Sunday Night Showdown Strategy: Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 14 of the NFL season continues with a bang as the Chargers take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. In this article, I’ll share my top DFS showdown picks and strategies for DraftKings and FanDuel, helping you build winning lineups.

For a deeper dive into general showdown rules, make sure to check out David Jones’s “Daily Fantasy Football Showdown: Strategy for Building Winning Lineups” article. It’s essential reading for anyone crafting MME lineups, as player salary and team dynamics can impact each game’s approach.

Link: https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-football-showdown-strategy/

Note on Quarterbacks:

I will not write up the quarterbacks because the wide receiver and tight end section tend to cover the matchups. The QB rankings are at the bottom of the article. 

Los Angeles Chargers

Running Backs

This is a stay-away spot for me this week. With JK Dobbins being placed on IR last week, Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal take over as the stars of the Chargers backfield. Last week against the Falcons the two only combined for 10 carries for 52 yards and neither were able to find the end zone. That was against a Falcon’s run defense that is allowing 87.5 yards per game on the ground. This week, they take on a KC side that is allowing a league-low 57.5 rushing yards per game.

The only exposure I will have of either guy will be in the 20max or higher contest. In SE and 3max I am going to fade this matchup. But with that said if you do want to play one of these backs, I would use Edwards, he played twice the amount of snaps Vidal played, 24:12

Tier 2: Gus Edwards, Kimani Vidal

FADE: Hassan Haskins

Wide Receiver

• The Chiefs have allowed 1602 yards to opposing wide receivers (7th Fewest).
• They are giving up 31.9 DK (13th Fewest).

The Chiefs have been great against opposing wide receivers in fantasy this season. But this is a spot where I would target to attack Kansas City’s defense. The Chargers wide receiver room is led by rookie Ladd McConkey. McConkey was a quarterback’s best friend while in Georgia and has become one in Los Angeles as well. McConkey is leading the Chargers in targets (81), receptions (58), yards (815), FPRR (.54), and YPRR (2.38). He gets a good matchup against Chamarri Conners. Conners is giving up the most fantasy points (.29) and the second most yards (1.34) per route. McConkey should have plenty of opportunities this game as he is a target on 24.9% of his routes and Conners is allowing a target on 18.9% of routes defended which is the seventh highest percentage. 

The number two and three wide receivers for the Chargers are Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer. Palmer has played 39 more snaps than Johnston but Johnston has seen five more targets. Of the two my second receiver for Showdown will be Johnston. He sees more targets per snap played and route ran than Palmer who is only seeing a target on 8.9% of his snaps and 16.3% of his routes. Johnston should also get a softer matchup against Nazeeh Johnson, meanwhile, Palmer should see a lot of Trent McDuffie who has been KC’s best corner allowing the fewest FPRR and YPRR on the team. 

Tier 1: Ladd McConkey

Tier 2: Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer

Punts/Fades: Jalen Raegor, Derius Davis, DJ Chark

Tight End

• The Bills have given 942 receiving yards to tight ends (Most in NFL).
• They are giving up 17 DK (2nd Most).

Will Dissly is my second favorite play on the Chargers behind Ladd McConkey. For how good the Chiefs have been statistically against running backs and wide receivers, they have surprisingly been the worst team against tight end this season. On DraftKings he is the best play under the 5K range and is almost a lock for me in every lineup. He is averaging 4.7 targets per game if we take out last week’s game where he was not really involved.

The only other tight end that has played any role for the Chargers offense over the past three weeks is Tucker Frisk. He has 62 snaps played (34%) over the past three weeks which is only behind Dissly in snaps by a tight end. He is a complete fade in SE and 3max but if you are running a lot of lineups then I would include him in a few.

Tier 1: Will Dissly

Punt/Fade: Tucker Fisk 

Kansas City Chiefs

Running Back

• LA is giving up 20.1 DK per game (7th Fewest).
• They have allowed 1132 rushing yards (16th Fewest).
• They have allowed 365 receiving yards (13th Fewest).

The Chargers have been good against running backs this season, but that is not going to stop me from rostering Pacheco this week in Showdowns. Pacheco made his return last week after missing almost three months of football. He played 37% of the Chiefs snaps and played only one less snap than Hunt who had taken over for him as the starter. Pacheco looked good in his return but it didn’t really show up on the stat sheet. But this is a game where we can see him become the back he was coming into the season prior to the injury. 

I still like Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine a bit for Showdown this week. Both running backs should continue to get touches throughout the game, but I am reserving them for multiple-entry contests since they are not the featured backs. The one running back that might see his touches taken away is Carson Steele. He saw a career-low three snaps last week, and with a healthier Pacheco, I can’t see him regaining his touches unless someone gets injured.

Tier 1: Isiah Pacheco

Tier 2: Kareem Hunt, Samaje Perine

FADE/Punt: Carson Steele

Wide Receiver

• The Chargers have given up 1750 receiving yards to wide receivers (15th Fewest).
• They are giving up 31.9 DK to receivers (12th Fewest).

On the Chiefs, there are only two wide receivers that I like for this showdown slate. The first is their rookie wideout, Xavier Worthy. Worthy has had a solid start to his career, he is leading all KC wide receivers with 407 yards and 33 receptions. He gets a good matchup against LAC’s Tarheeb Still who is allowing the most yards per route ran (1.05) of all LAC DBs and the second most fantasy points (.23). With how KC uses him in both running plays, averages 1 carry per game, and the passing game he has multiple opportunities to have a good DFS day.

The other wide receiver I am targeting for the Chiefs is DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has led the Chiefs in targets since joining them back in Week 8. He has 36 targets in six games (6/game) and is leading the team in receiving yards with 325 yards in those six games. 

Tier 1: Xavier Worthy, DeAndre Hopkins

Tier 2: Juju Smith-Schuster

Punt: Justin Watson

Tight End

• The Chargers have given up 546 receiving yards to tight ends (12th Fewest).
• They are allowing 10.5 DK per game (8th Fewest).

Everyone knows how good Travis Kelce is and I will not say no to anyone who wants to roster him this week. But his number two Noah Gray has been one of the best tight ends over the past month. In the past three weeks, Gray has 12 receptions for 147 yards and four touchdowns. He has three fewer receptions than Kelce in that span but has more receiving yards and touchdowns. He is still clearly the number two tight end since he has 10 fewer targets in that span as well, but he is still averaging 5 targets a game and at $4400 on DraftKings, you can do a lot worse.

Tier 1:Travis Kelce

Tier 2: Noah Gray

FanDuel MVP and DraftKings CPT Picks—SNF Showdown 

I want a high-usage player at MVP on FanDuel like a quarterback or a workhorse running back. You need the highest-scoring player, not the best value. The salaries do not change from flex to MVP on FanDuel, so the value at the MVP is not a priority. Take the points up top. 

On DraftKings, you look for the best “value” in the mid to high price range. 

FanDuel

DraftKings

Flex Tier 1:

• Ladd McConkey
• Isiah Pacheco
• Justin Herbert
• Patrick Mahomes
• Travis Kelce
• DeAndre Hopkins
• Xavier Worthy
• Will Dissly
• Noah Gray
• Cameron Dicker
• Matthew Wright
• Quentin Johnston

Flex Tier 2/Punts:

• Chargers D/ST
• Chiefs D/ST
• Joshua Palmer
• Kareem Hunt
• Justin Watson
• Gus Edwards
• Tucker Fisk
• Kimani Vidal
• Same Perine
• Jalen Reagor
• Juju Smith-Schuster

Favorite prop for the game: Ladd McConkey Over 60.5 Receiving Yards (-110)