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Doug's Divisional Round NFL DFS rankings for DraftKings, FanDuel. His top daily fantasy football rankings and DFS lineup picks for cash games and GPP contests.
We are down to the last eight teams standing in the NFL. There are no bad teams, and there are no easy spots to target. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have players to play though, as every game has a total of over 43.5 points. You can make the case to stack any team in tournaments, and enough value should emerge by the end of the week to build strong cash game lineups.
With only four games, the look of the article is going to be slightly different this week. You will get my overall top three players at each position, with a write-up of my top option, as always. I’ve given “other” status to differentiate between cash game and GPP options, with a bonus “quick thoughts” section for each position. I will be popping into our Discord plenty this week, so feel free to hit me up with any questions. Depending on what the Friday practice reports look like, I may or may not have a weekend update on Saturday morning.
I’m super excited for the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and my goal is to create a hierarchy of plays so you know who to prioritize when building your lineups! Remember that this article is written early in the week, so please make sure to check in with our Discord for any updates as practice reports come in throughout the week and a clearer picture starts to come into view. Also, check out our other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win big!
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DraftKings NFL DFS Rankings - Quarterbacks
1. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions - $6300)
There is only one game that is guaranteed to have perfect weather this weekend, and it just so happens to be the game that has two defenses that are pass funnels. All the talk coming out of Monday night was about Baker Mayfield, but let’s not forget that the Lions have been incredible at home all year. Jared Goff averages 50% more DraftKings points at home than on the road, scoring 19 or more points in six of nine games. The Buccaneers have allowed more than 25% more points and almost 20% more passing yards in road games this year, which makes for the perfect environment for Goff to have a ceiling game. He’s better suited for a GPP lineup than for cash games, but in a pinch, he should be fine in all game formats. The best part about using Goff in a tournament is that it’s easy to know who his pass-catching stack should be; it’s Amon-Ra St. Brown and either Sam LaPorta or Josh Reynolds. The bring-back play is also easy, as it’s Mike Evans for a high-end home run, or Trey Palmer/David Moore for a value lottery ticket.
2. Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills - $8000)
3. C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans - $6700)
Others in consideration CASH: Brock Purdy
Others in consideration GPP: Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy, Jordan Love
Quick Thoughts: If you can swing him, then nobody is a better cash play than Josh Allen. His floor is as high as anyone given his rushing ability, and he’s an even better player in the playoffs than he is during the regular season. On a cheaper end, Brock Purdy makes sense as the 49ers have a high team total, are playing at home, and Purdy has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks this year.
Every quarterback is on the table for tournaments, but if you’re looking to get off the chalk a bit, then C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love, and Baker Mayfield all work. Each has multiple stacking options and they all should have a higher-than-average passing volume as road underdogs.
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DraftKings NFL DFS Rankings - Running Backs
1. Isiah Pacheco (Kansas City Chiefs - $6400)
No running back is better than Christian McCaffrey, but with pricing so tight this weekend it may not be that easy to get to him in all of your lineups. Gun to my head, CMC is my guy, but if I need some wiggle room with my lineup then I’m looking to save $2,400 and go with Isiah Pacheco. His volume has been incredible since the team truly committed to him at the position. His production has paid off, as he’s scored in double-digits in each of his last five games, including three games of 24 or more DraftKings points. His use in the passing game has been outstanding, with three or more targets in 67% of his games this year, including four of his last five games. Pacheco also has shown a nose for the end zone with at least one touchdown in each of the last five games. He’s not Christian McCaffrey, but Pacheco is built for cold-weather games and his usage justifies his price tag, making him a worthy play in both cash and GPP lineups.
Isiah Pacheco with the dagger 🗡️
pic.twitter.com/mgF2cBQmF0— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) January 14, 2024
2. Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers - $8800)
3. Jahmyr Gibbs (Detroit Lions - $6600)
Others in consideration CASH: Aaron Jones, Devin Singletary
Others in consideration GPP: James Cook, Justice Hill, Gus Edwards, Aaron Jones, Elijah Mitchell
Quick Thoughts: Outside of my top three running backs, James Cook is my favorite play at the position this weekend. He was awesome the last time the Bills faced the Chiefs, and there’s no reason for the team to use him any differently. He had five targets in the passing game that day, and the team continues to use him in that manner. Overall, he’s had three or more targets in 72% of his games this year and that plays very well on short slates like this. The running back position isn’t very strong or deep this weekend, so backups who get even a handful of touches, like Justice Hill and Elijah Mitchell, can be useful salary savers to help you spend up at other positions in your GPP lineups.
