This Sunday night, the NFL presents Draftkings football fans with a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons. Let’s take a look at this NFL game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Atlanta Falcons game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this week’s Kansas City Chiefs vs. Atlanta Falcons matchup.
Draftkings NFL Showdown Picks
Captain-Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs $10,400
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the driving force behind the Kansas City Chiefs success on the offensive side of the football in 2024. That offensive success led the team to a Super Bowl Championship. Having stated that, how did Mahomes perform from a statistical perspective? Let’s review Patrick Mahomes relevant key player game data from the 2023 NFL regular season to answer that question.
In the 16 games that quarterback Patrick Mahomes played for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 NFL regular season, Mahomes averaged an impressive 327.2 passing yards, 2.1 passing touchdowns, and added 33.2 rushing yards a game.
Now that we have determined how Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes played last season, let’s shift our focus to the 2024 NFL regular season. Two weeks ago, in the Chiefs 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Patrick Mahomes accumulated 291 passing yards and one passing touchdown.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Chiefs victory over the Ravens just mentioned, Patrick Mahomes compiled an impressive 16.1 Draftkings points.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NFL showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Having stated that, I am rolling with Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the captain position for this Draftkings DFS Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Kyle Pitts, Tight End, Atlanta Falcons $7,000
For my lead flex play, I am going to take a chance on Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts. In the two games that Pitts has played for the Atlanta Falcons in the 2024 NFL regular season, Pitts has accumulated six receptions, 46 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
I certainly like Pitts from a general matchup perspective. Why? The Chiefs have had issues containing opposing tight ends this season. Let me be more specific. Through two games played in the 2024 NFL regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs are ranked an abysmal 32nd in total Draftkings points allowed to opposing tight ends a game (16.8) Keep in mind that the NFL has 32 teams in the entire league. Clearly, being ranked 32nd in an any defensive category is not good.
In conclusion, I fully expect talented Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts to play at a high level versus a vulnerable Chiefs defense on Sunday night.
Additional flex plays I like to perform well this week (Draftkings price noted): Bijan Robinson, Running Back (Atlanta Falcons) $10,600: Travis Kelce, Tight End (Kansas City Chiefs) $8,200: Rashee Rice, Wide Receiver (Kansas City Chiefs) $9,600: Carson Steele, Running Back (Kansas City Chiefs) $6,400.