The Kansas City Chiefs have recent experience playing in the NFL Kickoff Game, but last time didn’t go well. The Chiefs lost to the Lions, 21-20, as star quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for just 226 yards, his fourth-fewest of the season, a year ago. However, Mahomes didn’t have Travis Kelce in that contest, as the elite tight end was out with a knee injury. Now that Kelce is healthy for the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game when the Chiefs play the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, September 5, how confident should daily Fantasy football players feel about spending up on Mahomes for NFL DFS lineups?
The Chiefs had 316 total yards in last year’s NFL Kickoff Game, their fourth-fewest in the games Mahomes played. The NFL Kickoff Game is always an emotional home contest for the defending Super Bowl champions, so how should their inability to have an elite offensive performance last year in that contest affect your NFL DFS strategy? Before locking in any NFL DFS lineups for Ravens vs. Chiefs on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL daily Fantasy expert Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a NFL and DFS expert for SportsLine, who opened the 2022 NFL season by winning DraftKings’ NFL Showdown Thursday Kickoff Millionaire contest. He edged out over 355,000 other entrants in the contest and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Kaylor, who cashed big all season in 2022, has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, and his background as a former college and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel.
Kaylor hit on epic NFL DFS picks for SportsLine members throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2022, he was all over Travis Kelce’s four-touchdown performance against the Raiders on Monday Night Football, Kirk Cousins’ 460-yard, four-TD performance on Thanksgiving Day, and T.J. Hockenson’s 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Week 15. In 2023, he hit on Ja’Marr Chase’s massive Week 5 performance (15 catches, 192 yards, three TDs), D.J. Moore’s eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns in Week 14, and De’Von Anchane’s breakout performance (233 total yards, four TD’s) in Week 3. Anyone who followed his picks is way up.
Now, Kaylor has turned his attention to Ravens vs. Chiefs in the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Chiefs vs. Ravens
One of Kaylor’s top NFL DFS picks for the NFL Kickoff Game 2024 is Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. He missed last season’s NFL Kickoff Game with a knee injury. As well as being one of the most talented players in the NFL, Kelce has one of the biggest personalities and a national audience is a chance for him to show off both sides of him. Kelce had one of his best games of last season on a Thursday night with nine receptions for 124 yards against the Broncos.
Kelce had 984 yards in 15 games last season, missing the first and final game of the season, as he finished below 1,000 yards for the first time since 2015. Even at 34 years old, he remains one of the most consistent tight ends in the NFL and led the position in receiving yards per game last year (65.6). It was the first time since 2017 that Kelce finished below 70 yards per game, but the fact he was still the TE1 in that statistic shows his elite status at the position. Kelce had 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens in the playoffs last year and Kaylor expects another huge performance to kick off the 2024 NFL season.
Kaylor is also targeting Ravens running back Derrick Henry in his NFL DFS picks. There are workhorse running backs and then there are Derrick Henry type of workhorse running backs. Somehow just calling him a workhorse running back doesn’t seem to justify it after he’s led the NFL in rush attempts in four of the last five seasons. He did so in Tennessee, which ranked in the bottom 10 in passing yards in each of those five seasons. Now that Henry joins a better all-around offense in Baltimore, he could be in for an even more dominant 2024 NFL season.
Henry rushed for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns last season after rushing for 1,538 in 2022. The Ravens led the NFL with 31.5 rush attempts per game last season and with the addition of Henry that number could rise. Going with a run-heavy game plan is an effective way to limit opportunities for Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes, so Kaylor expects heavy usage from Henry in his first game in Baltimore for NFL DFS lineups. See who else Kaylor likes right here.
How to set Ravens vs. Chiefs NFL DFS lineups, player pools
Kaylor is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers in Chiefs vs. Ravens. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and the rest of Kaylor’s NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine.
So who is Jimmie Kaylor including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Chiefs vs. Ravens, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a DFS expert who won a prestigious millionaire maker tournament last season, and find out.
