As the NFL Playoffs continue with four games in what should be an outstanding Divisional Round, we’ve got another monster doubleheader on Saturday. The Buffalo Bills visit the top-seeded Denver Broncos in the early game, before the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional matchup in the nightcap.
On Saturday, DraftKings is bringing back the King of the End Zone promotion. If you opt in to the promotion and place a singles bet of at least $5 on a player in a touchdown market, and he scores the longest touchdown between Saturday’s two games, you win a share of $3 million in bonus bets. Last week, D.J. Moore was crowned the King of the End Zone, resulting in $337 bonus bets for the 8,927 bettors who placed their token on Moore.
With four teams to pick from this Saturday, let’s take a look at my favorite options for Saturday’s King of the End Zone contest. Remember, there are lots of factors to consider, including both the “safe” picks who will deliver a touchdown and how few bettors will share your selection, which could result in a much larger bonus bet if it hits.
King of the End Zone — What You Need to Know
The rules of the promotion are pretty simple: As long as the player you placed a singles bet on in the “TD Scorers” market scores the longest touchdown of the day, and that bet was worth $5 or more and was placed from either your cash balance or DK Dollars, you will win a share of bonus bets. All qualifying bets must be placed before the start of the Buffalo vs. Denver game. The bet doesn’t have to hit in order to qualify.
Passing touchdowns are ineligible for this promotion, so if you want to pick Josh Allen — for instance — he’ll have to run it in himself. Despite not being an individual player, D/ST is eligible to become King of the End Zone.
King of the End Zone Preview & Picks | Saturday, January 17
Players with the shortest odds to score a TD:
- RJ Harvey (-135)
- Christian McCaffrey (-130)
- Zach Charbonnet (-120)
- Josh Allen (-110)
- James Cook (-105)
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+100)
**All lines on DraftKings Sportsbook are subject to change**
King of the End Zone Picks
There are three key factors to consider for King of the End Zone picks: The player’s potential to score a touchdown, the player’s potential to score a long touchdown, and how popular the player well be. The size of the bonus bet awarded is directly tied to how popular the pick is.
1. RJ Harvey (-135 Anytime TD)
Harvey has the shortest odds of all players to find the end zone since he has a good matchup against the Bills, who have allowed 22 running back touchdowns in 18 games. The rookie from UCF didn’t score in Week 18, but he found the end zone six times in his five previous games. J.K. Dobbins (foot) missed those games due to a Lisfranc injury suffered against the Raiders in Week 10, and he is still not ready to return for this matchup.
Harvey should be in line for a big workload this week and has proven he has a nose for the end zone, both as a rusher and a receiver. Harvey has also shown the ability to score long touchdowns. He had three touchdowns of over 25 yards this season, with his longest coming in Week 8 against the Cowboys, when he scored on a 40-yard run.
He had three of the Broncos’ seven longest touchdowns this season, and he brings a good blend of likelihood to score and the ability to score from long range. If he does end up winning, though, he could be a popular pick, resulting in a smaller bonus bet.
2. Seahawks D/ST (+450 Anytime TD)
The Seahawks D/ST is less likely to score a touchdown than Harvey, for sure, but the unit has a great history of scoring long touchdowns. This season, the defense and special teams has scored seven touchdowns, including the three longest scores for the Seahawks all season. Rashid Shaheed delivered a 100-yard kickoff return in Week 14, Tory Horton had a 95-yard punt return in Week 3, and Ernest Jones had this 85-yard interception return against the Vikings in Week 13.
The Seahawks D/ST scored a touchdown in their most recent home game, which was Week 16 against the Rams, and finished the regular season with five touchdowns in their eight home games. The “Dark Side” defense held the 49ers to three points in the regular season finale and got last week off on a bye. They should be fired up and ready to make plays on Saturday night, and if they can get a return touchdown on one of those big plays, they have a good shot to be King of the End Zone.
3. Courtland Sutton (+195 Anytime TD)
Sutton led the Broncos with seven receiving touchdowns this season and hauled in the team’s longest score of the year on this fourth-down play early in the season.
Sutton led the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards, and he’ll be Denver’s go-to option once again in the passing game. He had four of the team’s 13 longest touchdowns on the season, and he touts a nice blend of potential to score and potential to score long touchdowns. If Harvey seems a little too chalky and the Seahawks D/ST is a little too high-risk, Sutton lands right in between the two as a nice, balanced pick.
