FanDuel NFL DFS Plays For Super Bowl 60: Kenneth Walker Leads The Building Blocks
DFS

FanDuel NFL DFS Plays For Super Bowl 60: Kenneth Walker Leads The Building Blocks

Joe Metz breaks down how to approach the single-game NFL DFS slate on FanDuel for Super Bowl 60.

We’re down our final FanDuel NFL DFS slate of the season with the single-game Super Bowl 60 slate on tap.

Larger contests and more money up top make this the best single-game slate of the season, so let’s dive into how to approach it. 

Super Bowl NFL DFS Projections - The Top Plays on FanDuel

Our NFL DFS projections for Super Bowl 60 have been constantly updating throughout the week. As things stand at the time of writing, below is how our current projections are shaking out.

Top Projected Plays (Base Projection):

  1. Drake Maye (16.9)
  2. Kenneth Walker (16.0)
  3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (15.9)
  4. Sam Darold (15.5)
  5. Rhamondre Stevenson (12.8)
  6. Stefon Diggs (8.1)
  7. Hunter Henry (6.9)
  8. Kayshon Boutte (6.7)
  9. AJ Barner (6.2)
  10. Cooper Kupp (5.9)

As is rather normal on a single-game slate, the projections drop off a cliff rather quickly. After Rhamondre Stevenson, the next-closest projecting player is Stefon Diggs (8.1), a 4.7-point dropoff, leaving only five players in the game projecting for double-digit half-PPR points.

Most Popular Projected Plays (Ownership%):

  1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (63.7%)
  2. Kenneth Walker (58.2%)
  3. Drake Maye (54.6%)
  4. Sam Darnold (51.9%)
  5. Rhamondre Stevenson (45.6%)
  6. Stefon Diggs (33.2%)
  7. Hunter Henry (27.3%)
  8. Kayshon Boutte (26.2%)
  9. AJ Barner (24.9%)
  10. Cooper Kupp (24.7%)

The ownership landscape mirrors the order of the projections we have, which makes sense. The expectation is that the majority of lineups show up with multiple of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker and the two quarterbacks; we’re likely to see at least two of these names in every lineup in the field.

MVP Picks For Super Bowl 60 on FanDuel DFS

My three favorite picks for the MVP slot on FanDuel (1.5x salary, 1.5x score) are listed below in order of preference, not salary.

SEA_seahawks-logo.svgKenneth Walker ($16,800)

While JSN has the highest salary on the slate, the half-PPR scoring on FanDuel makes Kenneth Walker the clear choice. Not only does he out-project Smith-Njigba in both base and Xfinity best projections (16 to 15.9, 24.1 to 23.3, respectively), but you unlock $2,700 in salary by opting for the Seahawks workhorse.

Over the last two weeks, with Zach Charbonnet going down with a torn ACL, Walker has posted a 62% snap rate with Utilization Scores of 81 and 86. While he’s not a true workhorse in terms of snap percentage (George Holani is getting his fair share), his 66% rush share, 29% targets per route run and 100% rush share inside the five-yard line are workhorse-like utilization numbers.

I’d be shocked if Walker is not the most popular MVP selection on the slate, but this is chalk that would be irresponsible to fade.

NE_patriots-logo.svgDrake Maye ($18,900)

Drake Maye is another player who finds himself less expensive than Seattle’s WR1, and those incremental savings have me confidently slotting Maye into the No. 2 spot in the MVP rankings (twice in one week for Maye, oof).

Seattle’s defense has looked elite all season, but as Matt LaMarca broke down, the string of quarterbacks they’ve faced is less than inspiring. The one exception is Matthew Stafford, who absolutely shredded the Seattle secondary in all three games. While Maye doesn’t carry the same passing-game upside that Stafford does, he provides rushing upside that Stafford does not. Maye has posted an 9% designed rush rate in the playoffs, up from 5% in the regular season. With the added rushing upside on top of the already reliable floor that you get with Maye, there may not be a safer MVP option on the slate.

SEA_seahawks-logo.svgJaxon Smith-Njigba ($19,500)

I’ve knocked JSN a bit, but it’s more to do with his salary relative to Walker and Maye. When it comes to raw projection, Smith-Njigba falls only 0.1 behind Walker for the highest skill-position projection on the slate, and out-projects every single wide receiver on the slate by at least 7.8 points.

So far in the playoffs, he’s posted a 32% target share, 90 UR Score and 11.1-yard aDOT, continuing to torch secondaries as he has all season. If he continues to operate primarily out of the slot and avoids constant coverage from Christian Gonzalez, we could see another nuclear performance from JSN—you just have to pay for it on FanDuel.

FanDuel NFL DFS Value Plays For Super Bowl 60

Patriots DST ($6,600): The Patriots defense has been on an absolute tear over the last month plus. They haven’t allowed more than 16 points in any of their last five games, recording 17 sacks, 7 interceptions and 4 fumble recoveries while also scoring a touchdown. As good as Sam Darnold has been, he led the league in turnovers (25) and has a reputation for seeing ghosts when pressured. There is massive upside in playing the Pats D, especially in lineups where you fade Darnold.

Rashid Shaheed ($5,800): Cooper Kupp is an intriguing play as another Seattle pass catcher, but the near-$3,000 discount on Shaheed makes him the more palatable click. Shaheed only hauled in one of his three targets last week, but made the most of it with a 51-yard grab. His big-play ability alone makes this a worthwhile GPP click, knowing he can get there in a single play, and the fact that he has upside on special teams only adds to his value at this price.

AJ Barner ($5,200): Another inexpensive way to access the Seattle pass-catching room is through Barner. While Hunter Henry may be the TE that draws more attention, Barner’s projection of 6.2 is less than a point (0.7) back of Henry’s, but he’s $2,400 cheaper. He also has a +0.6 Xfinity fantasy boost, compared to Henry’s -0.4.

George Holani ($4,400): Value gets gross, fast. Holani is really the lowest I’m willing to go on this slate, but I’d try not to go down this low in small-field and single-entry contests. Regardless, Holani was on the field for 89% of the two-minute snaps and drew four targets in addition to a trio of rushing attempts. Seven opportunities aren’t something you get every day at this price point.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Kenneth Walker
    KennethWalker
    RBSEASEA
    PPG
    11.19
    Proj
    15.49
  2. Drake Maye
    DrakeMaye
    QBNENE
    PPG
    16.14
    Proj
    17.04
  3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
    JaxonSmith-Njigba
    WRSEASEA
    PPG
    12.08
    Proj
    16.17
  4. Rashid Shaheed
    RashidShaheed
    WRSEASEA
    PPG
    5.04
    Proj
    4.60