3 FanDuel Defenses to Target in Week 9

Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Price: $3,900
numberFire Projection: 8.5 FanDuel points

After starting the season slowly, the Kansas City Chiefs' D/ST has heated up in the last month, posting a shade more than 11 FanDuel points per game. They have been getting it done with tons of pressure up front (3.5 sacks per game) and some tenacious ball-hawking (2.3 turnovers per game). Overall, they rank second in the NFL with 24 sacks.

That kind of production would make them a good choice in DFS any week, but with a favorable matchup against a struggling offense piloted by a rookie quarterback, the Chiefs move up to a top-three unit in Week 9, based on our projections.

KC makes the trip to Ohio on Sunday to take on a Cleveland Browns team in a bit of disarray. After firing their head coach and offensive coordinator this week, the Browns will be running a brand new game plan, a daunting task in only a few days.

Baker Mayfield may have a high-ceiling long term, but it may be asking too much of the rookie to adjust to another scheme while still getting used to the speed of the NFL game. Mayfield has a 58.3% completion percentage this season. Only fellow rookies Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Sam Darnold have a lower completion percentage among the passers who have attempted 100 throws this season. Mayfield has been under constant duress, too, as the Browns have allowed the most sacks (33) and fourth-most quarterback hits (58) through eight games.

The Chiefs should have game script working in their favor as they are 8.5-point favorites while the Browns own the third-lowest implied total on Sunday (21.25).