Colts-Chiefs DFS Picks: Best Value Plays, NFL Week 2

The Kansas City Chiefs host the Indianapolis Colts in back-to-back primetime home games to open the season, with Sunday Night Football coming just days after their Monday night opener. The Chiefs arrive off a strong showing on MNF, while the Colts look to bounce back from a rough season opener against the Ravens. Here are the players worth targeting in your SNF DFS lineup this week. 

Here are the best DFS picks for Sunday night’s Colts vs. Chiefs showdown. Don’t forget to check out our NFL betting trends page for game data and insights on the week ahead.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Kansas City Chiefs DFS Picks

Pos	Player	Matchup	FPPG	Salary
MVP	👑 Kenneth Walker III	IND @ KC	37.1	$15,900
FLEX	Patrick Mahomes	IND @ KC	22.7	$10,000
FLEX	Josh Downs	IND @ KC	5.7	$6,600
FLEX	Rashee Rice	IND @ KC	9.9	$9,400
FLEX	Emmett Johnson	IND @ KC	8.8	$3,600
FLEX	Chiefs	IND @ KC	12.0	$4,200

👑 Kenneth Walker, KC/RB/MVP ($15,900)

It is hard to look past Kenneth Walker III for the captain spot. In his first game since winning Super Bowl MVP, Walker wasted no time making his presence felt with his new team. The former Seahawk finished the opener with a league-high 173 rushing yards, 2 TDs, and 3 receptions for 18 yards — 191 total scrimmage yards, leading the league in Week 1. He has a strong chance of doing it again against a weak Indianapolis defense.

The Colts were battered by the Ravens in their opener, with Derrick Henry looking unstoppable against their defensive front — 163 yards and 3 TDs. Indianapolis now faces another elite back just seven days later. Expect Kansas City to keep feeding Walker, who should have little trouble following up his debut with another dominant outing.

Patrick Mahomes, KC/QB ($10,000)

Mahomes was relatively quiet in his first game back since tearing multiple ligaments in his knee last season. The 31-year-old was not asked to do much given how well the ground game functioned, yet still finished with 3 total TDs and moved around reasonably well despite returning from a significant lower-body injury. Like Walker, Mahomes and his receivers have a favorable matchup against a Colts secondary that Jackson picked apart last week — 324 passing yards with his top two WRs going down.

Mahomes will have his full complement of weapons and should find it equally manageable against this defense. He threw for 352 yards against Indianapolis last season, and last week’s performance from the Colts’ secondary suggests another high-volume day could be on the cards.

Josh Downs, IND/WR ($6,600)

Downs and the Indianapolis offense never found their footing in the season opener, falling into a significant deficit before they could establish any rhythm. Facing another strong offense this week, look for the Colts to be more aggressive from the start and try to keep pace with what they’re facing. Downs’ Week 1 numbers were underwhelming, but the underlying metrics suggest a better outing ahead.

The fourth-year WR led all Colts receivers with an 85.3% route participation rate while playing 88.7% of their snaps. He saw just 4 targets on the day, but OC Jim Bob Cooter clearly views him as one of Indianapolis’ primary weapons — they just couldn’t get him involved in the opener. With the Colts’ QB also returning from a season-ending injury, both he and Downs should look sharper in Week 2.

Rashee Rice, KC/WR ($9,400)

Stacking Mahomes with his WR1 is straightforward given how poorly the Colts defended last week. Baltimore’s Zay Flowers was on pace for a historic afternoon against Indianapolis before a hamstring injury ended his day at halftime — 5 catches for 150 yards and a TD in just two quarters. Rice has the same speed and YAC ability to replicate much of what Flowers did, and no defense allowed more YAC than Indianapolis in Week 1.

The Ravens finished with a league-high 173 YAC in that game, and Rice could add to that total on Sunday night. Mahomes and Rice connected just twice in the opener, with Rice hauling in one of Mahomes’ two passing TDs. Rice spent much of the game drawing All-Pro CB Patrick Surtain II, which likely suppressed his volume, but he should see far more favorable matchups against the Colts’ struggling secondary. Baltimore repeatedly targeted rookie DB Justin Walley in Week 1, and Mahomes figures to look for the same mismatch.

Emmett Johnson, KC/RB ($3,600)

With a top-heavy lineup, we need value in the lower price range, and rookie RB Emmett Johnson fits the bill. The former Nebraska standout will naturally be overshadowed by Walker, but he saw an impressive snap count in his NFL debut and is the clear RB2 on the depth chart. Johnson played 39% of Kansas City’s snaps and made the most of his opportunities — 8 carries for 24 yards and 2 catches for 44 yards.

Walker will almost certainly dominate the workload again against the Colts, but Johnson looks like the ideal complement. The explosive rookie will continue to see the field more as the season goes on and showed big-play ability in just his first professional game. Given how easily the Colts’ run defense was carved up in the opener, a few chunk plays from Johnson would not be a surprise.

Chiefs D/ST ($4,200)

The Chiefs defense silenced a lot of noise by thoroughly handling their AFC West rivals on Monday night. Denver came in with high expectations after a strong season and added WR Jaylen Waddle in the offseason, yet Kansas City limited not only Waddle but the Broncos’ entire passing game — QB Bo Nix finished with just 131 yards on 28 attempts. Denver was equally ineffective on the ground, rushing for just 61 yards as a team, the lowest total of any team in Week 1.

The Broncos managed just 9 first downs against this defense, and the Colts — who also struggled badly in Week 1 — could be headed for a similar afternoon. Indianapolis put together some positive drives once the game was out of hand but struggled early and had costly turnovers throughout. If Kansas City comes out and attacks the Colts the way Baltimore did in Week 1, expect mistakes from Jones and his offense to pile up once they fall behind.

Photo Credit: REUTERS