Bengals vs. Chiefs: Daily Fantasy Sleepers, Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings
The last three meetings between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs has averaged 57 points.
The Joe Burrow-versus-Patrick Mahomes showdowns have been a gold mine for daily fantasy football players. That trend could follow in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.
Burrow and Mahomes are in charge of two of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL, which are led by dynamic pass-catchers with terrific postseason numbers.
Ja'Marr Chase and Travis Kelce will likely be the first players chosen to pair with their quarterbacks in FanDuel and DraftKings DFS contests.
The true DFS difference-makers inside Arrowhead Stadium will be the sleeper picks that have lower roster percentages than Burrow, Mahomes, Chase and Kelce.
Choosing the right sleeper from either team could skyrocket you up a contest leaderboard with a unique lineup.
Sleeper Picks
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Trenton Irwin, WR, Cincinnati
Cincinnati's offensive production comes from a tight circle of players.
Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins and Hayden Hurst will catch a majority of the balls thrown by Joe Burrow, while Joe Mixon will shoulder most of the load in the ground attack.
Trenton Irwin is the one sleeper who could make a much larger impact than he has in the postseason so far.
Irwin had one catch for 13 yards against the Buffalo Bills; he was not targeted by Burrow in the wild-card round.
The wide receiver carries a $4,700 salary on FanDuel and a $3,000 salary on DraftKings. He is the ultimate low-risk, high-reward option from the Bengals offense.
Irwin scored three touchdowns in a three-week span from Weeks 14-16, so it is not like he is just an unknown with the potential to break out.
He could be utilized in red-zone situations when the top targets are occupied in coverage. That is probably the best way Irwin could help your DFS lineup.
Irwin will not have a high total of targets, but if he catches one or two key passes in the red zone, he could shift around the DFS standings.
Justin Watson, WR, Kansas City
Kansas City is the one team of the four participating on Sunday that has a wide variety of depth options that could be used to make a big play or two, or be targeted in the red zone.
Justin Watson can be used as a deep-play threat by Patrick Mahomes at some point in the contest. He had one catch for 27 yards in Week 17, one reception for 67 yards in Week 18 and a 12-yard catch in the divisional round.
Mahomes can call on Watson for another deep play on Sunday that will boost his yardage total. A touchdown might not be attainable since he has two scores this season and has not found the end zone since Week 7.
Watson is listed at $4,600 on FanDuel and $3,000 on DraftKings. He would essentially serve the same purpose in a Chiefs lineup stack as Irwin in a Bengals stack.
He will be a low-volume player, but the one reception he makes could give him a decent-sized yardage total that justifies his inclusion in a lineup.
Bengals Lineup Picks
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The Cincinnati lineup stack strategy is easy to follow.
Burrow and Chase will be paired together to start. Two of Mixon, Boyd, Higgins and Hurst should be chosen to join them.
Chase has torn apart the Kansas City secondary during his two-year NFL career. His single-game career highs of 11 receptions, 266 receiving yards and three touchdowns came in Week 17 last year against the Chiefs.
The LSU product put up 97 yards on seven catches in Cincinnati's Week 13 win this season. He also had 54 yards and a touchdown in last year's AFC Championship Game.
Chase has four 80-yard performances in the postseason and he found the end zone in both playoff games this season.
Boyd and Higgins supported Chase with a combined 95 receiving yards in Week 13. Both wideouts had five targets from Burrow. Either player can be used as a second wide receiver option to partner Burrow and Chase.
The Bengals ran for 106 yards against the Chiefs in Week 13 through Samaje Perine. Mixon may have the same level of success on Sunday.
Mixon is coming off a 20-carry, 105-yard performance against the Bills and he should receive a decent amount of carries on Sunday to take some pressure off Burrow.
Burrow, Mixon and Chase seem like the ideal trio in a lineup stack, and then it comes down to whether you like Boyd, Higgins or Hurts, or want to ride with Irwin, or maybe even Perine, as a sleeper play.
Chiefs Lineup Picks
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Any Chiefs lineup stack begins with Mahomes and Kelce.
Kelce has one of the best collections of postseason performances in NFL history.
The tight end reached the 90-yard mark in each of his last seven playoff games. He has four 100-yard performances during that span.
Kelce was targeted on 17 occasions in the divisional round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He caught 14 of those passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
He is listed as questionable, but one has to think Kelce will play unless he is dealing with a significant injury.
Kelce should be utilized by Mahomes as a safety option from close range across the middle in case the Bengals load up the pressure and want to target the quarterback and his sprained ankle. Mahomes was taken off the injury report, but he could still feel the effects of the injury suffered last week.
Isiah Pacheco outgained Jerick McKinnon by 70 yards on just one more carry, so he should be trusted as the running back to pair with Mahomes and Kelce.
The rookie out of Rutgers had 14 carries, 66 yards and a score in his first-career meeting with the Bengals.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling was Kansas City's leading receiver in that contest. He is one of the players that must try to fill Tyreek Hill's shoes in the AFC Championship Game.
A collection of players will likely try to make up for Hill's impact on Sunday, so there is not one clear-cut option to pair with Mahomes and Kelce at wide receiver.
Any one of Valdes-Scantling, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Watson, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney could have a standout performance. If you hit the right combination, that player could take you to the top of DFS leaderboards.
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