January 2, 2018

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

The regular season is behind us and your season-long fantasy leagues are done, but that doesn't mean you're ready to give up on fantasy sports, right? You've got a month left to play in daily fantasy leagues and playoff leagues! And you've got an incredibly interesting slate of games coming up this weekend, including Buffalo's return to the postseason and a pair of  NFC South teams playing each other.

During the regular season, this column focused on season-long formats, with ownership numbers drawn from Yahoo. That isn't necessarily helpful anymore. Instead, I've gone into DraftKings and identified players who cost $4,000 or less. These are guys who definitely come with risk, but have enough upside that they make for good bargain plays and allow you spend more on the big name players. Are you ready to take some risks in this playoff round? Yeah? Yeah??? Alright!

Let's look at deeper DFS targets and DraftKings sleepers for Wildcard Weekend.

Deeper DraftKings DFS Targets for Wildcard Weekend

QUARTERBACKS

Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans - $5,500 (DraftKings)

So, the quarterback position is obviously the place where you can't get super sneaky with how you use your salary. The cheapest starter is Tyrod Taylor ($4,700), but that's a really scary move to make since the Bills are playing Jacksonville. Marcus Mariota is a good option against the Chiefs, a team that has allowed more fantasy points to the quarterback position than any other defense that's playing on Wildcard Weekend. Mariota didn't have a great regular season, but he's mobile and accurate and he saves you some money.

RUNNING BACKS

Marcus Murphy, Buffalo Bills - $3,700 (DraftKings)

The good news for the Buffalo Bills is that they made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The bad news is that LeSean McCoy hurt his ankle and may not be available against the Jaguars. If McCoy is even close to ready, he'll play. If he isn't? Someone has to run the ball for Buffalo and that someone could be Marcus Murphy, who had seven carries for 41 yards in Week 17 in relief of McCoy and added two catches for seven yards. There's literally no other information I can give you about Murphy aside from the fact that he is in his third year and his nine touches against Miami represent all but two of his career touches. He's a risk, but he should lead the Bills backfield if McCoy is out.

Mike Tolbert, Buffalo Bills - $3,600 (DraftKings)

Or go with Buffalo's other back! Tolbert isn't likely to have a huge yardage total, but he's more likely than Murphy to see touches down near the goal line. He's a very touchdown dependent option.

Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers - $3,500 (DraftKings)

Stewart missed Week 17 with a back issue. If he's back this week, he's a decent option. The veteran back ran for 45 yards and a touchdown the last time he played against the Saints. He followed that game up with a 103 yards and three scores against Minnesota, but he struggled in Weeks 15 and 16. There's a lot of risk with Stewart, but he has plenty of upside.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans  - $3,600 (DraftKings)

If--and this is a big IF--we ignore that Davis didn't have a catch in Week 17 against a strong Jaguars pass defense, there's a case to be made for the rookie against a Chiefs pass defense that has struggled at times this season. Not counting this past week, Davis was targeted at least four times in every game he played. He played well in Week 16, catching six passes for 91 yards.

Eric Decker, Tennessee Titans  - $3,500 (DraftKings)

I'm not trying to pick on the Chiefs defense here, but DraftKings has a lot of Titans players available at a good cost and the match-up isn't bad for Tennessee. Decker has played well over the past month, though he hasn't found the end zone since Week 9. Still, he's a reliable option for Marcus Mariota and should have a little bit higher floor than Corey Davis.

Albert Wilson, Kansas City Chiefs  - $3,300 (DraftKings)

Wilson had a huge Week 17 with the rest of Kansas City's weapons sitting out, finishing with 10 receptions for 147 yards. He's obviously not going to repeat that, but Wilson was targeted eight times in Week 16 and seven times in Weeks 13 and 15. Alex Smith will look his way at times, and he's going to feel more confident doing so after watching what Wilson did against the Broncos.

TIGHT ENDS

Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons - $2,900 (DraftKings)

There's a big drop-off after the first four tight end options this weekend. You might think that means you should grab one of those guys, but there are enticing players down the list. The Falcons play the Rams, who allowed the 12th-most points to opposing tight ends, the worst of any playoff team. Hooper is a VERY boom-or-bust option, but this could be a week to give him a shot.

Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars - $2,500 (DraftKings)

If you're grabbing a long shot, touchdown-dependent tight end to save your salary space for someone like Todd Gurley, there are worse places to look than Marcedes Lewis. The Bills are only slightly better against tight ends than the Rams are and Lewis found the end zone two more times than Hooper. (Okay, yes, three of those came in the London game I KNOW I KNOW.) Lewis has a shot to produce this week. (Also, though, maybe it's a good idea to pick up the players I wrote about in the other three sections of this article and not skimp on tight end too much, because there really isn't much consistency beyond Travis Kelce and Delanie Walker. Even Greg Olsen is a scary option, and DraftKings has Charles Clay as their fourth guy.)

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