DraftKings Showdown Cheat Sheet: Bucs-Cowboys Captain Call
By Sam Smith
October 8, 2026
Javonte Williams is my Captain for Buccaneers at Cowboys, the Week 5 Thursday night game on October 8 at 8:15 p.m. ET, and this DraftKings NFL Showdown cheat sheet makes the case. He leads Captain Exposures in the Stokastic Sims at 23.3%, six points clear of Jalon Daniels, with Dak Prescott, the top projection at 22.1, third at 12.7%.
The Quick Answer
My core build is Captain Williams at $16,200 with Prescott, Daniels, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy and Luke Schoonmaker under him. Baker Mayfield is listed Out on the ESPN report, so Daniels, a rookie, is the Tampa Bay quarterback, and how much of him you carry decides the build.
The Thursday Night Board
| Panel | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Flex Projections | Prescott 22.1 | CeeDee Lamb 19.6 | Williams 19.3 |
| Flex Ownership | Prescott 54.7% | Daniels 52.1% | Lamb 41.1% |
| Flex Exposures | Prescott 64.7% | Daniels 51.3% | Williams 37.3% |
| Captain Exposures | Williams 23.3% | Daniels 17.3% | Prescott 12.7% |
| Top Values | Flournoy 2.21 | Daniels 2.14 | Prescott 2.13 |
| Leverage Plays | Tyler Goodson 10.70% | Williams (Captain) 9.90% | Prescott 9.30% |
Ownership is what the field is projected to roster. Top-150 exposure is how often a player shows up in the Sims' 150 best lineups.
Lamb is the row I keep coming back to, and he is on neither exposure panel above: third in ownership at 41.1% against 31.3% top-150 Flex exposure, so the field is nearly 10 points heavier on him than the Sims are. Brandon Aubrey is 32.3% owned and misses both panels too, so I am under the field on the kicker.
Why The Sims Land On Williams
With Mayfield Out and a rookie starting, the game the Sims keep producing has Dallas leading late and Williams taking the carries. Prescott is the better projection, and the Sims use him more than the field does: 64.7% top-150 Flex exposure against 54.7% ownership, the highest exposure on the board. That is a good play rather than a leverage play, which is why his 9.30% sits in the FLEX and the Captain tag goes to Williams. Stokastic Sims run this one game tens of thousands of times, and the Leverage Plays panel comes back with three Cowboys on top: Goodson at 10.70%, Williams at Captain at 9.90% and Prescott at 9.30%, each carried more often by the Sims than by the field. Goodson at $2,000 is the same read: Cowboys running backs, plural.
Worked Example: Williams To $49,000
- Williams at Captain costs $16,200, his $10,800 at 1.5x, the multiplier his points get too.
- Prescott ($10,400), Daniels ($8,600) and Pickens ($9,400) in the FLEX, running total $44,600.
- Flournoy ($3,800) and Schoonmaker ($600). Final: $49,000.
That leaves $1,000 and no room for Lamb ($11,800). Pickens is $2,400 cheaper, outside the top five in ownership against Lamb's 41.1%, and leaves room for the two value plays. The tournament build drops Daniels, Flournoy and Schoonmaker for Goodson ($2,000), the Buccaneers defense ($3,000, the highest-leverage Tampa Bay piece on the board at 8.50%) and Bucky Irving ($8,400) as the bring-back: $49,400. Daniels sits level with the field in the FLEX, 51.3% against 52.1% owned, and is still the No. 2 Captain at 17.3%, so the fade is my call, not the board's; the defense fighting Prescott is a cost I accept in one game. The NFL DFS projections, ownership and stacks in the DataHub carry the rest of the board, Chris Godwin Jr. at 5.60% leverage included.
The cheat sheet is free; the NFL DFS hub lists every live NFL page. The Sims behind it are paid, and code CHEAT takes 10% off your first payment on Stokastic NFL DFS packages. 21+, play responsibly.
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