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Who Should I Start for Fantasy Football Divisional Round? Fantasy Football Outlooks for James Cook, Austin Ekeler, Brian Robinson Jr.. Our expert fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks.
Both the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Commanders won their games in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs and are headed to the Divisional round. While they won't face each other, the teams have a few running backs who are interesting as targets in Daily Fantasy Sports games.
Bills running back James Cook and Commanders running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. have all been fantasy contributors to some degree this season. The Bills will take on the Baltimore Ravens, and the Commanders will face the Detroit Lions this weekend.
Below, we'll give our expert picks on which ones you should add to your DFS teams.
Should I Start James Cook for Fantasy Football?
Cook is an enigma this week. While the Ravens have one of the best run defenses in the NFL, he's been magnificently efficient this season and has racked up 19 total touchdowns. Buffalo's offense has steamrolled most of the teams they've played.
Give James Cook all his flowers
He's exploded this year and he deserves all the credit
Let's show our dude some love #BillsMafiapic.twitter.com/ZJqV6sFsT2
— Primetime Adam (@AdamZientek3) December 30, 2024
We still like the idea of picking him up. He has the ceiling to finish as the highest-scoring RB this week, and the Bills offensive line has been fantastic this season, giving him plenty of room to run.
Should I Start Austin Ekeler for Fantasy Football?
Ekeler is the most expensive backup RB on DraftKings and the second-most expensive on Fanduel this week. His usage will likely come down to the game script, which could benefit him, as the Lions have an extremely high-powered offense. Ekeler is the preferred pass-catching RB for this team.
AUSTIN. EKELER.
— The Junkies (@JunksRadio) January 13, 2025
He presents solid value this week. We like picking him up, as we imagine his usage will be favorable in a potential shootout.
Should I Start Brian Robinson Jr. for Fantasy Football?
This is a little less interesting of a pickup than Ekeler. We could see a nearly even split between the two, or possibly even a snap-and-touch distribution that favors Ekeler, which wouldn't be good for BRob. And since Robinson is the more expensive back among the two, it seems unwise to pick him up.
Top Plays from Commanders Players this season, day 3:
Brian Robinson Jr. pic.twitter.com/I4bZHSphPg
— CommandersMuse (@CommandersMusee) January 9, 2025
It's not that he isn't talented, it's that it a potential shootout game, we don't like his upside, especially since he's not the primary pass-catching back and likely needs significant volume to return value. Predicting the flow of the game is very important in DFS, and simply picking up the lead back because he's the lead back doesn't account for the whole story.
To us, it makes more sense to get Ekeler for cheaper and use the savings to strengthen your overall roster.
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