Divisional foes for more than 60 years, the Broncos and Chiefs have faced each other 120 times since the days of the AFL. But the rivalry couldn’t possibly be more one-sided recently, as Kansas City has won each of the last 15 meetings. While Denver tries to rebound from a humbling loss to the Jets and earn its first victory when Patrick Mahomes is on the other side, we like the two-time Super Bowl MVP’s safety valve to deliver our top prop:
The bet: Over 13½ receiving yards for Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon (DraftKings)
Playing his third season for the Chiefs after stints with the Vikings and 49ers, McKinnon has carved out a situational role as mostly a pass-catching back. With Isiah Pacheco continuing to be the team’s primary rusher, the man nicknamed “Jet” has cleared this number in three of the last four games, seeing exactly three targets each time.
McKinnon went flying over this total in both of his games against the Broncos last season. He fell two yards short of matching his career high in the first matchup, finishing with 112 yards on seven receptions. And then he brought the new year in for a landing by making five catches for 52 yards.
The Denver defense has remained vulnerable to backs out of the backfield so far this year. Eight players at the position have reached at least 14 receiving yards through the first five games, including both Breece Hall — Sunday’s runaway winner for us — and Michael Carter of the Jets.
Now it’s McKinnon’s turn to get some air-attack burn.
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