Wide Receiver and Tight End Matchups to Target for Super Bowl LIX - Dallas Goedert, Xavier Worthy, A.J. Brown, more

Welcome to the Super Bowl LIX edition of our WR Matchups to Target column. We aim to finish the 2024-2025 NFL year on a high after a successful regular season that saw us hit the 3x DraftKings salary benchmark on 34% of our picks. We’ll be spotlighting the top six pass catchers by DFS salary for our season finale, including two tight ends who will be heavily involved through the air. 

Regulars to this column know we typically order our picks by DraftKings salary. This week, however, we will list players based on matchup and their likelihood of returning value for DFS.

Below are the top six passing game matchups for Super Bowl LIX. Use these to make prop picks and gain an edge in DFS for the big game.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

$5.8k on DraftKings, $10k on FanDuel; vs. Kansas City Defense

Goedert has looked great for the Eagles in the four games since returning from injury on January 5th, averaging 4.75 catches and 60.75 yards over that span. 

The Eagles TE has an excellent outlook for Sunday’s Super Bowl against the man-heavy Chiefs. Kansas City deployed man coverage at a top-seven rate this season, against which Goedert tallied a 3.43 yards per route run rate, sixth-best out of 137 eligible WRs and TEs this year. The Chiefs are PFF’s best matchup for opposing TEs.

The 30-year-old tied A.J. Brown for the team lead with eight targets in the NFC Championship game, showing his importance to the Eagles’ passing attack this postseason. In a passing game script against a Chiefs team that is most vulnerable to inside passing, Goedert is a great bet to return value on Sunday.

Dallas Goedert returned from knee injury in Week 18. Since then, has seen 24 targets on 83 routes. Wildly high 29% TPRR.

pic.twitter.com/aisZn8fnkP

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) January 27, 2025

Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

$8k on DraftKings, $11.5k on FanDuel; vs. Darius Slay

Speaking of players whose roles have elevated as the stakes have risen, rookie receiver Xavier Worthy is hitting his stride at the perfect time for the Chiefs. The first-round draft pick has eight or more touches in four of the last five games he played, after not hitting that mark a single time in his first 13 outings.

He showcased that importance against the Bills two weeks ago, catching six balls for 85 yards and a touchdown to go along with two carries. He has also led the Chiefs in receptions in four of his last five games, with the lone outlier a Week 17 matchup in which Kelce outpaced him in targets 11 to nine.

Worthy has been a target hog in the red zone as well, tallying a 45.5% red zone target share in the postseason. His prowess in the running game further boosts his odds of a touchdown. He has a rush in 14 of his 18 games this season.

Worthy is an excellent bet to lead the KC's pass catchers in touches once more on Sunday despite coming in $1k cheaper than Kelce in DraftKings.

Xavier Worthy has become the man coverage answer for the Chiefs in the postseason and the results have been pretty outrageous, as you can tell from @FourVerts’ reaction here. pic.twitter.com/HZ1KaOnlHS

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) February 6, 2025

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

$9.6k on DraftKings, $12.5k on FanDuel; vs. Trent McDuffie

A.J. Brown is the highest-priced receiver in DFS for Super Bowl LIX and rightfully so. Brown finished the season WR15, a down year by his standards, despite finishing third among all receivers in yards per route run (first against man coverage). 

He is PFF’s number-one rated receiver against man, which the Chiefs deployed over 32% of the time this season. He ranked third this year in overall PFF grade among 125 eligible receivers. 

Brown had a couple of dud performances earlier in the playoffs before redeeming himself with an eight catch, 96 yards, and one touchdown performance two weeks ago against the Commanders. This postseason he is garnering a 29.0% target share, 59.1% air yards share, and 40.0% red zone target share per FanDuel.

With the Eagles likely to come out strong in the running game, Brown is not likely to be a high-volume receiver on Sunday, but he can blow the top off the defense at any point, as he did in the last Super Bowl these two teams faced off in. He will be relied on particularly if the Chiefs work themselves into a lead early.

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Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

$9k on DraftKings, $12k on FanDuel; vs. Philadelphia Defense

El Travador followed up his best performance of the season on Divisional Weekend with a stinker two weeks ago against the Bills in the AFC Championship, catching two passes for 19 yards. 

That said he tends to show up in the biggest moments, making him a solid bet this Sunday. In four career games against the Eagles, Kelce has three touchdowns, including a memorable performance in Super Bowl LVII in which he tallied six catches for 81 yards and a score.

Name value has driven Kelce’s DFS cost and betting lines up. He has the best anytime touchdown odds of any Chiefs play per Bet365 (+120), and Vegas projects him for 6.5 catches and 61.5 yards. 

The future Hall of Famer is still a threat to take over the game at any point, as he showed earlier this month against Houston when he finished with eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Given his popularity, he is a better cash play on Sunday.

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

$7.4k on DraftKings, $11k on FanDuel; vs. Chamarri Conner

Smith has had a quiet postseason, catching four balls in each of Philadelphia’s three playoff games while averaging 40 receiving yards. He is averaging only one downfield target (10+ air yards) per game with zero red-zone opportunities over that span.

Those recent performances are priced into his DFS cost this week - his $7.4k DraftKings salary comes as the fourth most expensive of the game, behind Worthy and Kelce.

Despite the discount, Smith is projected to have the best matchup of any starting receiver according to FantasyPoints. He will primarily line up in the slot opposite CB Chamarri Conner. Smith is PFF’s 19th best-rated WR this year (out of 125 eligible receivers).

The former Heisman winner is a sneakier option on Sunday given his mixed play of late.

Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs

$5.4k on DraftKings, $9.5k on FanDuel; vs. Cooper DeJean

Hollywood Brown has given the Chiefs a nice jolt since returning from injury on December 21st. Over his four games with Kansas City, he is averaging 5.5 targets per game. The 27-year-old still has excellent speed and leads the team with a 40.7% share of Kansas City’s air yards this postseason. 

Brown has also performed well against the Eagles in the past, tallying 16 targets, 12 catches, 135 receiving yards, and a touchdown in two career games against Philadelphia.

Andy Reid is known to draw up players for his speedsters in big games. In Super Bowl LVII, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore both caught touchdowns. Marquise Brown is a great bet to carry that torch on Sunday.

Thanks for reading this season, and good luck with your DFS contests for one final time this season!

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