NFL DFS picks, Chiefs vs. Ravens: 2024 NFL Kickoff Game lineup includes Patrick Mahomes on FanDuel, DraftKings

The Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver room suffered a blow when free agent acquisition Marquise Brown suffered a shoulder injury in training camp. Instead of going into the season with a weakened offense, Kansas City brought in a familiar face, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was released by the Patriots. Smith-Schuster had 78 receptions for 933 yards with the Chiefs in 2022, so is he a valuable option for NFL DFS lineups for the 2024 NFL Kickoff game between the Chiefs and Ravens on Thursday, September 5?

Smith-Schuster hasn’t spent all of training camp with Kansas City, so how should that impact your NFL DFS strategy? Xavier Worthy, the No. 28 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, will also make his regular season debut alongside Patrick Mahomes, so how should daily fantasy players view the changes to Kansas City’s offense when looking at the NFL DFS player pool? Before locking in any NFL DFS lineups for Ravens vs. Chiefs on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out NFL DFS advice, strategy and stacks from SportsLine daily fantasy expert Mike McClure.

McClure is a legendary professional DFS player, winning over $2 million in his career. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking into account factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries. This helps him find the best DFS value, which he shares only with SportsLine members. His methodology has earned him big cash on FanDuel and DraftKings, including. Last year, he won the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and the FanDuel Million once. Anyone who has followed him has been on the cutting edge.

Now, McClure has turned his focus to Ravens vs. Chiefs in the 2024 NFL season opener and just locked in his top daily fantasy football picks. You can see his picks and analysis only at SportsLine.

Top NFL DFS picks for Chiefs vs. Ravens

One of McClure’s top NFL DFS picks is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The generational talent at quarterback averaged at least 280 passing yards per game in each of his first five seasons as a starter, dropping to 261.4 yards per game last year. While that number isn’t great by his superstar standard, he still has the seventh-best average in the NFL among quarterbacks who started at least 10 games last season. Kansas City upgraded its receiver room this year with the addition of Brown and Worthy, and even if Brown doesn’t play in the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game, Smith-Schuster’s return provides a reliable target to fill that void.

Although Travis Kelce is traditionally his favorite target, Mahomes has proven throughout his career that he can distribute the ball relatively evenly among his pass-catchers. This can make it challenging to decide which of Kansas City’s skill position players on the roster to include in NFL DFS lineups, but Mahomes is a consistent player. He arguably has the highest floor in this contest and even though it’s not cheap, Mahomes is not a player you want to leave out of NFL DFS picks.

McClure is also targeting Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers in his Ravens vs. Chiefs DFS picks. Baltimore focused its offseason offensive capital on improving the running backs, adding future Hall of Famer Derrick Henry, making Flowers the clear-cut WR1. The Ravens were a run-heavy team even before Henry with Lamar Jackson at quarterback, but now that the defensive coordinator has to worry about an elite running back as well as a dual-threat quarterback, teams may focus on stopping the run more than ever against Baltimore.

That could give a player with Flowers’ skill set a chance to step up. Flowers ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the 2023 NFL Combine, 10th-best at his position, before being selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Flowers set Ravens rookie records for receptions (77) and receiving yards (858) and finished with over 100 yards in two of his last three games, including 115 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs in the playoffs. This will be Todd Monken’s second season as the Ravens offensive coordinator and with the system better acquainted and Monken knowing his players better, Flowers could open the 2024 NFL season with a great performance. Here’s a look at who else McClure likes.

Ravens vs. Chiefs NFL DFS lineup, how to set player pool

McClure is also targeting another underrated player who could explode for big numbers in the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournament and cash games or going home with nothing. You can see who it is, and what the rest of McClure’s NFL DFS picks are, only at SportsLine.

So who is Mike McClure including in his optimal NFL DFS lineup for Chiefs vs. Ravens in the 2024 NFL Kickoff Game, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer a lot of value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice and stacks from a daily fantasy expert with over $2 million in winnings and find out.