The Chiefs and Chargers clash in Kansas City on Sunday night to wrap up a colossal day of NFL contests. As you build your DFS entries for Showdown contests like the NFL Showdown $1M Sunday Night Showdown [$250K to 1st] (LAC @ KC), both teams offer several strong options to consider for your Captain’s Pick at 1.5x the salary and 1.5x the points. My top two options are Isiah Pacheco ($12,000 as Captain’s Pick) of the Chiefs and Will Dissly ($7,200 as Captain’s Pick) of the Chargers.
Of the two options, Dissly is more of a high-risk flier that leaves plenty of salary for your FLEX spots while Pacheco brings a very high ceiling and could have lower ownership since he’s still just working his way back from an injury.
Here’s a deeper look at why I like these Captain’s Picks and how I’d go about building a lineup from top to bottom:
Isiah Pacheco as a Captain’s Pick
Pacheco showed off his explosiveness last Black Friday against the Raiders, totaling 44 yards on seven carries and adding a five-yard catch as well. He had 5.9 fantasy points while playing 26 snaps (37%) in his return from a 10-game absence.
Early in the season, Pacheco clearly was the Chiefs’ top back, going off for 15.8 and 16.1 fantasy points before sustaining a fractured fibula in a win over the Bengals.
While Pacheco was out, the team added Kareem Hunt ($6,400), who was still involved and had seven carries for 15 yards while playing 38% of snaps. Hunt is expected to stay in a timeshare with Pacheco, but over time, the workload will likely shift back in favor of Pacheco.
The Chargers have been a tough matchup for running backs overall this season, but in the last two weeks, they have given up 195 rushing yards to the Ravens’ running backs and 118 rushing yards to the Falcons’ running backs. Running backs also found the end zone in both of those contests.
The matchup from a long-term perspective and timeshare should keep his ownership low, and if he goes off, he’ll have a very high ceiling.
Will Dissly as a high-risk alternative
Dissly had 0.0 fantasy points last week, so this is obviously a contrarian play. I expect Dissly to bounce back in a big way, though, especially since he has a favorable matchup against the Chiefs, who have given up the second-most fantasy points in the NFL to the position.
Tight ends have averaged 78.5 yards per game against the Chiefs and scored four touchdowns, and last week, Brock Bowers beat them for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Dissly had been on a nice run before getting shut out against the Falcons. He had four catches or more in six of his previous seven games, including an eight-catch, 16.1-fantasy point performance against the Cardinals in Week 7.
He had 8.0 fantasy points or more in five of his last six games before last week, and if he can get back to that level, he’ll be a solid option at his salary either in a FLEX spot or as a Captain’s Pick. If Ladd McConkey ($9,400) is limited or out, there would be even more targets for Dissly.
Lineup Advice
If you’re building around Pacheco as Captain, you can add either quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($10,800) or Justin Herbert ($9,800). If McConkey plays, you can stack him with Herbert or Travis Kelce ($9,000) with Mahomes. Either stack with Pacheco at Captain leaves over $6,000 per FLEX spot.
Dissly as Captain’s Pick leaves even more options. You can include both those stacks and still have $3,800. Using Pacheco in a FLEX spot instead of one of the four stars opens up more salary as well.
Value plays
My top bargain option is Noah Gray ($4,400), who continues to be very involved in the Chiefs’ attack. He has at least nine fantasy points in each of his last three games and scored four touchdowns during that stretch. He has at least four catches in each of his last three games and at least four catches in five of his last eight.
If McConkey is out, Joshua Palmer ($5,400) will get enough extra work to be worth a look. Kimani Vidal ($2,800) also has flashed some upside and should be in a timeshare with Gus Edwards ($7,400). Vidal is so much cheaper, though, that he could be a great way to squeeze in more stars while getting some production as well.
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
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.
