After two weeks of hype and over-analysis, we are finally almost ready for the 49ers and Chiefs to kick off Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Sunday evening. Single-game DFS slates have started to take hold and be more accepted in the industry and will reach an all-time high this weekend for the biggest game of the season.
If you are building a cash game lineup, be sure to bake in as much assured volume of touches as possible, even if that means taking a flier on one cheap option to round out your lineup. In GPP tournaments, be willing to leave some salary on the table to help differentiate your lineup, so if you do hit the right combination you aren’t sharing the top prize with hundreds of your fellow competitors. You don’t have to have multiple players under 10 percent owned to win, as you can even choose a collection of popular players that just don’t max out your salary to be different.
Lastly, don’t get too cute with your MVP pick, since the player costs the same regardless of where he resides in your lineup on FanDuel but will get that 1.5x multiplier. So, narrow your MVP pool to the handful of players who could realistically finish with the highest point total in the game. Enjoy my FanDuel Lineup Advice column for the Super Bowl, and let’s hope we have an entertaining game and win some money along the way.
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MVP Option
Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC): $16,000
I know it’s a boring pick to just recommend the highest priced option who is expected to score the most raw points. However, on FanDuel, where you don’t have to contend with varying salaries between your MVP and the rest of your players, I want the guy with the highest upside in my 1.5x multiplier MVP slot. The 49ers’ pass defense struggled down the stretch during the regular season, as they gave up 244 passing yards and 2.4 touchdown passes per game in their last five regular-season games. Some will say it was because of injuries to defensive players, but I’d contend that it was more about the quality of quarterbacks they played, which included Lamar Jackson, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, and Jared Goff. Mahomes has the Chiefs’ passing game clicking in the playoffs, as they’re averaging 308 passing yards and four touchdown passes per game. Feel free to cycle through all of my Core Plays below in the MVP slot if you are entering multiple GPP entries.
Core Plays
Jimmy Garoppolo (QB – SF): $14,000
The 49ers have been able to lean on the running game at home in the playoffs so far. They’ve attempted a total of just 27 passes in two games, but they will likely need to pass the ball to keep up with the Chiefs’ offense. In eight games this season when the 49ers have played in a game decided by seven or fewer points, Garoppolo has averaged 31.8 attempts for 279 passing yards and 2.1 TD passes per game. The Chiefs’ passing defense was good down the stretch, but they have allowed an average of 299 passing yards and two touchdown passes per game in the playoffs. A game with about 290 yards and two scores sounds like a player that better be in your lineup. If you haven’t figured it out yet, you will see that I’m all-in on both passing games and am willing to fade both running games in order to fit both quarterbacks into nearly every lineup I build for the Super Bowl.
George Kittle (TE – SF): $11,500
Kittle has been quiet in the playoffs from a fantasy perspective, as he’s logged just four catches on six targets for 35 yards, as the 49ers controlled the first two games on the ground. You know Kittle is just waiting for his chance to shine on a big stage like the Super Bowl to cement his place as one of the top tight ends in the league. The Chiefs have allowed some big games to tight ends, as they’ve given up 6.1 receptions (30th) for 61 yards (28th) but just 0.3 TDs (7th) per game to the position during the regular season. It should come as no surprise that some of Kittle’s biggest games have come in those close matchups, which included the last four games of the regular season when he averaged 7.8 receptions on 10 targets for 92 yards and a pair of scores.
Travis Kelce (TE – KC): $12,500
I could see this game turning into a battle of “whatever you can do, I can do better” between the tight ends, reminiscent of an NBA game where two superstars are trading basket for basket each time they have the ball. Kelce has the best individual matchup of all the Chiefs’ pass-catchers in the matchup against a San Francisco secondary that allowed 5.8 receptions (24th) for 61 yards (22nd) and 0.8 TDs (26th) to the tight end position over the last five weeks of the regular season. That stretch included matchups against big, athletic tight ends like Tyler Higbee, Austin Hooper, Jared Cook, and Mark Andrews.
Other Notables:
- Tyreek Hill (WR – KC): $12,000
- Raheem Mostert (RB – SF): $13,500
- Deebo Samuel (WR – SF): $8,500
Cheap Fliers
Mecole Hardman (WR – KC): $6,000
Hardman surpassed Demarcus Robinson as the third wide receiver in snaps for the Chiefs in the AFC Conference Championship game. He has the ability to take a bubble screen to the house at any time which is ideal for a single-game DFS slate that can turnover the standings with one big play.
Kyle Juszczyk (RB – SF): $6,000
While almost every conceivable player will get at least some ownership in GPPs on a single-game slate as big as the Super Bowl, I still expect Juszczyk to go overlooked. The Chiefs defense allowed 6.3 receptions (29th) for 59 yards (32nd) and 0.3 touchdowns (26th) to running backs during the regular season, so I won’t be shocked if the 49ers unveil their secret weapon, Kyle Juszczyk, in the passing game this week for a big play or two.
Other Notables:
- Emmanuel Sanders (WR – SF): $7,500
- Matt Breida (RB – SF): $7,500
- Demarcus Robinson (WR – KC): $6,500
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Brad Richter is a featured writer at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.
