DraftKings NFL Showdown Picks & DFS Lineups for TNF Chiefs vs. Broncos

Getty Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs

DraftKings NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown is open for entry now as the Kansas City Chiefs look to get back to their winning ways after dropping two consecutive games. Standing in their way will be the division rival Denver Broncos.

The first place prize winner of the DraftKings TNF Showdown will receive a generous $300K payout. Let’s see how to optimize our lineups below.

Rules & Scoring:

    • Six total players (one captain, five flex players)
    • Captain selection cost 1.5x standard salary
    • Captain scores 1.5x fantasy point values
    • Can choose from any position (QB, RB, WR, TE, K, DST)
    • You can use as many players at the same position as you’d like
    • $50,000 salary cap

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Roster Construction

  • Captain: Phillip Lindsay $13,200
  • FLEX: Patrick Mahomes $12,000
  • FLEX: Tyreek Hill $11,200
  • FLEX: Courtland Sutton $7,600
  • FLEX: Noah Fant $3,400
  • FLEX: Darrel Williams $2,000

Why this Lineup?

After struggles early in the season, Phillip Lindsay has been brilliant as of late. The Broncos running back has averaged 24+ points in three of his past four contests. Kansas City allows the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs this year.

To take into consideration how wonderful Patrick Mahomes is, he’s played well below his standards the past three weeks, yet is still the seventh-highest scoring player at his position over that span. Denver may surrender the third-fewest points to QBs this season, but they’ve beat up on the likes of Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill, Mitchell Trubisky, and a struggling Philip Rivers.

Tyreek Hill was out-snapped by fellow receivers Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle, and Mecole Hardman in his return to the playing field a week ago. All he did with his limited snaps was produce 10 receptions, two touchdowns, and 25 fantasy points. His usage will almost undoubtedly increase on Thursday night.

Courtland Sutton has turned the corner this season after an up-and-down rookie campaign. The Broncos pass-catcher has averaged 18+ fantasy points in five of six games in 2019. He’s also yet to see less than seven targets in any contest this year. KC has seen their issues this season guarding big-bodied wideouts. Kenny Golladay and Tyrell Williams combined for three receiving touchdowns against them earlier this year.

Noah Fant makes our lineup based on his tremendous upside and superb matchup. The Chiefs allow the sixth-most fantasy points to the tight end position this season. With Emmanuel Sanders active, yet hobbled, Fant could see his target share increase vs. the Chiefs.

Darrel Williams is our flyer for Thursday night, as we are strapped on remaining salary. The Chiefs have begun to phase out fellow running back Damien Williams. The team averaged 85 more rushing yards when Damien Williams was out of the lineup and Darrel Williams was featured in the run game.


Final Thoughts & Obvious Omissions

The most glaring omission for our Thursday night lineup have to be Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. However, Kelce’s nearly $10,000 salary was a steep price for a player who’s averaged just 10.4 fantasy points over the past two weeks. Denver also allows just 8.03 points to tight ends this season.

Some may be wondering why plug in Mahomes as a flex, and not in the captain slot. If we rolled with Mahomes as our captain, his salary would have bumped up to $18,000 extremely hindering our remaining salary to spread out over a well-rounded roster. Instead, by plugging in Lindsay, we were able to grab Mahomes, as well as two number one receivers, Tyreek Hill and Courtland Sutton.

Reminder, the game kicks off on Thursday at 8:20 pm ET. Be sure to set your lineups, and good luck!

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