DraftKings NFL DFS Rankings - Wide Receivers
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions - $8200)
Like with his quarterback, Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown is in the best passing game environment on the slate. This game features two pass funnel defenses in a game that is guaranteed to have no weather concerns, both offenses being helmed by quarterbacks who are playing at the top of their game. The Sun God is the safest play at the wide receiver position for a high volume of targets, and unlike other high-target players like Zay Flowers and Chris Godwin, he has a mega-sized ceiling. He has scored more than 20 DraftKings points in 59% of his games, including each of his last five. As crazy as it sounds, I’m prioritizing St. Brown over Christian McCaffrey in cash games this weekend (if I can’t fit them both). He’s the top wide receiver to use as part of your Lions stacks and is an incredible one-off play (or mini-stack with cheap Buccaneers’ player like Trey Palmer or Cade Otton) if you stack another team.
AMON-RA ST. BROWN HAS BEEN VOTED AS A FIRST TEAM ALL-PRO WR
1,515 yards
10 TD’s
119 catches
677 YAC (led NFL)
9 100-yard games (led NFL)Made the 1st team all-pro team, but wasn’t even voted a pro bowler.
TOP 3 WR IN THE NFL. THE SUN GOD. ☀️ pic.twitter.com/9CIdjdZQxS
— Booner (@boonersports) January 12, 2024
2. Nico Collins (Houston Texans - $7100)
3. Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco 49ers - $6900)
Others in consideration CASH: Rashee Rice, Dontayvion Wicks, Khalil Shakir, Romeo Doubs, John Metchie, Zay Flowers
Others in consideration GPP: Mike Evans, Trey Palmer, Josh Reynolds, Jayden Reed, Deebo Samuel, John Metchie, Odell Beckham, Nelson Agholor
Quick Thoughts: The wide receiver you choose for tournaments is going to be heavily based on who you choose as your quarterback. If you’re stacking the Ravens, it’s much more likely that you’ll use Nelson Agholor, whereas there isn’t a situation outside of my use of Lamar Jackson that would lead me to click on a one-off receiver as volatile as Agholor.
DraftKings NFL DFS Rankings - Tight Ends
1. Isaiah Likely (Baltimore Ravens - $4700)
Isaiah Likely has been great since taking over for an injured Mark Andrews, yet his price point remains reasonable. He’s scored double-digits in four of his last six games, and in the two games he didn’t hit ten points, he had more than eight DraftKings points. He’s a safe, low-cost option in a matchup against a Texans team that is generous to opposing tight ends. His target volume has decreased a little in the last two weeks, but he’s made up for that with long receptions (catches of 27 and 32 yards) and three touchdowns. He’s a young Delaine Walker-type player who can stretch the field and is a threat in the red zone. This recommendation goes out the window if Mark Andrews plays, and if that’s the case then just slot Andrews right into this spot at just a low price point of $5,000.
Mark Andrews + Isaiah Likely Combined Stats this Season:
🔹 101 targets
🔹 75 catches
🔹 955 receiving yards
🔹 11 TD#1 TE DUO IN THE LEAGUE. 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/Am5WRWlsx9
— 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀 (@LIVERavenNation) January 12, 2024
2. Sam LaPorta (Detroit Lions - $5900)
3. Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs - $6000)
Others in consideration CASH: Dalton Kincaid, Dalton Schultz
Others in consideration GPP: George Kittle, Cade Otton, Tucker Kraft
Quick Thoughts: You will never get Travis Kelce cheaper than this, which makes him very appealing. Sam LaPorta is a great pivot if the casual player uses Kelce, as LaPorta is in a much better game environment. On the cheap end, it’s Otton or Kraft; both of whom are involved enough in their offenses to pull out big games on occasion. They provide a great deal of salary relief as the second pass catcher in Tampa or Green Bay stacks.
DraftKings NFL DFS Rankings - D/ST
1. Kansas City Chiefs - $2700
2. San Francisco 49ers - $3400
3. Baltimore Ravens - $3500
Quick Thoughts: Defense is the least predictive of the positions, so it’s the one that you should prioritize least. Since no offense is playing so poorly that we will want to target them, instead I want to look for a defense that should be playing with a lead. If that’s the case, the opposing offense should have more dropbacks. The more times a team passes, the more chances there are for sacks and turnovers. San Francisco and Baltimore are the biggest favorites on the slate, so they are two teams that I’m going to look at. Green Bay and Houston are very careful with the ball, but if I had to bet on which teams will need to throw the most it would be those two. The reason I have the Chiefs as my top option is that Josh Allen is very turnover prone and they are one of the least expensive units on the slate. They had three sacks and a turnover the last time these teams met, which would be more than enough points to justify their price in cash game lineups.
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