Kickoff Weekend closes out with the Denver Broncos traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs, and this Monday Night Football matchup carries real DFS intrigue. Patrick Mahomes makes his return from a torn ACL and LCL, Bo Nix is back after a broken ankle ended his 2025 season early, and Vegas has installed Kansas City as a 2.5-point favorite with the total sitting at 43.5. That number suggests oddsmakers expect a competitive, points-on-the-board affair rather than a defensive slog.

On a single-game slate like this one, roster construction is everything. You can’t spread risk across ten different games, so identifying the players with the clearest paths to touches — and the salary relief to pair them together — matters more than usual. Here are five NFL DFS picks worth building around for tonight’s DraftKings lineup or FanDuel picks for the Broncos-Chiefs opener.

Bo Nix, QB — Denver Broncos ($5,800 DK / $7,400 FD)

Nix enters his third season with real momentum after a breakout 2025: 3,931 passing yards, 25 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, and an NFL-high 612 pass attempts. He added 356 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the ground, giving him a rushing floor that most pocket passers simply don’t offer. Across his first two NFL seasons he’s now compiled 786 rushing yards and nine rushing scores, so the dual-threat upside is very real in a game environment that could get track-meet-ish.

Denver’s offense also got a talent influx via trade, adding Jaylen Waddle to a receiving corps that already includes Courtland Sutton and Evan Engram. Head coach Sean Payton has praised Nix’s growth heading into this matchup, and against a Chiefs defense that’s breaking in personnel changes after trading away Trent McDuffie, there’s a path to a big night through the air and on the ground. At $5,800 on DraftKings, Nix offers passing volume plus rushing equity that’s tough to find at the position on this slate.

Patrick Mahomes, QB — Kansas City Chiefs ($5,500 DK / $7,700 FD)

Mahomes returns to the field for the first time since tearing his ACL and LCL in Week 15 last season, and he’s doing so with no injury designation after a full week of practice. Before the injury, Mahomes was actually rolling — he averaged 24.5 fantasy points per game over Weeks 1-8 of 2025 before a late-season slide, finishing with 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 games. He’ll reportedly wear a protective brace on the surgically repaired knee, which could limit some of his scrambling ability against a Broncos pass rush that led the NFL with 68 sacks last season.

Even with mobility questions, Mahomes’ arm talent and the return of a full complement of weapons make him a viable UTIL play at a discounted salary relative to his ceiling. Kansas City signed Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III this offseason to fix a shaky ground game, which should open up play-action opportunities for Mahomes if Denver’s defense has to respect the run. Given the uncertainty around his conditioning, he profiles as more of a value flex than a lock, but the talent floor remains high even in his first game back.

Jaylen Waddle, WR — Denver Broncos ($9,000 DK)

Waddle’s arrival in Denver via a blockbuster March trade instantly changed the complexion of the Broncos’ passing attack, and he now looks like the primary target for Nix. Over his career, Waddle has topped 100 targets in four separate seasons and cleared 1,000 receiving yards three times, including a 1,356-yard, eight-touchdown campaign in 2022. Last season in Miami he caught 64 of his targets for 910 yards and six scores, showing he still has plenty left even after a down 2024.

The concern is target competition — Courtland Sutton has led Denver in targets in each of Nix’s two seasons as a starter — but Waddle’s speed gives him a clear role as a big-play threat regardless of raw target share. Against a Chiefs secondary that just lost longtime cornerback Trent McDuffie in a trade, there’s real upside for Waddle to hit an explosive gain or two that DFS lineups can capitalize on. At $9,000, he’s a premium price, but he’s the built-in ceiling piece on this Broncos side.

Kenneth Walker III, RB — Kansas City Chiefs ($6,500 DK / $7,400 FD)

Walker arrives in Kansas City fresh off winning Super Bowl LX MVP and signing a three-year, $43 million deal that made him the clear lead back in Andy Reid’s offense. After splitting carries with Zach Charbonnet for four years in Seattle — including a career-high 67 percent snap share down the stretch last season — Walker is now positioned as a three-down workhorse with a legitimate path to 15-plus touches. He finished 2025 with 1,027 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 221 carries, plus 282 receiving yards on 31 targets, showing he can contribute in the passing game too.

Denver’s run defense is stout, which tempers some enthusiasm, but Walker’s role alone — as the unquestioned lead back on a team that invested heavily to get him — makes him one of the safer floor plays at running back on this slate. If the game script tilts toward Kansas City protecting a lead, Walker becomes the workhorse beneficiary, and his receiving work provides a safety net even if the ground game stalls against Denver’s front seven.

Evan Engram, TE — Denver Broncos ($3,400 DK)

Engram is the value play of this group, and at his salary, he doesn’t need a huge game to pay off. He caught 50 of his 76 targets last season for 461 yards and a touchdown, and while his 42 percent snap share was a career low, he still out-targeted TE2 Adam Trautman by more than a 3-to-1 margin (76 targets to 23). That gap in usage tells you exactly who Denver’s coaching staff trusts as a pass-catcher at the position.

Engram also drew 12 red-zone targets last season, giving him some scoring equity even in a limited role. With Waddle now drawing extra attention from Kansas City’s secondary, there could be more room underneath for Engram to operate as a checkdown option for Nix. At $3,400, he’s a low-cost way to fill out a lineup around the more expensive plays above, and any game-script scenario where Denver is moving the ball consistently should keep him involved.

Building Your Lineup

On a limited slate like this, correlation is your friend. Pairing Bo Nix with Jaylen Waddle gives you a Broncos passing-game stack that can hit big if Denver’s offense clicks the way it did during Nix’s strong 2025 season, while rostering Kenneth Walker III alongside the Chiefs’ passing attack lets you fade toward whichever side controls the game script. If you want to get value-heavy to afford both quarterbacks, Evan Engram is the clearest way to save salary without sacrificing much upside, since Denver’s offensive coordinator has already shown he trusts Engram over Trautman in the passing game.

Popular DraftKings promo code and FanDuel lineups will likely be loaded with Walker and Waddle given the name recognition, so if you’re looking to differentiate in a large-field contest, consider leaning more heavily on Mahomes as a contrarian UTIL piece given the uncertainty around his conditioning after a long injury layoff. Whatever build you land on, check the inactive list right up until kickoff — with both starting quarterbacks coming off major injuries, any late change to their status would completely reshape the projections above. For more context on how the number crunchers view tonight’s game, the full live NFL odds page is worth a final look before locking your lineup.