Leveraging Thursday’s Success for Friday’s Opportunity
We all know that feeling when your Thursday night DraftKings lineup clicks perfectly. After being in the money last week, it’s time to run things back with a fresh approach for Friday’s game. The key is understanding how fantasy dynamics shift between teams like the Chiefs and Chargers, especially when trending decisions around key players can make or break your tonight’s performance.
Research Tools That Make the Difference
From my years of DFS experience, I’ve learned that prop bets and public betting splits on platforms like FantasySP provide valuable insights all season. Smart players always check out these rankings before finalizing their builds. Why does this matter? Because understanding where the public is leaning helps you identify contrarian plays that will separate you from the field.
The Captain’s Choice: Why Kelce Commands Premium Pricing
Kelce represents the perfect captain choice at his current price point. Even though he faces a tougher test based on last year’s numbers, the veteran tight end made too much sense in my lineup construction. Here’s what excites me most: he will score 1.5 times the points he accumulates, and there’s a decent chance he becomes the team’s No 1 pass catcher with Rashee Rice and Jalen Royals both out. I trust him more than any other KC running back or wide receiver, so let’s hope he delivers when it matters most.
Finding Value with Veteran Experience
Allen serves as the perfect cost-cutting option while maintaining serious upside potential. Still possessing the chance to do some fantasy damage, this veteran receiver offers value that’s hard to ignore. While Ladd McConkey should lead the pass catchers in LA, Allen figures to be the No 2 guy in target share. He’s back with the Chargers for a reason and should be pretty involved right from the start of the season. I’ll need him to have a pretty solid game in order to get back in the money for consecutive weeks.
The Winning Formula: Trust Your Process
What separates winning DFS players from the rest? It’s the ability to balance respectable pricing with accumulates potential while making sense of each role within your build. When you trust your process and focus on delivers consistent value, the points usually follow.
Flex – Will Dissly ($2,400)
Dissly represents my go-to super cheap option when building tournament lineups, and here’s why this strategy works so well. This ton of money becomes available when you find the right value plays, allowing flexibility for your final three spots where you can truly differentiate your build. I decided on him after analyzing matchup data that shows how the Chiefs struggled to slow opposing tight ends last season.
When you are looking for contrarian plays, why not take a gamble on Dissly producing just enough to separate your lineup from the field?
The beauty of this approach lies in understanding what creates tournament winning upside. Maybe he can do what Dallas Goedert did for the Eagles last night and steal me a handful of points when ownership is likely to be minimal.
From my experience in DFS, these low owned plays often make the difference between cashing and taking down GPPs. If Dissly ends up scoring, this team could be in great shape to compete for first place money rather than just min cash positions.
What makes this play even more intriguing? He’d be a better option if the team hadn’t also brought in Tyler Conklin, but that competition actually keeps his ownership down while maintaining target upside.
I believe Dissly will be the top tight end in this offense when they need to move the ball efficiently.
The key question becomes: can he establishes an early connection with his QB and scores a handful of fantasy points to justify the roster spot?
Flex – Patrick Mahomes ($10,000)
This is why I was OK taking on Allen and Dissly when building around the superstar quarterback who has a great chance to be the top fantasy player in this game. Mahomes was already expensive though, so I skipped on taking him as my captain despite his ceiling potential.
It’s a bit risky with a couple pass catchers out, but Mahomes has led offenses to yards and points in the past with worse options, so I believe in him getting the job done again tonight.
From years of DFS experience, I’ve learned that it’d help my team immensely if he threw touchdowns instead of having a running back, like Isiah Pacheco or Kareem Hunt, scoring. That could be the difference between a so so fantasy score, and a winning lineup that separates you from the field in tournament play.
Flex – Omarion Hampton ($8,000)
I decided on the rookie running back for a pretty hefty price because sometimes you need to pay up for potential league winners in Week 1 tournaments. He’s expected to lead the backfield, especially early on after Najee Harris got a late start to his season due to contract negotiations that limited his preseason work.
The matchup isn’t the best against a solid defensive front, but I like Hampton’s upside and decided to take a swing on him as a contrarian play that could separate my lineup from chalk builds.
From my DFS experience, rookie running backs often provide tournament winning upside when they get the volume, and hopefully Harris doesn’t steal any scores away from him in what should be Hampton’s backfield to command early in the season.
Flex – Justin Herbert ($9,800)
Sometimes you need to pay up for potential league winners in Week 1 tournaments, which is why I decided on the rookie running back for a pretty hefty price despite ownership concerns. He’s expected to lead the backfield, especially early on after Najee Harris got a late start to his season due to contract negotiations that limited his preseason work and conditioning.
The matchup isn’t the best against a solid defensive front, but I like Hampton’s upside and decided to take a swing on him as a contrarian play that could separate my lineup from chalk builds that will likely focus on safer options.
From my DFS experience, rookie running backs often provide tournament winning upside when they get the volume, and hopefully Harris doesn’t steal any scores away from him in what should be Hampton’s backfield to command early in the season when fresh legs matter most.
Final Thoughts
The teams playing tonight offer a little more lineup flexibility, and I took advantage of it to the fullest by identifying value plays that unlock premium options elsewhere. Getting Dissly for cheap, and Allen for relatively cheap, really opened up avenues for me to get some top-end fantasy talents into the lineup without breaking salary constraints.
It might seem a little risky to not have either WR1 (McConkey or Xavier Worthy) in my lineup, but it worked out for me last night, so I’m taking the same gamble tonight with contrarian builds that separate from chalk ownership.
I will need another surprise performer (like Javonte Williams was last night), and Dissly or Allen could be that guy for me tonight when the slate breaks favorably. I have plenty of stability in the lineup with both quarterbacks and the most proven pass catcher, so I’m pretty confident about this group delivering the upside needed for tournament success. If you have a better lineup, join the contest and see if you can top my score in what should be an exciting Friday night showdown!