The final game of Week 9 on Monday Night Football is a matchup between the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will try to piece together enough offense to hand the defending champs their first loss since Christmas Day of last year. You can get your lineup locked in for another shot at DFS success in single-game Showdown contests, highlighted by the NFL Showdown $1.25M Sunday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (TB @ KC). It’s a star-studded matchup, but my favorite Captain’s Pick strategy is to go with Cade Otton ($12,600 in Captain’s Pick) as a great blend of low-risk and high-upside.
Here’s why I think Otton makes the most sense:
Cade Otton’s heavy usage
The Buccaneers will be without at least their top two wide receivers with Chris Godwin (knee) out for the season and Mike Evans (hamstring) on IR. They also listed Jalen McMillan ($6,200; hamstring) and Sterling Shepard ($5,600) as questionable, which could leave them even more short-handed in terms of pass catchers.
Evans was injured early in Week 7, and Otton stepped up with eight catches on 10 targets for 100 yards and 21 fantasy points against the Ravens. With Godwin and Evans both out last week, Otton had 10 more targets and hauled in nine catches for 81 yards and scored two touchdowns for a total of 29.1 fantasy points.
Even before Evans and Godwin were out, Otton was one of the favorite targets for QB Baker Mayfield ($9,600). Otton has averaged 7.8 targets in the last six games and has double-digit fantasy points in four of those six contests.
Cade Otton’s smash spot
With so much volume coming his way and back-to-back weeks of 20+ fantasy points, Otton would be a strong play in almost any matchup. His matchup with the Chiefs, though, makes him the best option as a Captain’s Pick.
Coming into Week 9, no team had given up more DraftKings points per game to tight ends than the Chiefs. Opposing tight ends have averaged 80.9 receiving yards per game against the Chiefs. Brock Bowers and George Kittle have each had big games in the last two weeks against Kansas City, which has been very effective against running backs.
Lineup Construction Blueprint
With Otton as the Captain’s Pick, there are many different paths to explore with your FLEX spots. Mayfield makes sense as a stacking piece since he will be throwing passes to Otton, but after that, there are so many different ways to go.
If you want to lean into the Bucs, you can include almost anyone from their entire offense. If you choose to build in some Chiefs, you can include Patrick Mahomes ($10,000), Travis Kelce ($8,800) and DeAndre Hopkins ($7,000), along with Baker and Otton while still having $2,000 for your last spot. If you leave Hopkins out, you can include kickers or defense options.
If you’re looking for bargain pieces to round out your roster, Buccaneers’ WR Trey Palmer ($4,000) is definitely worth a look if McMillan and Shepard are out. Chiefs backup TE Noah Gray ($2,800) is also a sneaky play with multiple catches in four straight games.
Another important injury situation to watch for potential value will be in the Bucs’ backfield, where Bucky Irving ($7,200; toe) is questionable. If Irving is out, Sean Tucker ($2,600) could get a chance to shine. He had a massive 37.2 fantasy points against the Saints in Week 6, but he hasn’t been able to get consistent work with Irving and Rachaad White ($7,400) ahead of him on the depth chart.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
