January 12, 2018

Deeper daily fantasy sleepers for DraftKings and Divisional Round of the NFL season. Justin Carter finds DFS sleepers for fantasy football owners to target.

How did that first weekend of the playoffs treat you? If you thought the Chiefs and Rams were close to being sure things, well...you were disappointed. Neither offense delivered, with Kansas City running back Kareem Hunt disappearing in the second half despite his team playing with a big lead, and the Rams explosive offense couldn't find the end zone very well. RotoBaller's Fantasy Playoff MVP Todd Gurley tried, but it wasn't enough.

Meanwhile, a game happened between the Bills and the Jaguars. I was driving across Texas during it and listened on the radio, which is the best way to engage with bad football games, since the radio at least leaves an air of mystique. Nathan Peterman proved that he is not, under any circumstances, someone the Bills should turn to at quarterback next year. In the final game, the Saints forgot how to run the football but still managed to come away with a big win because Drew Brees put up a vintage Drew Brees game.

It's a new week now, though. Let's look at deeper DFS targets and DraftKings sleepers for the Divisional Round. These are players whose DraftKings price is below $4000 (except for the quarterbacks).

Deeper DraftKings DFS Targets for the Divisional Round

QUARTERBACKS

Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles - $5,200 (DraftKings)

Foles gets a good match-up against a Falcons defense that gave up more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than any NFC playoff team, so this one really depends on which version of Nick Foles we get. There's Week 15 Foles, who completed 24-of-38 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants, or there's Week 16 Foles, who completed 19-of-38 passes for 163 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. That Foles stuck around long enough in Week 17 to complete four passes for 39 yards and a pick before going to the bench, so there are valid reasons to expect we get that kind of a performance. But I'm not sold on the Falcons defense--Jared Goff didn't actually put up bad numbers during Wildcard Weekend against them. Foles has a shot to produce a good fantasy day for the Eagles.

Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars - $5,000 (DraftKings)

If you REALLY need to save that extra $200, Bortles is there. He's coming off a terrible passing day against the Bills, when he went 12-for-23, throwing just 87 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers gave up more fantasy points to quarterbacks than the Bills did this season, but just by a tiny, tiny bit. There are two arguments for Bortles and I'm wary of both: first, he could continue to scramble and pick up rushing yards as he did against Buffalo, but I'm not sure he has the speed and agility to pull that off in consecutive weeks. The other way would involve the words Garbage and Time, but the Jacksonville defense could keep the game close enough to negate that as well. (Why did I write about Bortles? Don't do it unless you're really invested in swinging for the fences.)

RUNNING BACKS

LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia Eagles - $3,700 (DraftKings)

I know that you can look up in this post and see me talking about how Nick Foles could have a good game, but it's also possible that the Eagles lean on their cavalry of rushers. The Falcons played well against the run this season, but it's impossible to fully discount a short Blount touchdown run. He's a very boom-or-bust option with a high chance of busting seeing as he only scored two touchdowns during the 2017 season, but he did look good in limited action in Week 17.

Corey Clement, Philadelphia Eagles - $3,200 (DraftKings)

More Eagles! Clement has seen his rushing attempts drop off lately, but he's still got a chance to be active in Philadelphia's passing game. Also, though, my hesitance at the running back position makes it seem that it isn't the right spot to cut costs this week. If you want some options that cost a little more, think about Jay Ajayi ($4,600) and Jerick McKinnon ($4,900).

WIDE RECEIVERS

Eric Decker, Tennessee Titans - $3,800 (DraftKings)

Decker was targeted five times against the Chiefs and hauled in a touchdown. Will he have a repeat performance in the next round? Maybe not, but Decker's a veteran presence that Marcus Mariota should lean on more as the games start to matter more. New England gave up the sixth-most points to fantasy wide outs during the regular season.

Phillip Dorsett, New England Patriots - $3,100 (DraftKings)

It was looking like the Patriots really lost that Dorsett for Jacoby Brissett trade until...okay, they definitely still lost that deal, especially after the Jimmy Garoppolo trade, since they could really use a young, promising back-up quarterback. But Dorsett has come to life lately, seeing a season-high five targets against the Jets. He's had consecutive games with 20 or more receiving yards for the first time all season. Dorsett's a boom-or-bust candidate this week if Chris Hogan (shoulder) isn't ready to go, though he's likely not worth playing if signs end up point to Hogan being healthy enough to play a big role for New England.

Brandon Coleman, New Orleans Saints - $3,000 (DraftKings)

Speaking of boom-or-bust, Brandon Coleman is a guy who always seem capable of busting off a big play and, simultaneously, capable of catching no passes. He was targeted five times in the first round of the playoffs, bringing in four of them for 44 yards. He's not a great option, but he's by far my favorite player available for the $3,000 minimum.

TIGHT ENDS

Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons - $3,200 (DraftKings)

I'm going to sound like a broken record here and say "boom-or-bust!" again. Hooper's capable of making big plays. The tight end market drops off after the top four guys (Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz, Delanie Walker, and Kyle Rudolph) and Hooper's the guy in that next tier with the best chance to make a play this week. (But, again, after that top four you're in some trouble.)

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