stafford, the league’s reigning MVP, only completed 15-of-25 pass attempts in Week 1 for 155 yards and an interception. We certainly know he’s capable of doing more and while targets could be vacant if Puka Nacua is inactive, Stafford then just distributes the ball more evenly, which elevates the likelihood he could end up as the optimal MVP/Captain even if he doesn’t possess the rushing upside of Jaxson Dart.

Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants – DraftKings: $9,800 | FanDuel: $13,000

Dart’s pricing on FanDuel is a bit gaudy but enough value could emerge on this slate where the idea of rostering him as your MVP could work. But all in all, we tend to upgrade quarterbacks with rushing upside when we get to Showdown slates. In Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, Dart rushed 11 times for 54 yards. Sure, this does put him at risk of injury and another trip to the medical tent, but that’s the risk you take when swinging for upside.

Dart was also quite the efficient passer last week as well. He completed nearly 80% of his pass attempts for three touchdowns even though the passing yardage was modest (230). The Giants get a bit lucky by not having to go against Myles Garrett, who was placed on IR last week. Aaron Donald will make his long-awaited return but he’s 35 years old now and hasn’t played in a few years so we don’t quite know how impactful he’ll be. Based on this tweet from Doug Analytics, Dart’s ability to make plays on his own could really elevate New York’s chances to win.

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants – DraftKings: $9,000 | FanDuel: $9,800

Pricing is rather soft on Nabers for both sites. A lot was made about his role a week ago and how he was a bit nervous to get hit. But he was active for Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Per his own words he admitted to being a bit rusty but that he could have scored two touchdowns and he only played 36 snaps which trailed Darnell Mooney and Malachi Fields. And despite those 36 snaps, he still saw nine targets.

Nabers’ role will grow has he shakes off the rust but the usage is very promising. According to Jacob Gibbs, entering this season Nabers was averaging 22.9 fantasy points per game in PPR formats whenever Andrew Thomas was healthy. I mention that because while Thomas was limited in practice late in the week, he is trending towards playing.

Visibly Nabers passed the eyeball test a week ago. He forced missed tackles and he made some nice cuts off the recovering leg. He still averaged 2.88 yards per route run a week ago which is better than his historic rookie season (2.17). The upside his huge and we should see some big box scores from the Giants WR1 in due time.

Davante Adams, WR, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $10,800

Even if Puka Nacua does suit up for this matchup, he could be very limited after missing practice late last week. So if Puka is out the most logical player to inherit a huge workload would be Davante Adams. The odd thing about Adams’ Week 1 usage was the inside-the-10 numbers. Per Fantasy Points, Adams returned 80.6 fantasy points when the Rams were inside the 10-yard-line in 2025. But in Week 1, Adams played on just one-of-seven snaps inside the 10.

For the Rams to be successful and make another run at a Super Bowl, that can’t be happening every week. Sure, Adams is getting older but he’s still a big body target for Matthew Stafford. If you don’t have Puka Nacua, you better be getting the ball to Adams. And it’s not like Adams is losing his step. According to Fantasy Points, Adams still ranked top 10 in separation score in Week 1. The Rams enter this matchup favored by a touchdown with a 27-point implied team total. I’m not expecting another dud line from Adams for Week 2. 

 

 

 

Mid-Tier & DFS Value Plays for Monday

Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $9,600 | FanDuel: $10,200

Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $4,600 | FanDuel: $7,600

I’m going to lump these two together since this is technically the “Mid-Tier AND DFS Value Plays” section. It’s a great spot for both players as the Giants defense allowed 25.7 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs in 2025 and nobody expected that number to get any better after the team traded Dexter Lawrence in the offseason.

In starting with Kyren Williams, we know he’s the beneficiary of this “60/40” split in terms of backfield touches. He will likely out-touch Corum once again while maintaining a slightly larger role in the passing game after he caught all three of his targets last week. And remember, we just touched on Davante Adams’ odd usage inside the 10-yard-line last week. That’s largely because the Rams were overly committed to running the ball when they got close. A similar game plan could help the Rams backfield.

But if you cannot afford Kyren, then we do get some incredible savings with Blake Corum. Corum is obviously a risk but he still could see 10-to-12 touches in this matchup. At $4,600 on DraftKings, that is a good enough workload where you can use him as a value option with confidence. Corum has the tendency of also being a bit of a touchdown vulture at times, so this is a spot we can play him with more confidence since all of their skill position players could be asked to step up.

