The last two weeks have been pretty brutal for the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty: in Week 15, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in the closing moments of the game as the Chiefs went on to be eliminated from postseason contention with a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Then, last weekend, backup Gardner Minshew sustained a severe bone bruise that will end his season, leaving third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun as the starting signal-caller for the final two games of the season.
Oladokun could hardly ask for a harder opponent against whom to make his first NFL start than the Denver Broncos, who Kansas City will face in an 8:15 p.m. ET Christmas Day showdown. Oladokun did get his first action last week, completing 11 of his 16 passes for 111 yards.
The Chiefs are 13.5-point underdogs for tonight’s matchup at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set to 36.5. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bet centered around the South Dakota State product.
Best Chris Oladokun Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Chris Oladokun U17.5 Completions (-129)
For Oladokun to complete 68.8% of his passes in his debut was solid, and he made a few impressive plays, including a strike to Isiah Pacheco down the right sideline while on the run. However, he was never asked to do too much, and it’s not like his throws were great: his 73.3% on-target percentage would rank ninth-to-last among qualified quarterbacks. Plus, as the game wore on, Kansas City opted to run the ball more, which it’ll probably do again now that they’ve had several days to craft a game plan based on a passer less talented than Mahomes or Minshew.
He benefited from making his debut against the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed the 12th-most passing yards and sixth-highest completion percentage this season. However, Denver could hardly be a more opposite opponent: with three good-to-elite cornerbacks in reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II, Ja’Quan McMillian, and Riley Moss, as well as promising rookie Jahdae Barron, the Broncos have allowed the third-lowest completion percentage in football. Plus, Denver gets pressure at the league’s second-highest rate, and in his debut, Oladokun was horrible under pressure, completing just one pass for 31 yards and getting sacked four times.
