Week 2 of the NFL season begins on Thursday Night Football with an excellent AFC West matchup between the Chargers and Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Chiefs are four-point favorites over the Chargers, and the total is sitting O/U 54.5 points, according to Caesars Sportsbook. With plenty of points expected, those putting together DraftKings Showdown lineups have no shortage of viable picks, so this should be an NFL DFS players’ dream.
It’s not just Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Austin Ekeler, and Travis Kelce who make for good options. Sleepers like DeAndre Carter, Josh Palmer, and Gerald Everett could provide some cheap points, especially with Keenan Allen (hamstring) likely out.
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Before we break down our TNF picks, 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
MORE TNF: FanDuel lineup | Start ’em, sit ’em
DraftKings Showdown Picks: Chargers vs. Chiefs Week 2 Thursday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): RB Austin Ekeler, Chargers ($15,300)
At the Captain spot, we will save a little bit of salary off the QBS with the selection of Ekeler. The veteran running back had a decent first game last week against Las Vegas, producing 72 total yards on 18 touches (11.2 fantasy points). We should expect to see Ekeler get his carries and be heavily involved in the passing game with Keenan Allen dealing with a hamstring injury, which is nice in full-point PPR formats. Last season against the Chiefs, Ekeler scored two touchdowns and averaged 20.4 fantasy points per game.
WEEK 2 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kicker
FLEX QB Justin Herbert, Chargers ($11,200)
If Ekeler is going to be the Captain pick, Herbert has to be one of our first FLEX plays for Thursday night’s Showdown contest. The young quarterback had an efficient performance last week against the Raiders, completing 26-of-34 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his touchdown passes went to Gerald Everett and DeAndre Carter, which shows how much talent the Chargers have. Los Angeles will be looking for Herbert to get multiple players involved on Thursday night, including Mike Williams, who had a quiet Week 1. He always has massive upside.
WEEK 2 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kicker
FLEX RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs ($8,600)
Edwards-Helaire showed everybody in Week 1 that he’s still the Chiefs’ No. 1 running back for now. The former LSU standout did a little of everything for the high-powered KC offense, scoring 22.4 fantasy points in a 23-point win. Edwards-Helaire had 74 total yards and two scores on just 10 touches in a blowout win. The Chiefs are hoping that CEH can be more of a factor on the ground in addition to what he brings to the offense as a receiver. Last weekend, the Chargers only gave up 64 rushing yards to the Raiders, but Josh Jacobs averaged 5.7 yards per carry. If the Chiefs want to slow down LA’s defensive line, Edwards-Helaire will be a big factor. We’re taking a risk fading Patrick Mahomes and his top targets, but if we are right about CEH being heavily involved, we can come out ahead.
WEEK 2 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings | Yahoo
FLEX WR Mecole Hardman, Chiefs ($5,600)
With the Chiefs not having Tyreek Hill on the field anymore, it has allowed their passing game to be more wide open. Last week, we saw 10 different Chiefs players record a target in their game against the Cardinals. Hardman was one of those players, finishing with the third-most targets (6) behind JuJu Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce. The young wide receiver found the end zone once and had three receptions for 16 yards (10.6 fantasy points). If you have Hardman in your lineup, you are not looking for him to have five or six catches on Thursday. Instead, you need him to hit on one big play for a touchdown and maybe even hit the 100-yard bonus
WEEK 2 DFS: Best values | Best stacks
FLEX WR Joshua Palmer, Chargers ($5,000)
Palmer will have a bigger game on Thursday night after only posting three receptions (four targets) for five yards in Week 1. The Chargers will need one or two receivers to step up, especially with Allen likely will not play and the Chiefs’ defense focusing on Ekeler and Mike Williams. Palmer can be that reliable target in the slot for Herbert like we saw last season, where he had three or more receptions in the Chargers’ final five games. He also caught touchdowns in each of the two games he started, so the big-play potential is there.
WEEK 2 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start ’em, sit ’em
FLEX Dustin Hopkins, Chargers ($3,800)
We will throw Hopkins into our lineup because we know this will be a high-scoring game on Thursday night. Last week, the veteran kicker scored 7.9 fantasy points (3/3 PATs, 1/2 FGs). The Chargers will be in scoring position a lot, so Hopkins has a high floor.