Kansas City looks for its 14th win of the regular season when they travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders in the first game of the Week 18 slate on Saturday afternoon. The Chiefs enter this AFC West battle expected to take care of business, listed as nine-point road favorites with a high total of 52.5 points, according to BetMGM. Single-game DFS players have a variety of ways to construct their Draftkings Showdown lineups, and we're taking a more contrarian approach by going with a Raiders-heavy build.
Before we get into our picks and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They're full-point PPR and there are three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player's original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
Saturday DraftKings Showdown Picks: Raiders vs. Chiefs Week 18
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): QB Jarrett Stidham, Raiders ($13,500)
We're starting our Showdown lineup with Stidham at the Captain spot, thinking he'll be able to post another solid fantasy showing. Stidham lit up a 49ers defense allowing the fewest EPA/play last week, scoring 31 DK points (365 passing yards, three TDs, 34 rushing yards, two INTs), and now he gets to face a weaker Kansas City defense (15th in EPA/play). With the Chiefs pegged as hefty 9.5-point favorites, there's a good chance the Raiders are playing from behind, resulting in Stidham attempting a high number of pass attempts. That should give him an opportunity to throw for 300-plus yards and a couple of TDs, making him a prime Captain candidate.
KC-LV DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel
FLEX WR Davante Adams, Raiders ($11,200)
Adams didn't skip a beat with Stidham under center last week, posting his second-most receiving yards of the season (153 yards) against an elite 49ers' pass defense. We're hoping Adams torches the Chiefs' defense for a second time this season after scoring 30.4 DK points in Vegas' narrow Week 5 loss in Kansas City (three receptions, 124 yards, two TDs). Adams leads all WRs in target share (32.9 percent) and air yards (2,011) along with drawing 32 deep targets, so another high-usage day is in the cards.
TEN-JAX DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
FLEX TE Travis Kelce, Chiefs ($10,800)
Considering the Chiefs are expected to score their fair share of points, we have to roster Kelce, who scored a career-high four touchdowns back in Week 5 against Vegas. The Raiders pass defense is one of the weakest in the league, allowing the second-highest drop-back EPA (0.149). While Kelce has a shot to do damage in between the 20s, his ability to dominate in the red zone is the main reason we're rostering him. Kelce's drawn a league-high 29 red-zone targets to go along with 10 receiving touchdowns.
WEEK 18 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
FLEX WR Mack Hollins, Raiders ($5,000)
Since we've spent up to roster Stidham, Adams, and Kelce, we have to make the most of our available $14,500 salary, and Hollins is a cheap add with upside. We could have opted to go with Kadarius Toney here, but Toney logged just 19 snaps last week (32 percent) while Hollins played logged 60 snaps (86 percent). Hollins has seen a decline in his target share with Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller returning, but his 13.0 aDOT is enticing for DFS players wanting to get some differentiation in their lineup. Hollins is going to log another high snap percentage, which hopefully translates to a handful of targets and a double-digit fantasy performance.
WEEK 18 DFS: Best stacks | Best values
FLEX WR Hunter Renfrow, Raiders ($4,400)
Renfrow's another cheap add with upside, as he's starting to regain his place in the Raiders offense. While Renfrow's scored in double-digits just once in his first three games back from injury, his salary has hit a low point. Renfrow was priced from $5,200-$6,200 in the past three weeks, and we'll gladly buy his dip. Saturday could be the game in which Renfrow posts his best fantasy showing since returning from injury, and at $4,400, we feel good about adding him to our build.
FLEX WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chiefs ($4,800)
We'll conclude our lineup with Valdes-Scantling, whose second-highest fantasy point showing came back in Kansas City's come-from-behind win over Las Vegas in Week 5 (six receptions, 90 yards). MVS saw seven targets last week on an 83-percent snap share, but he only hauled in two receptions. Should he see another five-plus target day, it's likely he secures more than two catches, and his 14.4 aDOT (seventh among WRs) could result in a big play or two.
