DraftKings NFL DFS Picks: Wild Card Weekend - Saturday Slate

Joe Nicely's DraftKings NFL DFS picks and lineup sleepers for the Wild Card Weekend Saturday Only (January 14 2023) Slate. His top daily fantasy football lineups to target for DraftKings DFS contests.

Hello RotoBallers and welcome back to Break The Slate! Our season-long quest to find the best plays at each position for every DraftKings Main Slate has now evolved into a postseason venture, and in this article, we'll be discussing the best plays of Wild Card Weekend for the Saturday Only DraftKings slate.

With just two games on the Saturday slate, big adjustments will be needed to our regular-season strategy. Instead of 10+ games to choose from, we're forced to choose players from just a couple of games, which morphs this into something of a Showdown/Thanksgiving Day slate-type hybrid. Obviously, we'll need to think outside of the box in order to avoid our lineups being heavily duplicated, while still targeting players with tournament-winning upside.

These DraftKings lineup recommendations are based on matchups, projected DK points and ownership, overall upside/talent levels, and opportunity, as well as factors such as Vegas odds, home-field advantage, and more. There are quite a few great plays available on DK for the NFL Playoff Saturday slate. Also, be sure to also check out our weekly FanDuel DFS lineup picks and lots of other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win big! Good luck with your DraftKings DFS lineups – let's Break The Slate together!

DraftKings Quarterbacks - Wild Card Saturday DFS Picks

Trevor Lawrence - LAC @ JAX ($5,700)

While Justin Herbert is the highest-priced QB on this Saturday-only slate, I'm content grabbing the savings and dropping down to Trevor Lawrence in this spot. Lawrence actually finished the regular season averaging more DK points than Herbert (19.1 vs 18.2) and displayed a loftier DFS ceiling than his higher-priced counterpart, topping 25 DK points on four occasions to Herbert's two.

After attempting 42 passes in back-to-back weeks (Weeks 14 & 15), Lawrence was throttled back over the last few weeks of the season thanks to game environments against the Jets, Texans, and Titans resulting in lower DK output. While the Jags will likely attempt to take advantage of L.A.'s leaky run defense in this one, this matchup has definite shootout potential, giving the improved second-year QB the chance to post the type of score we'll need in GPPs.

Brock Purdy - SEA @ SF ($5,500)

The player dubbed Mr. Irrelevant has been anything but. The last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, rookie Brock Purdy was thrust into the fire when Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo went down in Week 13. Purdy has not only kept the Niners winning but he's also been a surprisingly-solid DFS producer and has averaged 18.6 DK points across his five starts for San Fran.

The Iowa State product draws a Wild Card matchup against a familiar foe. Purdy and the Niners defeated the Seattle Seahawks in a Week 15 Thursday night slugfest with the rookie booking 217 yards and two TDs on just 26 attempts. It's no secret that San Francisco is a run-heavy offense, but Purdy has displayed the ability to be uber-efficient with his opportunities and can pay off his moderate price tag against a middling Seattle secondary that's allowing 7.10 yards per attempt to opposing QBs.

DraftKings Running Backs - Wild Card Saturday DFS Picks

Austin Ekeler - LAC @ JAX ($8,100)

While we certainly want to get contrarian in spots on this two-game slate, we also must be mindful of raw point production. Few were better at piling up fantasy points than Chargers' running back Austin Ekeler this year. Ekeler finished the regular season as the overall RB1 in total DK points scored.

He's a potent dual-threat back that's as dangerous in the passing attack as he is on the ground. Ekeler led the NFL in running back receptions by a large margin (107) and those catches add up quickly on a full-PPR site such as DraftKings. Not that he needs it, but Ekeler gets a fairly significant bump in this matchup against a Jaguars squad that's been torched by pass-catching backs. Jacksonville relinquished the NFL's second-most receiving yards (815) to the RB position this season.

