New Orleans Saints

After going 10 consecutive games without reaching the 30-yard barrier, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has made some clutch plays during the playoffs. Valdes Scantling came down with two 30-yard passes in the Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills, and he sealed the deal during the AFC Championship victory over the Baltimore Ravens with a 32-yard reception in the game's waning moments. The 29-year-old perimeter wideout shares duties as K.C.'s vertical threat alongside Justin Watson, which makes him only a volatile DFS option on Super Bowl Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. While MVS is not a bad choice among Sunday's salary-relief options, he's in line to square off most frequently on the outside with top Niners cornerback Charvarius Ward, who led all corners with 13 pass break-ups during the regular season entering this matchup against the team he won Super Bowl LIV with.

After fully practicing on Wednesday, Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness) popped up on the team's injury report on Thursday and was downgraded to a limited practice participant due to an illness. While that initially put the 24-year-old's status into question for Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, he put in a full session on Friday and enters the big game with no injury designation. Although Jerick McKinnon (groin) is questionable to play following a week of limited practices, head coach Andy Reid said on Tuesday that the pass-catching back is not expected to play. That leaves Edwards-Helaire as the Chiefs' change-of-pace back behind Isiah Pacheco, a role that's yielded only 27% of K.C.'s offensive snaps over three postseason games. Even though he's cheap in DFS, CEH is unlikely to make much of an impact with such little opportunity and would be totally out of play if McKinnon is surprisingly active.

Kansas City Chiefs running backs Jerick McKinnon (groin) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness) were both limited in the team's practice on Thursday. McKinnon remains on Injured Reserve, hasn't played since Week 15 and is unlikely to be activated in order to play in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. Meanwhile, Edwards-Helaire pops up on the injury report for the first time while being under the weather, but the 24-year-old should be fine in time for Sunday's big game. Isiah Pacheco (ankle, toe) has been practicing in full this week and will play this weekend, which will leave little for CEH in KC's backfield in order to make some noise for fantasy managers in DFS. In the team's three playoff games this year, Edwards-Helaire has just 10 carries for 53 yards and no touchdowns for the Chiefs.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is set to count $35.7 million against the salary cap in 2024, and his contract presents an opportunity for the team to create some more cap space by March 13, the start of the new league year. The Saints are expected to restructure Carr's contract by that date, which would effectively tie the team to Carr for at least the next two seasons. Leaving Carr's contract alone would have allowed them to move on from Carr next year with a relatively small financial penalty. The 32-year-old is set to make $30 million in base salary in 2024. If the Saints choose the most aggressive route and convert all but the veteran minimum to a signing bonus, they could lower Carr's cap hit in 2024 to around $14.2 million, which would clear more than $21 million in immediate cap relief. Carr got better down the stretch in 2023 and finished his first year in New Orleans with 3,878 passing yards, 25 TDs and eight picks while playing through a sprained AC joint in his shoulder, fractured ribs and two concussions.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling made perhaps the biggest play of Sunday's 17-10 AFC Championship triumph over the Baltimore Ravens, coming down with a game-clinching 32-yard reception right before the fourth quarter's two-minute warning to get his team into victory formation. Showing a pulse with two 30-yard gains in the Divisional Round victory over the Buffalo Bills following a dismal regular season, Valdes-Scantling struck again when it mattered most and closed with 38 yards on two catches in total to help K.C. reach their fourth Super Bowl since the 2019 season. The Chiefs may be wondering where this Valdes-Scantling has been all year long, but the ill-fated 29-year-old deep threat is certainly peaking at the right time. MVS hopes to make another big play when his team clashes with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 after going catchless in last year's big game.