Broncos vs. Chiefs Picks, Lineup Tips for Daily Fantasy DraftKings for TNF
The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Denver Broncos on Thursday night in the Week 6 opener. While the game itself may not be a drama-drenched affair—Denver hasn't won in the series since 2015—it could still be rather entertaining.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense haven't exploded often this season. However, they're likely to put on a show against a Broncos defense ranked last in both yards and points allowed.
Naturally, this makes it a great time to lean on Kansas City stars in daily fantasy sports (DFS) games.
Below, you'll find some general DFS tips for the Broncos-Chiefs matchup, along with a couple of our favorite plays for the game.
Get the latest DFS values at DraftKings.
General DFS Tips for TNF
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Managers playing in week-long DFS games should be happy to target a few Chiefs players in this one.
Mahomes is likely to have a strong game against a Broncos defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. He's a pricey option at $8,100, but the floor is extremely high.
Broncos QB Russell Wilson has been a fine budget option for most of 2023, but at $5,800, he can probably be avoided in week-long games. Managers looking for a bargain in Thursday-only games can start Wilson and hope for the best.
Mistakes, like last week's game-ending fourth-quarter fumble, limit Wilson's floor, but Denver is likely to throw a lot in a comeback effort. The Kansas City defense has been solid this season, but it has been a middle-of-the-pack unit (11th-fewest points allowed) in fantasy.
It's hard to pinpoint another Broncos player who can truly be trusted. Kansas City is allowing an average of just 301 yards and 16 points per game, limiting the floor for every Broncos skill player.
Broncos running back Javonte Williams ($5.4K) is working his way back from a quad injury and will likely split time with Jaleel McLaughlin ($5.2K) if he plays. How the workload is split is a question that should have managers avoiding the Broncos backfield.
Managers can probably trust Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce ($7.7K), even though he's dealing with an ankle injury. He played through the injury in Week 5, finishing with 10 catches, 67 yards and a touchdown.
According to PJ Green of Fox 4 Kansas City, Kelce was "moving pretty good" at Tuesday's practice.
If Kelce's production is limited, it'll likely be by an early Kansas City lead and a focus on the ground game in the second half.
Start Isiah Pacheco
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Divisional games can be unpredictable, so there's no guarantee that Kansas City will jump out to a big early lead. However, managers should still jump on running back Isiah Pacheco at $5,700.
Early lead or no, Kansas City should look to run often against the Broncos. Denver is allowing an average of 5.9 yards per carry, and no team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing RBs.
"We haven't done our end, that's it, point blank, period," Broncos safety Justin Simmons said, per ESPN's Jeff Legwold.
Denver recognizing that run defense is a problem doesn't mean that it's easily correctable.
Pacheco, meanwhile, has a very enticing floor. He's topped 60 scrimmage yards in each of his last four games and has found the end zone in each of the last three. With 11 catches in five games, he has some point-per-reception (PPR) upside as well.
It's a very favorable matchup that could leave Pacheco with 100-plus scrimmage yards, a mark he hit in Week 4.
Target Rashee Rice for Value
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Rookie receiver Rashee Rice has already made an impact for Kansas City, and he could be poised to earn even more playing time.
"I absolutely think he is," offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said, per Jesse Newell of The Kansas City Star.
Kansas City's usage of wide receivers has been unpredictable, but Rice is coming off a solid four-catch, 33-yard, one-touchdown performance. The rookie ranks second on the team in targets, behind only Kelce, and ranks second in receptions.
Rice has caught at least three passes in each of his past three games.
While Denver hasn't been too friendly to opposing receivers (12th-most fantasy points allowed), it hasn't completely stopped them either. Rice should be high on the list of receivers for Thursday-only games and is worth a sleeper flex play in week-long games.
At just $4,100, Rice is a much better bargain than Broncos receivers Courtland Sutton ($5.2K) and Jerry Jeudy ($6.1K).
*Fantasy scoring information from FantasyPros.
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