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants - DraftKings: $9,400 | FanDuel: $8,800

Skattebo’s usage in Week 1 was promising but there was one glaring hole and that was his involvement in the passing game. According to Fantasy Points, the Giants running backs had the eighth-most expected fantasy points (26.2) and Skatt finished with 81 rushing yards on 18 carries and a touchdown.

However, he had zero involvement in the passing game. The Giants strictly used him as a rusher, while Devin Singletary received all the backfield targets. The lack of receiving usage is a bit concerning. After all, he is coming off an injury and yet was able to carry the ball 18 times last week. He was able to receive both the carries inside the five-yard-line a week ago and those are high-value touches that correlate to touchdown production.

Things can certainly improve but for our MNF DFS picks on this slate, I do think there are more worthwhile plays available to us with a higher ceiling which is why I was hesitant to put Skatt in the section above.

Isaiah Likely, TE, New York Giants – DraftKings: $7,400 | FanDuel: $8,200

Likely had a massive performance in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys to the tune of eight catches on as many targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Six of his catches also went for first downs and he did this while only playing about half of the offensive snaps.

But the reports coming out of training camp were that he looked great. And that certainly correlated to a big performance a week ago. So what should we expect in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams? Well he’s certainly due for a tougher matchup. Even in a blowout loss, the Rams held George Kittle and Luke Farrell to a combined four receptions for 31 yards on seven targets.

But Likely is younger than Kittle and has more explosive big play upside than Farrell. Likely proved to be a nice security blanket for Jaxson Dart in Week 1 and I anticipate that’ll roll over into Monday night’s game. And remember, this is John Harbaugh’s guy. Likely followed Harbaugh to New York from Baltimore and I would anticipate the snap share to grow especially after Theo Johnson was an afterthought in Week 1.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Dart Throw Bargains

Malachi Fields, WR, New York Giants – DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $5,800

Fields is under $6,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel, which makes him an intriguing dart throw option for our NFL DFS Showdown Playbook. With Malik Nabers not getting a full allotment of snaps in Week 1, Fields appeared on 50-of-69 offensive snaps for New York.

Now he only had four targets and he turned those into two receptions for 25 yards. But he was targeted deep and made an impressive diving catch but it went out of bounds. He and Dart even connected on this nice catch-and-run over the middle for a first down last week. Fields also has a big frame that can give him an edge with contested catches. But he is a rookie that’ll likely see his role grow in the offense with each passing week.

If they continue to draw up some creative plays for him, or even just take a couple deep shots on him, then he only need a couple big plays to break the slate and land in the optimal lineup.

Devin Singletary, RB, New York Giants – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $7,200

It is a bit odd that Singletary is listed ahead of Tyrone Tracy on plenty of depth charts and yet DK has Singletary priced this low. He wasn’t efficient as a runner with just 16 rushing yards on six carries. However, he caught all four of his targets against the Dallas Cowboys and turned those into 22 yards and a touchdown.

The poor efficiency does make him a bit of a touchdown-or-bust candidate. But similar to Blake Corum’s outlook, if you have a value running back that is potentially getting 10-to-12 touches, then it becomes difficult to leave them out of our player pool.

The Rams defense was very good against opposing running backs in 2025. But the defensive front looks a bit different this year with no Jared Verse, and Myles Garrett is on injured reserve. I do prefer Corum over Singletary if you were to ask me my favorite backup running back in this game, but if you max enter Showdown contests, you’ll want exposure to both in some capacity.

Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $1,800 | FanDuel: $2,800

The Rams have plenty of value pass catchers that could certainly step up for tonight’s game. Ferguson is the one I’m most interested in highlighting and the pricing on both sites is comically low. While the Rams as a team laid an egg last week, Ferguson did have a 73% route share in the first half before the team mailed it in and didn’t want to risk injuring their starters in a game they were going to lose.

Last year we witnessed a few similar games play out for the Rams in which either Puka Nacua or Davante Adams were unable to suit up. In each of those three games, Ferguson scored a touchdown. And while it’s possible the Rams lean a bit more on 13 personnel (which would benefit all of the Rams tight ends), we also got this report toward the end of August that the Rams were looking to expand Ferguson’s route tree. I’m not anticipating another goose egg from Ferguson as the opportunities are there for him to contribute in this matchup.

 

 

 

Giants vs. Rams DFS Player Pool, 9/21

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