How to Play DraftKings Reignmakers on a Budget

We are just one day away from the NFL season starting, and recent improvements to DraftKings Reignmakers have certainly contributed to the excitement. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or this is your first time hearing about it, this article aims to provide valuable insights and actionable tips on getting started on a budget.

If this isn't your first time playing Reignmakers and you're looking to prepare for Week 1 with some portfolio updates or lineup adjustments, you've come to the right place. In this article, we'll discuss some of the best ways to upgrade your lineups at specific dollar intervals. We'll cover each of the first three tiers: CORE, RARE, and ELITE. Let's dive in.

Step 1: Determine Your Investment Level 

The first step in your DraftKings Reignmakers journey is to determine how much money you want to invest, if any at all. Yes, if any at all. This year DraftKings is offering everyone an opportunity to get a pack for free this year, and this pack will include all players playing in the Sunday Classic slate, which includes either the 1:00 PM or 4:00 PM games on Sunday. You'll get to choose your star quarterback, and from there, you'll receive another six cards, all of which can be entered into the Sunday contest and usable throughout the rest of the year. 

Therefore, if you want to test the waters without committing a significant amount of capital. You should start here, with our guide to claiming your free pack. 

DraftKings has placed a significant emphasis this year on making these packs stronger, both in terms of the average points per game for the players included and the ability to create a full lineup from the pack.

Now this is where how much money you plan to invest will come into play. If the plan is to not invest any at all then working off of these seven cards is what we'll go with we're going to enter the best lineup we can and either choose to try and build our portfolio through the contest in which everybody is guaranteed to win or try our hand at a more rewarding contest Which features the possibility of a higher return but also a greater chance of no return at all.

Step 2: Utilizing the Free Pack and Considering Low-Cost Options

For those who want to invest some money, let's start with an example at a $50 investment and work our way up to the RARE tier, where you can win $10,000 as a first-place prize this week. Utilizing the free starter pack and our choice of quarterback will help us decide which players we should target to add to our portfolio.

For example, if we choose Lamar Jackson as our quarterback, one of the first targets we should consider is Mark Andrews. Andrews, a tight end, has been Jackson's favorite target over the last few years, and typically, when Lamar has a good game throwing the ball, Andrews has a good game catching it. Currently, his floor price at the CORE level is $7.47.

So, here’s our lineup, as it stands, assuming we can use ONE other player from the starter pack in this lineup.

• QB: Lamar Jackson (from pack)
• RB: TBD
• WR: TBD
• WR/TE: Mark Andrews, $7.50
• Flex: (from Pack)

Now, we have two spots remaining to fill, and a budget of around $43 to do it. Depending on who you are using from the pack, the most likely dispersion is at least one more RB and WR to complete the lineup. So, for the classic slate, here are the top 5 projected players for the slate...You can find more like this in our premium tool offerings (which are free for Week 1 with code 'FTRM'). 

Scouring the DraftKings Marketplace, I've also listed respective prices next to each player. 

Running Backs:

• Josh Jacobs- $19.50
• Bijan Robinson- $15.99
• Rahmondre Stevenson- $9.85
• Derrick Henry- $8.50
• Kenneth Walker- $6.49

Wide Receivers:

• A.J. Brown- $19.95
• Jalyen Waddle- $14.00
• Chris Olave- $12.00
• Devonta Smith- $12.00
• Calvin Ridley - $11,00

After considering these options to fill around our free pack, you can build a roster like the following for $50. 

Final Roster:

• QB: Lamar Jackson (from pack)
• RB: Josh Jacobs (bought on marketplace for $20.00)
• WR: A.J. Brown (bought on marketplace for $20.00)
• WR/TE: Mark Andrews (bought on marketplace for $7.50)
• Flex: (from pack)

Even if you decide to go with Josh Jacobs and A.J. Brown, you'd still be under your $50 budget for the three cards you need for the lineup.

Depending on the quarterback you chose for your FREE starter pack, it will dictate who else you should target in your lineup. If you are staying at the CORE tier, then these are the players to target with each corresponding quarterback:

• QB Justin Fields, WR D.J. Moore
• QB Justin Herbert, WR Mike Williams
• QB Joe Burrow, WR Ja’Marr Chase
• QB Lamar Jackson, TE Mark Andrews

*Because you’ve used Lamar Jackson who has SuperStar status you cannot use another player with the same status.

Step 3: Leveling up a TIER

Now, let’s say you’d like to invest a little more money and play at the RARE tier, where you can win $10,000 as a first-place prize in Week 1! If you haven’t selected your starter pack yet, this is where you’d rather select either Joe Burrow or Justin Fields. The reason behind this is because you can take that CORE card and play it up at the RARE level. If this is a bit beyond the scope of understanding, stay tuned for a more in-depth DraftKings Reignmakers NFL guide. 

Beyond our free quarterback, we’ll need to buy four more RARE cards to make a lineup, so the investment does jump considerably from "free" or $50 to well over $300 for an optimal or near-optimal lineup. Let’s take a look:

• QB: Joe Burrow (free with pack)
• RB: Josh Jacobs ($68.00)
• WR: Ja’Marr Chase ($74)
• WR/TE: A.J. Brown ($105)
• FLEX: Bijan Robinson ($105)

Total Spend: $354.00

Additional Targets

Now, before we leave you, it’s not every time that an optimally projected lineup wins. So, here are some of the top values for Week 1 according to our yearly projected points. You can find all of these players and beyond on the DraftKings Marketplace, and monitor their price movements for something that fits your budget range. 

QBs:

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Kenny Pickett
3. Mac Jones
4. Jimmy Garoppolo
5. Derek Carr

RBs:

1. Aaron Jones
2. Kenneth Walker III
3. Kahlil Herbert
4. Kenneth Gainwell
5. Ramondre Stevenson 

WRs:

1. K. J. Osborn
2. Brandin Cooks
3. Rashod Bateman
4. Jakobi Meyrs
5. Christian Watson

TEs:

1. Juwan Johnson
2. Tyler Higbee
3. Noah Fant
4. Pat Freiermuth
5. Jake Ferguson

Check out all of these players and more on the player page found here.

Ready to upgrade your Reignmakers experience? Then check out all of our Premium Reignmaker offerings, that includes our Optimizer that makes the lineups for you! Check it out here.