Bears vs. Vikings DFS Picks: Best MNF DraftKings, FanDuel lineups for Showdown games

It turned out to be one heck of an exciting opening weekend of the 2025 NFL season, capped off by an incredible Bills vs. Ravens game on Sunday Night Football. One more game awaits, as the Bears officially kick off the Ben Johnson era at home against the division-rival Vikings. Time to roll out some DFS picks and sleepers!

Caleb Williams has certainly been set up for success in his sophomore season. Chicago rebuilt his offensive line, drafted pass-catchers Luther Burden and Colston Loveland, and brought in the most coveted coach of the offseason. Can Johnson, the former architect of the vaunted Lions offense, help his QB reach the potential everyone saw in him when the Bears selected him No. 1 in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Speaking of potential, don't sleep on Minnesota. Kevin O'Connell helped Sam Darnold enjoy a career year and lead the Vikings to a 14-3 record last season, and now he hopes to do the same with J.J. McCarthy under center. Of course, having Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones as targets will help, just like Williams will enjoy D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and D'Andre Swift.

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Enough name-dropping — let's get to our daily fantasy selections. Most of you already know the deal with this column: we highlight the players with the best chance of optimizing your DFS lineups for single-game contests. That means one fantasy football lineup for DraftKings Showdown contests, and one lineup for FanDuel single-game tournaments. Quick and easy, just like that final drive by the Bills last night (sorry, Baltimore fans!).

The points should be plentiful in this primetime NFC North clash, so it should be no surprise to anyone that the Friday night DFS tournaments have been generating plenty of interest. If you're getting in on the action, check out our optimal lineups for DraftKings Showdown and FanDuel single-game contests below.

Bears vs. Vikings NFL DFS picks: Optimal DraftKings Showdown lineup

Before we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They're full-point PPR, and they feature three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player's original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.

Captain: Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings ($16,200)

Sometimes, ya just gotta pick the best player in the game for your Captain spot. J-Jets should be flying all over the field tonight, and the fact that linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and Jaylon Johnson (groin) are both hurt makes us even more confident in the All-Pro receiver.

Let's not forget Jefferson averaged over 19 DK points per game last season, and now he's not sharing targets with suspended wideout Jordan Addison. Fire up the Jet.

FLEX 1: D.J. Moore, WR, Bears ($9,600)

It's easy to like Caleb Williams to take a step forward in Year 2, especially with actual pass protection and a stellar offensive play-caller. However, Rome (Odunze?) wasn't built in a day. The QB who had the lowest average depth of target last season isn't going to suddenly start launching the ball downfield multiple times per drive.

Moore is the safety valve Williams needs to get things going, whether it be via screen passes, short and intermediate routes and even end-arounds. The veteran receiver always seems involved, and he's the Bear who brings us the most confidence on Monday Night Football.

FLEX 2: Aaron Jones Sr., RB, Vikings ($7,400)

There's been a lot of hype about Jordan Mason of late, but remember that Tank Bigsby got a lot of hype leading up to Jacksonville's season-opener — and Tank wound up with six total carries. Mason should have a larger role than that — especially on the goal line — but we fully expect Jones Sr. to command the lion's share of the touches out of the Vikings' backfield.

The Bears gave up the fifth-most DK points to running backs last season, and Jones had 235 total yards and two TDs against them last season. Don't overthink this one.  

FLEX 3: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Vikings ($6,600)

As you might have guessed, we like the Vikings to win this game — unlike nearly three-quarters of bettors as of Monday afternoon. Hock will serve as the de facto No. 2 target for McCarthy with Addison suspended, and Chicago was a bottom-10 defense against tight ends last season.

The big man in the middle should feast in the Windy City.  

FLEX 4: Minnesota Vikings D/ST ($5,400)

Like we've already mentioned, rebuilds in Chicago don't happen overnight — even with the most coveted architect manning the ship. Caleb Williams will make plenty of mistakes, and D'Andre Swift isn't exactly a world-beater at this stage of his career.

The Vikings had some very promising moments on defense last season, finishing in the top five in points allowed and No. 1 in defensive interceptions. This D/ST will put up points tonight, enough to make $5,400 look like a bargain by the final whistle.

FLEX 5: Luther Burden III, WR, Bears ($4,600)

We have the Vikings getting out to a big lead, so Williams will likely need to throw the ball downfield to try to get Chicago back into the game.

Burden has a combination of speed and strength that will make him a strong target in big-play passing attempts. It's a boom-or-bust pick, but you won't find a higher-upside MNF play at $4,600.

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Bears vs. Vikings NFL DFS picks: Optimal FanDuel single-game lineup

Here are the key scoring settings for FanDuel single-game tournaments: They're half-point PPR with three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, or 100 receiving yards. The MVP pick multiplies that player's total by 1.5 and, for the first time, the MVP pick also costs 1.5 times that player's salary.

We took a similar approach with our FanDuel lineup — which follows the expected game script of Minnesota controlling the game and Chicago trying to get back into it via the passing game — but we had to roll with Bears TE Cole Kmet to afford our top four targets.

It's possible Kmet gets some love from Williams as an additional check-down option, especially considering he's a trusted veteran, while Loveland will be playing his first NFL regular-season game. The Vikings were also below average in terms of defending the tight-end position last season, so the upside is there. If we win prizes for tonight's game, though, it will be thanks to the big dogs at the top of our lineup going off.