NFL picks: Player prop bets for Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Bengals in AFC Championship

The Kansas City Chiefs face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year, with an opportunity to avenge their 34-31 loss last season. A matchup of this caliber between two talented offenses could very well result in a high-scoring affair, which sets up the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster to have some promising upside. Let's take a look at the player props worth considering for the veteran wideout.

JuJu Smith-Schuster prop bets for AFC Championship Game

While Smith-Schuster looked to be atop the pecking order in the first half of the regular season, he's clearly become less involved down the stretch. The Chiefs wideout has recorded under 4.5 receptions in seven of his last 10 games, and back when the Chiefs and Bengals met in Week 13, Smith-Schuster was limited to three receptions for 35 yards. There are simply too many players for Patrick Mahomes to spread the ball around to, and even then there's a chance the MVP candidate is limited with his ankle injury.

All these factors likely set up Smith-Schuster for another solid, but relatively quiet day catching the ball, resulting in him finishing under 4.5 receptions.

Smith-Schuster, through his last 10 matchups, has gone over 47.5 receiving yards in only three games. He's currently riding a four-game streak of below this allotted receiving total, which illustrates how far behind he is in the receiving order. While Smith-Schuster may be Kansas City's true number-one receiver, it's clear he's by no means on the level that Travis Kelce is with Mahomes. The Chiefs have eight players with over 250 receiving yards this season, meaning it can be anyone's guess as to who is liable to rack up a large volume of yards.

Smith-Schuster averaged 12.0 yards per reception through the regular season, and in nine games during the regular season his longest reception exceeded 19 yards or more. While he may not average a high volume of receptions that should be apparent for a WR1, it's clear that he has a knack to make big catches that help stretch the field. Last week he finished with just 29 receiving yards, but one of his two receptions went for 16 yards.

In what could prove to be a shoot-out between two talented signal-callers, Smith-Schuster has a chance to benefit from Mahomes looking downfield more than a few times on Sunday.

  
Read Full Article