The only positive – let alone cathartic – moment for the Los Angeles Chargers after their emphatic Wild Card playoff loss to the Texans was Ladd McConkey’s 86-yard touchdown reception. As it turns out, it was the exact same play that crowned him king of the end zone on Saturday DraftKings Sportsbook. It was always going to be hard for anyone in the Ravens/Steelers game to go 86 yards, so McConkey kind of has the regime under control from the start.

Yesterday, Curtis Samuels’ 55-yard touchdown took away the throne from Troy Franklin’s 43-yard bomb from Bo Nix.

Derrick Henry was the favorite to be King of the End Zone on the first day of the NFL playoffs, and Saquon Barkley was the favorite on the second day. Saquon didn’t hit the end zone and Henry didn’t score long.

Will Kyren Williams, today’s short-odds favorite, potentially outdo a long-odd and become Monday Night Football’s King of the End Zone?

King of the End Zone – What You Need to Know

Right. We’re all now familiar with the promo as we understand that we’re looking at our next succession plan to the NFL throne – looking for another crownless one to become king – only if that candidate scores the points longest touchdown of the day.

Before we get into Kyren Williams, let’s take a look at Brian Flores’ elite defensive unit for the Vikings and how it handled the rush heading into the playoffs.

How Minnesota’s defense attacked explosive rushing plays in the second half of the season

First, let’s take a look at Minnesota’s overall defense in the second half of the season (specifically Weeks 12-18) to get a sense of how the unit got to the playoffs.

In this promo, we’re really all about rushing defense (Y-axis). Note that the Vikings are just above league average in run defense during this time. That could mean the Rams won’t shy away from giving Kyren 15-20 runs in this game.

But it is that longest touchdown This is what we have to deal with the most, right? Just like we did on Saturday when we analyzed Derrick Henry’s outlook on the King of the End Zone, we’ll take a look at the Vikings’ vulnerability to explosive running plays.

If you take away the Panthers’ incredible 46 explosive run plays allowed in Weeks 12-18, the Vikings rank sixth in the league with the most explosive plays on the ground. They have given up 21, and the closest to the Panthers is the Browns with 28. That means the Vikings are among the worst in the league when it comes to defending against long rushing plays.

This bodes well for Kyren Williams’ chances of potentially becoming the king of the end zone tonight.

Kyren Williams does a lot of things himself

Check out this ridiculous stat about how effective Kyren Williams is as a lone runner with the ball in his hands.

Sure, we’re all skeptical these days about how many yards per carry (YPC) is an indicator of a running back’s individual effectiveness. But there’s no doubt he’s improved as his offensive line has gotten healthier, and the stat we care about most here is +67 rushing yards above expectations (RYOE).

That means Kyren Williams, like Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, routinely puts himself in position to make it to the second level and potentially break off a long touchdown.

Although he hasn’t completed many plays of more than 20 yards, Kyren Williams’ two longest runs this season (30 and 27 yards – admittedly pretty low) were both against playoff-caliber defenses. He broke off that 30-yarder against the Packers in Week 5 (with a patchwork offensive line) and ripped off that 27-yarder on a first-down play against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Verdict

The advantage here is that it’s just a game. We’re only dealing with two 53-man rosters for this promotion tonight, and there are no gadget receivers like Dyami Brown, Curtis Samuel, Marvin Mims Jr., Calvin Austin III, etc. to necessarily fear. And Kyren will stop a long song; What better time to do this during a game when we expect the purple and yellow to dominate the air attack?

There are the Justin Jeffersons and Jordan Addisons. Also there are Demarcus Robinson and Jailen Nailor – the most skilled hobbyist soldiers scoring long touchdowns tonight. However, I don’t want any of them in my KOTEZ battle for tonight.

And remember: Since this is just one game, you can have your King of the End Zone play for up to three possible touchdowns. Here is my favorite for the evening. Warning – it’s a little crazy.

• Kyren Williams Anytime TD
• Vikings D/ST Anytime TD
• Tutu Atwell Anytime TD

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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds are subject to change.

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I’m a promoter at DraftKings and also an avid fan and customer (my username is thegreatdansby9). Sometimes I play the games I give advice on on my personal account. Although I have expressed my personal opinions on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the opinion(s) of DraftKings and are not a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment when compiling their lineups. I may also use players and strategies other than those recommended above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to non-public information.