Week 1 Thursday Night Showdown on DraftKings
Lions Vs Chiefs DraftKings Showdown
Showdown Captain mode is a DraftKings tournament where you have $50,000 to create a lineup using 6 players from a standalone single game. One of those players will be your captain. The captain costs 1.5 times their salary and will accumulate 1.5 times the points. As with every slate, GAME THEORY IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. Even more so in Showdown, you want your lineup to tell a story of how the game will go. There are a lot of options based on how you see the game going but ALWAYS make sure there’s correlation between your players.
Lions vs Chiefs
Spread: KC -4.5
Over/Under: 52.5
Injuries to Monitor
Travis Kelce– Kelce Hyper-Extended his knee in practice and is listed as questionable for the game
Kadarius Toney- Toney is still dealing with his knee injury but looks like he’s ready for this game.
Breakdown
I know I’m not the only one who’s ecstatic that football is back. We get what should be an exciting matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs. With this being the season opener, we’ll have to rely on last year’s statistics and this year’s projections. Let’s dive into what these teams did last season.
Kansas City is the reigning Super Bowl Champion and lead the league with 29.2 points per game. They were 1st in passing yards per game and 5th in passing attempts. They were bottom 10 in rushing attempts per game.
Defensively the Chiefs allowed the 15th most points per game. They allowed the 12th most passing yards per game and the 8th fewest rushing yards per game.
The Detroit Lions averaged 26.6 points per game which was 5th most in the league and increased significantly from 19.1 in 2021. The Lions finished with the 251.8 passing yards per game which was 8th most in the league. They were basically middle of the pack as rush attempts per game.
The Lions were bottom 5 in points per game allowed last season. They allowed 246 passing yards per game which was 3rd most in the league. They were also bottom five in rushing yards allowed per game.
Let’s get into some strategy for setting lineups. A lot of the contests on DraftKings are large fields so I will personally have a lot of lineups. Most people are going to focus on the passing attacks for both teams. There will be plenty of Mahomes Kelce stacks with a shotgun approach to the ancillary receivers. The focus on the Lions side will likely be Amon Ra and the RBS. I’ll attack this game in many different ways including the possibility of it being a shootout.
As far as captains go Mahomes and Amon Ra are likely the best option but are also the most expensive and will be the most popular. I’ll use them in some lineups but actually will focus quite a bit in the RBs from both sides especially in larger fields. I like pairing Gibbs/Montgomery in lineups with the potential for the Lions to go with a run heavy approach. Kelce is very risky but if he plays it probably lowers his ownership significantly.
You can sprinkle in the Kickers and they could easily outscore some of these receivers. I’m likely out on the defenses but would only consider KC.
Captain/Flex
Amon Ra St Brown $15,300/$10,200
Amon Ra will be the focal point for the Lions and there’s a $3k savings from Mahomes in the captain spot.
Last year he had a 28% target share and 31.8% target per routes run which was 2nd highest in the league. He was one of only eight WRs with over 100 receptions.
Jahmyr Gibbs $12,300/$8,200
The Lions drafted Gibbs very high despite not having a glaring need at RB. They have a plan for him both rushing and receiving and he has big play upside.
The Chiefs allowed the most receptions to opposing RBs last season.
David Montgomery $9,900/$6,600
Montgomery is a great addition to this Lions offense and offers more versatility than Williams did last year.
Williams had 262 carries, and set a record for most carries inside the 5 yard line. Montgomery will likely be the preferred goaline back and even if he doesn’t see the opportunities that Williams did he’ll still get plenty of work.
It also makes sense for the Lions to establish the run to keep the Kansas City offense on the sidelines.
Patrick Mahomes $18,300/$12,200
He’s Patrick Mahomes. Do I really have to make a case for him? He’s the clear option for KC but will have extremely high ownership.
Isiah Pacheco $10,200/$6,800
Pacheco should be the head of this committee. He lead the backfield in carries, yards and rushing TDs last year averaging just under five yards a carry.
The Lions allowed the 4th most rushing yards per game and 2nd most yards per carry last season.
Jerick McKinnon $8,400/$5,600
McKinnon had a 22.5% target share inside the redzone last season. That was higher than Kelce. If Kelce is out he will likely be the go to guy on 3rd downs and in the redzone.
I’ll consider him as an option at captain only of Kelce is out.
The Rest
Travis Kelce $12,000
Kelce is the clear number one on this team. For that reason I think you can make a case for using him without Mahomes. I’m very concerned that he is only used as a decoy or is very limited so I won’t use him at Captain.
Last year Kelce had a 25% target share and lead the league in red zone targets. He also had the most TDs inside the 10 yard line. When they get in close he’s getting opportunities.
Jared Goff $9,400
Goff is coming off his 2nd best season of his career throwing for 4,400 yards and 29 TDs. He threw for multiple TDs in nine games last year.
The Chiefs allowed the 3rd most points and most passing TDs to opposing QBs last season.
Marvin Jones $6,200
Jones is clearly passed his prime but can certainly deliver on a one game slate especially considering the lack of depth at receiver behind Amon Ra.
He could still provide some big play opportunities. Last year he had an average depth of target of 13.1 yards and accounted for 26.7% of Jacksonville’s air yards.
Sam LaPorta $5,000
Although it’s hard to rely on rookie TEs, LaPorta could have a large roll right out of the gate.
While Hockenson was a Lion last season he received only one less target than Amon Ra and had 40 more receiving yards over that span.
KC Receivers
We saw Mahomes spread the ball around to many receivers last year so it’s hard to go all in on one of them. My order of preference is
Kadarius Toney $7,000
Toney would be my preferred option of the KC receivers because of his upside. He could be on a pitch count and could get hurt on any play but he is used when on the field.
Last season including playoff games, he was targeted on 30% of his routes run. They specifically design plays to get the ball in his hand
Sky Moore $4,800
Moore should have plenty of opportunities and will likely have the most consistent role of the WRs. However he only eclipsed 40 yards once last year so he needs to take a big step forward.
Marquez Valdez Scantling $5,400
MVS will likely be the lowest owned of the KC receivers. He can pay off on one play. Last year he averaged 16.4 yards per reception and led the team air yards.
Rashee Rice $4,600
I lean Rice only because of the unknown. We’ve seen these other guys look downright terrible at times so I’m willing to bet on Rice. He will see less playing time than the others though.
Justin Watson $200
Really its the price and the fact that he’ll see the most snaps behind Sky and MVS.
Noah Gray $2,400
If Kelce is out he will be popular. At this price point he could be a good play. He’s showed redzone upside in the past but I would pump the breaks on anyone thinking he just steps into Kelce’s role. I actually like Gray more if Kelce is in with the possibility Kelce could be very limited and it will lower Gray’s ownership.
Clyde Edwards Helaire $3,600
CEH was actually used quite a bit early last year before getting injured and he’s being completely written off. He has a chance at a TD at low owership and a good price.
Through the first three weeks of last season he led the backfield in carries, averaged 5.3 yards per carry and scored three TDs.
Josh Reynolds $2,800/ Kalif Raymond $800
Reynolds will get more playing time and likely more targets and Raymond has the big play upside. Both are viable low priced plays.
Blake Bell $200
If Kelce is out Bell will get opportunities and always has a chance at a TD. This price allows for some very interesting roster possibilities.
Richie James
Justin Ross
You’re hoping for a TD
RANKINGS | DYNASTY | Weekly |
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