You know this game is a big deal when DraftKings makes the Monday Night Showdown slate a rare Monday Night Millionaire contest. Week 3 presents us with another potential shootout as the two best teams in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, have a game total of 55 with the road Ravens favored by 3.5. Let’s look at some players to target in DraftKings’ $2.25 million six-man Showdown slate — with an entry fee of $10 and a first-place prize of $1,000,000 — and who to use in the critical Captain slot:
CAPTAIN OBVIOUS
LAMAR JACKSON, QB, BALTIMORE RAVENS ($19,500), PATRICK MAHOMES, QB, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ($18,000): It stands to reason that one of the two quarterbacks is going to end of us the highest raw-points producer on the slate. You have to figure most lineups will feature both Mahomes and Jackson in the flex spots, because playing both with one in the flex is going to be salary prohibitive. But with the 50-percent bonus for being the captain, should one of them really smash, it’s going to be hard to win without those bonus points. The way to gain leverage over their combined high ownership number is the take advantage of a low captain ownership. There is just enough value (think kickers) to make it work with one QB in the captain and the other in the flex.
TRAVIS KELCE, TE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ($15,000): This one is harder to deploy if you want to play both QBs in the flex spots, but it can be done and Kelce against a defense that has struggled through two games to defend the tight end position is a nice pivot off the quarterbacks. In lineups where only one QB is played, probably Mahomes for the stack effect, the rest of the lineup has considerably more flexibility and is a contrarian play that pays off if the Chiefs dominate the game. Adding in the super-cheap Chiefs defense ($2,600) to this game script adds even more leverage and payroll freedom.
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SAMMY WATKINS, WR, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ($7,500): Watkins practiced in full Saturday, but still has that red “Q” next to his name, which will scare people off of him. But he crushed in the season opener, and if he hits for another big game, playing him as captain is going to break the slate. Not only can you comfortably play the two quarterbacks in this construction, his overall and captain ownership is going to be much lower than his likely production commands.
JUSTIN TUCKER, K, BALTIMORE RAVENS ($6,300): When the best players are considerably more expensive than the middling plays, the best way to gain exposure is to use a low-priced kicker in the captain slot and grab four upper-tier plays. And if Tucker or Harrison Butker ($6,000) hit some 50-yarders, the salary pays off handsomely. This is a game where playing both kickers in the flex, along with the two quarterbacks, is going to be extremely popular.
FLEX MEN
MARK ANDREWS, TE, BALTIMORE RAVENS ($8,000): In constructions featuring Jackson, it stands to reason Andrews will be a popular stacking partner, and is another good captain candidate. He’s coming off a quiet Week 2, so there could be some recency bias to keep his ownership down.
CLYDE EDWARDS-HILARE, RB, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: ($7,800): Betting on a big showing from the running back in a game where the passing game is going to be overwhelmingly targeted is a strong leverage strategy. Correlation with the cheap Chiefs defense also makes sense from a game-script standpoint.
