For the second consecutive week, we will see two AFC West squads face off on Monday Night Football as the Broncos head to Los Angeles to play the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. The Chargers are 4.5-point favorites, and the total is set at O/U 45.5 points, according to Caesars Sportsbook. Los Angeles is loaded with offensive talent despite not having Keenan Allen (hamstring) again, and you can bet plenty of DFS players will have L.A.-heavy builds for their DraftKings Showdown lineups.
However, even though Russell Wilson has struggled in his first season with the Broncos, he’s always someone you have to think about playing in daily fantasy. In addition to Wilson, Denver also has Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, and Melvin Gordon, all of whom could take advantage of the Chargers’ disappointing defense.
Before we get into our lineup 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
DraftKings Showdown Picks: Broncos vs. Chargers Week 6 Monday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): RB Austin Ekeler, Chargers ($17,100)
Ekeler does it all for the Chargers’ offense, and they will be looking for him to carry them once again. Ekeler is coming off a ridiculous performance last week against the Browns, where he had 199 total yards and two total touchdowns on 20 touches. It was the second consecutive week that the 27-year-old running back posted 30-plus DraftKings points and had 100 or more yards of total offense. We shouldn’t expect Ekeler to replicate his Week 5 performance on Monday night against the Broncos, who are only allowing the ninth-fewest DraftKings points to RBs (20.3) this season. However, he will get targets, which is great in full-point PPR formats, and he has a shot at 100 rushing or receiving yards, which gives us a potential three-point bonus.
MORE MNF: Melvin Gordon update
FLEX QB Justin Herbert, Chargers ($11,000)
With Ekeler being featured in the passing game, Herbert has to be in our Showdown lineup. The third-year quarterback hasn’t been lighting the world on fire through the early parts of this season; however, he still has thrown for 1,478 yards, 10 touchdowns, and two interceptions, while producing 20.8 DraftKings fantasy points per game. Herbert will be facing a Denver defense that has been one of the best in DFS this season, allowing the second-fewest DraftKings points to QBs (11.1). At the same time, the Broncos haven’t gone up against many high-volume QBs (Geno Smith, Davis Mills, Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr, and Matt Ryan). Herbert is better than all of those signal-callers, but he’ll need to get some protection so he can get the ball to Ekeler, Mike Williams, and his other weapons.
FLEX WR Jerry Jeudy, Broncos ($7,000)
Many DFS players will use Courtland Sutton, who has been Russell Wilson’s favorite receiver through the first five weeks. However, we are going to pivot and take Jeudy, who is second in targets (29) and receiving yards (236) behind Sutton. Jeudy is coming off of a quiet Week 5 against the Colts where he had three receptions (eight targets) for 53 yards. The Broncos and DFS players hope that Jeudy will have a breakout game on Monday as the Chargers’ defense is allowing the 11th-most DraftKings points to WRs this season.
FLEX TE Gerald Everett, Chargers ($5,600)
Everett was a no-show in last week’s road win over the Browns with one reception (three targets) for two yards. This was a far cry from what we saw from the veteran tight end in Week 4 against the Texans (five receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown). Everett is still averaging 5.8 targets per game. We should expect the veteran tight end to see at least six targets against Denver, who is allowing 6.8 targets per game to tight ends this season. If the 28-year-old Everett can have 50 or more receiving yards and a touchdown, he’ll be an excellent value play in this MNF showdown contest.
FLEX RB Mike Boone, Broncos ($4,800)
We will take a flier on Boone, who could see a considerable amount of playing time on Monday night with Melvin Gordon (neck, ribs) listed as “questionable.” Boone was one of the few players who had some success in last week’s loss to the Colts, posting 85 yards of total offense on 10 touches. Boone played over 40 percent of snaps, and he could easily have double-digit fantasy points against a Chargers’ defense allowing the ninth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL (130.4) and most DraftKings points to RBs (33.8).
FLEX K Dustin Hopkins, Chargers ($4,000)
Our final MNF showdown contest play will be Hopkins, who should have some field goal opportunities against this Broncos’ defense. The veteran kicker is coming off his best performance in NFL DFS this season with a season-high 10 DraftKings points against the Texans in Week 4. Hopkins missed last week’s game due to a quadriceps injury, but he should be ready to play on Monday night. He’s averaging 6.8 DraftKings fantasy points per game this season.
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