FanDuel NFL DFS Picks for Super Bowl LIX Between the Chiefs and Eagles

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.

The postseason is a fun time to play single-game NFL DFS on FanDuel.

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.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and FanDuel Research has single-game NFL DFS projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Top NFL DFS Plays for Super Bowl LIX

MVP Candidates

A quick glance at our NFL DFS projections show that Jalen Hurts ($13,500), Patrick Mahomes ($14,000), and Saquon Barkley ($16,500) are in a tier of their own. The quarterbacks are projected for roughly 20 FanDuel points apiece while Barkley is pegged for 17-plus points. No one else has a projection that reaches even 12 points.

All three are coming off massive fantasy scores in the Conference Championship Round, too, as each one cracked 30 FanDuel points.

Barkley's insane ceiling makes him a particularly appealing option. Including the playoffs, he's averaged 145.3 scrimmage yards per game and scored 30 or more FanDuel points in 8 of his 19 games, which also includes a pair of performances with 40+ points.

However, this season's tantalizing production could result in him coming at far and away the highest MVP roster percentage. On the NFC Championship single-game slate, Saquon was slotted at MVP in close to half of lineups and sometimes even closer to 60% in certain tournaments.

With that in mind, Hurts and Mahomes will likely have much lower MVP roster percentages than we might typically expect, which could be a potentialopportunity to buy.

Passing volume has been the main worry surrounding Hurts down the stretch, but he was productive and efficient through the air in the NFC Championship, completing 20-of-28 passes for 246 yards and a TD. Of course, more importantly, he cashing in on three rushing scores, a firm reminder of his dual-threat upside when everything clicks just right. Hurts racked up 41.2 FanDuel points against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

While Mahomes doesn't tend to put up gaudy rushing numbers, he flashed his dual-threat abilities in the last round, too, rushing 11 times for 43 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Between that outing and lighting up the Pittsburgh Steelers for three passing TDs on Christmas, Mahomes has now scored 29+ points in two of his last three games despite what was an otherwise underwhelming fantasy season. This is a difficult matchup against an Eagles team that enters this game ranked first in schedule-adjusted defense, but we're long past doubting Mahomes on the biggest stage.

These three will occupy the vast majority of lineups at MVP, so any other player figures to see an MVP roster percentage in the low single digits. But given how much less popular the two QBs could be at the multiplier slot relative to Barkley, rolling with one of them looks like an ideal tournament strategy.

Flex Targets

A.J. Brown ($12,500) -- Brown finally got off the mat and produced 18.6 FanDuel points in the NFC Championship after basically being a no-show in the previous two rounds. As always, the run-heavy nature of the Eagles' offense makes it hard to envision Brown leading the slate in scoring, but another strong outing could be in store. Even with his two duds, Brown has shown strong market shares this postseason, boasting a 29.0% target share, 59.1% air yards share, and 40.0% red zone target share.

Travis Kelce ($12,000) -- Kelce excelled in the Divisional Round (24.2 points) only to completely disappear in the AFC Championship (2.9). He still has a 24.5% target share in these playoffs, though, and it's hard to see him putting up back-to-back clunkers with a three-peat on the line. He could be worth throwing in a few lineups as a contrarian MVP in case he can conjure up another vintage performance. Kelce's projected for the slate's most targets (8.3).

Xavier Worthy ($11,500) -- Worthy leads K.C. with a 26.5% target share in their two postseason games, but he also has a minuscule 3.8-yard aDOT. The good news is he's been utilized heavily near the goal line (45.5% red zone target share) and should get a handful of designed runs, so he has some paths toward a big fantasy score.

DeVonta Smith ($11,000) -- Smith has seen exactly four targets in each of the Eagles' playoff games with a respectable 19.4% target share. However, he's averaged just one downfield target (10+ air yards) per game and has seen zero red-zone looks. If there's a reason for optimism, though, he often plays from the slot, which is a position Kansas City hasn't defended well this season.

Kareem Hunt ($10,500) -- Even with Isiah Pacheco back, Hunt pretty clearly remains the Chiefs' lead back. Hunt is playing roughly half of the backfield snaps (52.7%) in the playoffs and has scored a touchdown in four straight games going back to the regular season. He even reached 17 carries in his last outing, his most since Week 9. At the very least, we should expect him to see double-digit opportunities in the Super Bowl.

Dallas Goedert ($10,000) -- Goedert is actually tied with A.J. Brown for a team-high 29.0% target share this postseason, and he's reached double-digit FanDuel points in two of the three games. The Chiefs allowed the sixth-most FanDuel points per game in the regular season, too.

Marquise Brown ($9,500) -- In the playoffs, Hollywood Brown is third on K.C. in route rate (63.6%) and target share (14.3%), so despite the lack of meaningful fantasy production, he seems to have taken over as the WR2 behind Worthy. He leads the team with a 40.7% air yards share and could pay off if he and Mahomes can connect on a deep play or two.

Jake Elliott ($9,000) and Harrison Butker ($9,000) -- In a matchup with a fair bit of scoring expected (48.5 total), the kickers will probably get outpaced by other value options. It also doesn't help that these two weren't exactly automatic this season, and in Elliott's case, that's carried over into the playoffs. He's missed a field goal and three extra points.

Isiah Pacheco ($8,500) -- Pacheco has averaged just 5.0 carries and 1.5 targets with a 30.4% snap rate over the last two games. He's had a 23.1% red zone rush share, so he could theoretically get a touchdown, but it's really hard to get excited about his role these days.

DeAndre Hopkins ($8,500) -- Hopkins has 3 total targets in two postseason contests, and his snap rate dipped to just 17.5% in the AFC Championship. Perhaps he gets more involved this week, but his usage has cratered with Hollywood Brown back.

Philadelphia Eagles D/ST ($8,000) and Kansas City Chiefs D/ST ($8,000) -- If you want to roster Barkley, Mahomes, and Hurts all in the same lineup, you're left with $8,000 for each of the final two slots, so it might be worth at least considering one of the defenses. The Eagles' defense has scored 14, 10, and 11 FanDuel points in the playoffs and rated as our top schedule-adjusted unit. Kansas City's matchup against a run-heavy offense means they have a tougher path to sacks and turnovers, but Hurts had the NFL's sixth-highest sack rate in the regular season and took 7 sacks in the Divisional Round.

Noah Gray ($7,500) -- Gray ran just 8.8% of the routes in the AFC Championship after being up at 37.5% the week before. Maybe we see him run more routes in the Super Bowl, but he's clearly nothing more than a dart throw after popping for some big scores earlier in the season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster ($7,000) -- Smith-Schuster may very well be Mahomes' fourth option ahead of Hopkins after getting bumped up to a 58.7% snap rate and 52.9% route rate in the AFC Championship. He's tallied just four total targets -- one ahead of Hopkins -- but three came in that last game, and his salary is $1,500 lower.

Jahan Dotson ($7,000) -- Dotson is probably the only fringe Eagles pass catcher to consider -- and just barely at that. Dotson has logged a 67.4% route rate this postseason, but it's resulted in just two total targets, both of which came in the Wild Card Round. He did score a touchdown in that game, though, and this modest salary could come in handy.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.