FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 2 Sunday Night (Chiefs at Ravens)

On NFL odds, the Kansas City Chiefs are 3.5-point road favorites over the Baltimore Ravens in a game with a 54.5-point total. That makes the implied score 29.0-26.5 in favor of KC.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5-times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

Our Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy. It's worth checking out before you make your lineups.

MVP Candidates

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs ($17,000) and Lamar Jackson, Ravens ($16,000)

You don't need me to elaborate too much on what Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson bring to the table in fantasy football. They can break any normal-sized slate with their upside, and our model projects Mahomes and Jackson for 24.9 and 22.2 FanDuel points, respectively. They're obviously great plays.

It'll be interesting to see how MVP popularity shakes out, but I'm guessing Jackson won't see as much MVP love as Mahomes does -- especially with Mahomes torching the Ravens for 385 passing yards and 5 total tuds in a memorable explosion last season in an island game. That pushes me toward Jackson at MVP.

The Chiefs' defense didn't look all that great against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, and Jackson's rushing upside gives him a single-game ceiling few can match -- although of the small group of players who can match it, three of them are on this slate.

With the salaries being what they are, if you're going to roster both signal-callers as well as one of Mahomes' two elite pass-catchers, you're going to be pinching pennies elsewhere.

Tyreek Hill, Chiefs ($14,000)

Tyreek Hill did Tyreek Hill things in Week 1, totaling 197 yards and a score on 15 targets and ripping off a long touchdown. Hill has the ceiling to lead this slate in FanDuel points, and we peg him to score a whopping 18.6 FanDuel points. That's tops among non-quarterbacks, and it's not that far from what we have the passers doing.

The Ravens' D imploded late last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, giving up 435 passing yards and 2 touchdowns to Derek Carr. That doesn't bode well for their chances of slowing down this high-octane KC attack.

Hill is firmly in play for the multiplier spot.

Travis Kelce, Chiefs ($13,500)

Everything I just said about Hill also applies to Travis Kelce. After an amazing 2020 campaign, Kelce picked up where he left off in the opener, finishing the win over Cleveland with 6 catches on 7 targets for 76 yards and 2 scores.

Dating back to Week 8 of last season (not counting the playoffs), Kelce has amassed 71 receptions, 991 yards and 8 tuddies over the last nine regular-season games. Yes, 991 yards in nine games. My goodness.

Our algorithm projects him to score 17.0 FanDuel points in this one, and Kelce has the upside to crush in the MVP slot.

Flex Priorities

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs ($10,500)

One of the better games Clyde Edwards-Helaire had as a rookie came in the aforementioned Monday night game versus Baltimore. He finished that one with 114 total yards on 25 touches (20 carries and 5 grabs). As has been the case too often in his career, CEH didn't punch in a touchdown, which kept him from producing a big fantasy output.

In Week 1, CEH racked up 17 total touches and played 73.4% of the snaps. The snap rate is promising, and you have to figure the touchdowns will come if he's on the field that much in this offense.

We forecast him to score 14.4 FanDuel points, and he's the last guy we project to score more than 10.9. We rate him as the best point-per-dollar play outside of the two quarterbacks, and you can jam in CEH along with both signal-callers and still have a decent amount of cap space for the final two flex spots.

Mark Andrews, Ravens ($10,000)

Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown ($11,000) are clearly the best ways to get exposure to the Ravens' passing game. While Brown's wheels give him more upside, Andrews is much easier to back at his salary given how precious salary is on this slate.

Straight up, our model pegs Andrews to out-score Hollywood 10.9 to 9.2, and we have Brown -- who practiced in a limited capacity Friday and appears to be trending toward playing -- as a worse point-per-dollar play than Sammy Watkins ($8,500).

Andrews didn't do much in Week 1, but that probably won't scare away many people, especially if Brown is expected to be at less than 100%.

Value/Differentiators

Mecole Hardman, Chiefs ($8,000)

The best fantasy setup to use Mecole Hardman is single-game DFS.

A year ago, Baltimore's defense did a pretty decent job on Kelce and Hill. They limited Kelce to 6 grabs for 87 yards and Hill to 5 for 77 and a touchdown. It was one of the rare games in which Mahomes spread the ball around as Sammy Watkins and Hardman (14 looks) combined for more targets than Kelce and Hill (13).

That didn't go so well for the Ravens as KC hung 28 in the first half and sailed to a comfy win, but it's at least worth noting when considering Hardman for this slate. He posted 4 receptions for 81 yards and a score in this matchup last year, with the touchdown being a 49-yard strike.

In Week 1, Hardman saw only 3 targets, catching all of them for 19 yards, but he was out there on 70.3% of the Chiefs' snaps. Modest-salaried access to a guy who should be on the field a lot makes Hardman worth a look.

Demarcus Robinson, Chiefs ($6,000)

Demarcus Robinson actually saw a slightly higher snap rate (75.0%) than Hardman did, and his salary can be a big help. He logged two targets, catching one for nine yards, so we can't expect much. But this is mostly about the snap rate, the low salary and hoping to luck into a touchdown. Robinson may end up being a chalk value pick as the masses look for low-salary exposure to KC.

Devin Duvernay, Ravens ($6,500)

Devin Duvernay is definitely more enticing if Hollywood is out or limited, but even if Brown plays, Duvernay needs to be on our radar. He played 57.3% of the snaps in the Week 1 defeat at Vegas, with the 39 total snaps being the third-most of his career. He didn't do much -- two targets, one catch and six yards -- but our projections rate him as the top point-per-dollar pick among those with a four-digit salary as we have him scoring 6.5 FanDuel points.