Elijah Mitchell - SEA @ SF ($4,700) 

We're forced to think outside the box here and Elijah Mitchell brings a nice blend of being contrarian, yet still viable, to the table in this situation. The Niners RB will undoubtedly play second fiddle to Christian McCaffrey this weekend but comes with some DFS pop, as evidenced by his 17.5 DK point output in the final week of the regular season.

Mitchell has battled injury issues throughout 2022 and spent a large chunk of the season on IR with a sprained MCL. However, the second-year back has been explosive when he's been able to get on the field and is averaging a massive 6.2 yards per attempt on the ground this year. Niners' HC Kyle Shanahan has displayed a willingness to shuffle backs and utilize Mitchell in the Red Zone. Despite appearing in just five games this year, he's logged 13 Red Zone touches. He should see enough duty against a struggling Seahawks run defense - that ranked 25th in the NFL in Rush Defense DVOA this season - to justify taking a DFS flyer on him in this two-game-slate environment.

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DraftKings Wide Receivers - Wild Card Saturday DFS Picks

Tyler Lockett - SEA @ SF ($6,000)

After battling multiple injuries – including a broken finger and banged-up shin – over multiple weeks, Tyler Lockett looked healthy in Seattle's regular-season finale, toasting the Rams for 54 yards and a score on four catches to help secure a playoff berth for the Seahawks.

If San Francisco's ferocious defense possesses a weakness, it is a secondary that's been leaky in multiple games. Lockett himself has found plenty of success against the Niners, combining for 175 yards on 16 catches in the teams' pair of 2022 divisional clashes. San Fran has surprisingly allowed the NFL's fifth-most DK points to the WR position and has relinquished a chunky 8.50 yards per target and 16 TDs to opposing wideouts this season.

Joshua Palmer - LAC @ JAX ($5,300)

With Mike Williams currently not practicing due to what appears to be a serious back injury, we should be prepared to fire away with Joshua Palmer if Williams' is sidelined against the Jags.

Palmer has plenty of experience filling in for injured starters this season, as the former Tennessee Vol has been asked to pick up the slack for both Keenan Allen and Williams on several occasions throughout 2022. Those extra opportunities helped Palmer to more than double both his reception (72) and receiving yard (769) totals in comparison to his 2021 rookie campaign. In Williams' most recent two-game absence from the Chargers lineup (Weeks 12 & 13), Palmer earned a combined 18 targets and produced 116 yards on 12 total catches.

DraftKings Tight Ends - Wild Card Saturday DFS Picks

George Kittle - SEA @ SF ($5,900)

Brock Purdy's insertion into the Niners' starting lineup has actually been a boost to George Kittle's production. Go figure. Since Purdy entered the lineup in Week 13, Kittle's team target share has grown to a healthy 23.5% and he's put together his most productive stretch of the season as a result. Kittle scored the NFL's most fantasy points at the TE position over the final six weeks of the regular season.

The former Iowa Hawkeye has been electric en route to averaging 22.37 DK points over San Fran's last four games. He'll have every opportunity to continue smashing in this matchup against Seattle, a defensive unit that relinquished the most fantasy points in the NFL to the TE position this season. Kittle already dusted the Seahawks for 93 yards and two TDs in Week 15. He's an elite option on this slate.

Evan Engram - LAC @ JAX ($4,200)

On many full slates, we have the opportunity to "punt" the always-difficult TE position. However, that strategy is much trickier on a two-game slate such as this one. As a result, I'll look to grab as many raw points as I can at the position via the aforementioned Kittle and Jacksonville's Evan Engram.

After a blistering four-game stretch (Weeks 13-16) in which he amassed 31 catches, 367 receiving yards, and three TDs, Engram cooled a bit over the Jags' last two regular-season games. However, it's nice to know that the former Giant possesses that extra gear. His upside remains sky-high against a Chargers unit that finished 2022 allowing 8.31 yards per target to opposing TEs - the fourth-highest average in the NFL this year.

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