Ivan Herrera 
Welcome to the Christmas Day slate of the NFL season. Both games on the slate have playoff implications so expect the four teams fighting for a playoff spot to treat this game as a do-or-die situation.
Happy Holidays to everyone! Hope you enjoy your day.
The purpose of this article is to break down the best plays both on the DFS and betting sides. The article will include my favorite plays and honorable mentions for every DFS position. You can also find my favorite bets under Drago’s Best Bets section at the end of the article.
The QBs:
Lamar Jackson ($8000DK, $8600FD)
Starting with the best quarterback on the slate, Jackson is in play on Christmas Day. This is a do-or-die game for the Ravens, as a win will give them a chance to lead the AFC North if Pittsburgh loses to Kansas City earlier in the day. Stix’s model has Jackson as the highest scorer on the slate. The Texans are allowing the 13th most fantasy points against fantasy QBs and have given up an average of 17.9 points to opposing QBs this season.
Who to pair him with: Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers, Isaiah Likely
Patrick Mahomes ($6500DK, $7500FD)
The ankle did not seem to hinder Mahomes at all last week as he had his third-best fantasy day of the season. The Christmas Day game against the Steelers will be a tough test for Mahomes as they are the 5th best fantasy defense against QBs. They are allowing only 16 points to opposing quarterbacks. This is a big game for KC as a win will secure them the 1st seed in the AFC and will allow them to rest players in the final week of the season if they want to. I’m expecting Mahomes and the Chiefs to go out and try to secure this win so that Mahomes can rest for two weeks and get back to 100%.
Who to pair him with: Travis Kelce. Xavier Worthy. DeAndre Hopkins
Honorable Mentions: CJ Stroud. Russell Wilson
The RBs:
Joe Mixon ($7700DK, $8000FD)
If you had been on Discord on the 24th or today you would have seen Jason post his Mixon receiving ladder and I for one am following him. Mixon has been a great running back in his season with the Texans and he has been doing it both in the running and passing game. He is averaging 104.8 rushing plus receiving yards per game. On Christmas Day he takes on a Baltimore defense that is allowing the second-fewest rushing yards (65.5) but is also allowing the third-most receiving yards to running backs (42.1). With the injury to Tank Dell last week, we should see Mixon get more touches in the passing game as Nico Collins is the only active wide receiver with over 25 targets.
Derrick Henry ($8200DK, $9200FD)
Staying in the Houston vs Baltimore game, my RB2 on the slate is Derrick Henry. Henry had his best fantasy day since Week 9 last week against the Steelers where he ran for 162 and had 27 receiving yards. He looks to keep the momentum going this week against the Texans. Houston is allowing the seventh-fewest total yards to opposing running backs at 1657 yards (1227 rushing, 430 receiving). While I think it’ll be a tough game for Henry, he should be able to get enough touches to finish with a great fantasy day.
Honorable Mentions: Isiah Pacheco. Jaylen Warren. Kareem Hunt.
The WRs:
Nico Collins ($8100DK, 9100FD)
Like I mentioned above with Joe Mixon, the Houston receiver room is hurting with Nico Collins being their only active wide receiver from the original top three when the season started. Collins is averaging 8.8 targets per game and has 43 in Houston’s five games since returning from injury. Collins has the seventh-highest target % in the league with a target % of 29.2% and he is second in the league in FPRR with .67. He gets a good matchup against Brandon Stephens of Baltimore. Stephens is allowing the highest target % (17%) and fantasy points (.32). With no other real option at wide receiver for the Texans I expect Collins to see a season-high target number.
Xavier Worthy ($5600DK, $6600FD)
Worthy has been great for the Chiefs in his rookie season. His production didn’t take a hit with Hollywood Brown returning. He has seen back-to-back season-high 11 targets and has turned those 22 targets into 13 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. He has also seen three rushing attempts in back-to-back games for 40 yards and a score. While the Pittsburgh defense has been good this season, I still like Worthy for how he can be used in different ways. Worthy should see a lot of Cam Sutton who lines up as the Slot Corner 93% of the time. Sutton is a good matchup for him as he is allowing a Texan-high .4 fantasy points per route covered.
Honorable Mentions: DeAndre Hopkins. George Pickens. Zay Flowers. Rashod Bateman.
Value WRs: Xavier Hutchinson. Hollywood Brown. John Metchie III. Robert Woods. Calvin Austin III
The TEs
Mark Andrews ($4300 DK, $6100 FD)
Andrews is always in play and on Christmas Day it is no different. Andrews has had a great four-game stretch, he isaveraging 14.7 DraftKing points. He is going to face the Texans who are allowing the seventh fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Last week with no Dionate Johnson (Now released) and no Nelson Agholor (injury) Andrews was second in targets only two behind Zay Flowers. For Baltimore to have a shot to beat Houston they will likely have to rely on Andrews.
Honorable Mentions: Travis Kelce. Dalton Schultz. Isaiah Likely. Pat Freiermuth
Drago’s Best Bets:
- Kansas City -3 (+100) vs Pittsburgh Steelers
- Baltimore Ravens -5.5 (-105) vs Houston Texans
- DeAndre Hopkins 40+ Receiving Yards (+105)
- Mark Andrews 40+ Receiving Yards (-105)
Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Ivan (idrago15) will be there answering questions all day and all night! Follow Ivan on Twitter @idragol15 and be sure to be on the lookout for future articles at https://windailysports.com/nfl/
