TAP FOR 6 MONTHS OF PREMIUM FREE 💰
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Under-the-Radar Booms/Busts: Divisional Playoff Round

Some football fans and experts label the Divisional Playoff round the best weekend of NFL football of the year, and it might be the best weekend for playoff fantasy football as well.

Many of fantasy football’s top performers in 2017 will be on the field this weekend. But while Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Zach Ertz and Adam Thielen should be fantasy forces in their playoff games, fantasy players in postseason leagues and DFS contests will be counting on secondary players from playoff teams’ supporting casts to come up huge to help them win this week.

Here are some under-the-radar booms and busts for the second week of NFL playoff action to help you set a winning lineup. Good luck RotoBallers!

Featured Promo: Looking for some more fantasy football action? Adopt a dynasty orphan team over at FFPC. Sign up today and get $25 off any FFPC league. Sign Up Now!

 

Divisional Playoff Round Under-the-Radar Booms

Matt Ryan (QB, ATL) at PHI

The defending NFC champions and Super Bowl blowers are favored this week against the conference’s No. 1 seed, yet Ryan’s price tag in DFS contests in many formats is lower this week than all playoff QBs except for Nick Foles and Blake Bortles. While Philadelphia’s front seven has helped make its run defense tops in the league, the Eagles pass defense is only 17th and can be exploited. The experienced Ryan will not be rattled by Philadelphia’s hostile home crowd and should be able to connect on some big plays with Julio Jones. Ryan throwing for 275-300 yards and two-to-three touchdowns would not be a shock.

Jerick McKinnon (RB, MIN) vs. NO

McKinnon’s fantasy value has slid downhill quicker than Lindsey Vonn does. Latavius Murray now gets the bulk of the carries and the red-zone duty, which has neutralized McKinnon’s stats and rendered him average fantasy-wise. This could be the weekend he bounces back, though, as he is the niftier of Minnesota’s two main backs and is the better pass catcher, and the Saints had tons of trouble containing Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey last weekend (117 total yards and a TD). McKinnon has the potential to break a couple big plays, especially in the passing game, and be the perfect low-priced buy for DFS players.

Delanie Walker (TE, TEN) at NE

New England’s defense rebounded after a horrendous start to the season to hold 10 of their last 12 opponents to under 20 points. The Patriots pass defense was the Achilles heel all year long, however. While most offenses were forced to throw boatloads of passes in second halves against the Pats because they were trailing, the bottom line is that New England was ranked 30th in pass defense and not just because they had to defend against more passes than most teams did. Walker racked up the most yardage (74 yards) last week in Tennessee’s wild card win than he had in any game since the middle of November. Look for Marcus Mariota to look for his favorite and most experienced target a lot this Saturday evening, especially when the Titans are playing catch-up late in the game and passing on every down.

 

Divisional Playoff Round Under-the-Radar Busts

James White (RB, NE) vs. TEN

Fantasy owners were treated to the Dion Lewis Show the last couple games of the regular season while White and Rex Burkhead recovered from injuries. White will return this weekend, but the problem is that Burkhead will be back as well, and that Lewis has played so well in their absences that he will probably remain New England’s top tailback and get the most touches out of the lot. The Patriots could plan to throw on every down against Tennessee’s 25th-ranked pass defense, which would benefit White if that was indeed the case, but more likely Tom Brady and company will balance out the offense and the playing time for its running backs, limiting White’s worth.

Ted Ginn (WR, NO) at MIN

Ginn put a hurting on his old Carolina Panthers team last week when he caught four passes for 115 yards including an 80-yard touchdown in New Orleans’ wild card victory. The going will be 1,000 times tougher this weekend against Minnesota’s second-ranked pass defense, though. The Vikings secondary allows receivers to get 100 yards about as easily as my wife allows me anywhere near the remote when The Property Brothers are on TV. Only Detroit’s Marvin Jones Jr. had a 100-yard game against them. Ginn has also not been one to string great games together this season. He has not scored touchdowns in back-to-back weeks and in the four games he played in after he had 70-yard games this year he only had 199 receiving yards combined and failed to reach the end zone.

Nelson Agholor (WR, PHI) vs. ATL

Poor Agholor. The kid was having a breakout season after a couple years of being a fantasy flop and looking like one of the worth first-round picks in Philadelphia Eagles history until Carson Wentz’s torn ACL has put a dagger in Agholor’s fantasy value. Agholor has gone from deep threat to underneath outlet as he has averaged less than 10 yards per catch in each of his past four games. Nick Foles cannot throw downfield anywhere near as well as Wentz did, so it is hard to visualize Agholor doing more than five receptions for 50 yards against Atlanta’s underrated pass defense. His playmaking ability can only take him so far when Wentz is not the one throwing to him.

 

More Divisional Playoff Round Lineup Prep




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

NASCAR

Could Bubba Wallace Be Playable for Phoenix DFS Lineups?
Anthony Alfredo

Is A Favorable DFS Option In A Substitution Role At Phoenix
Jalen Smith

Picks Up Questionable Tag on Injury Report
Harrison Barnes

to Remain Out Sunday
Jabari Smith Jr.

Ready for Action Sunday
Andrew Nembhard

Iffy for Sunday's Action
Pascal Siakam

Likely to Play Sunday
Matas Buzelis

May Miss Another Game Sunday
Josh Giddey

Questionable to Suit Up Sunday
Tyrese Maxey

Injures Right Hand in Loss
Norman Powell

Remains Out Against Pistons
Andrew Wiggins

Could Miss Second Straight Game
Deni Avdija

Uncertain for Sunday Due to Back Issue
Brandon Ingram

Battling Illness, Iffy for Sunday
Deandre Ayton

Removed From Injury Report
LeBron James

Listed as Questionable for Matchup With Knicks
Will Richard

Remains Out Saturday
Darius Garland

Starting on Saturday
Daniel Gafford

Ready to Rock Sunday
Cooper Flagg

Considered Questionable for Sunday's Game
Kristaps Porzingis

to Be Limited to 15-20 Minutes Saturday
Jarrett Allen

Ruled Out for Sunday
Donovan Mitchell

Expected to Return Sunday
Romy Gonzalez

Could Require Surgery
Kyle Tucker

is Expected to Return on Sunday
Brandon Woodruff

Wants to be Ready for Opening Day
Orion Kerkering

Throws Successful Bullpen Session
Chandler Simpson

Rays Being Overly Cautious with Chandler Simpson
Roope Hintz

to Miss At Least a Couple of Weeks
Dylan Larkin

Ruled Out for Sunday
Adam Larsson

Ryan Lindgren Iffy for Saturday
Travis Konecny

Remains Out Saturday
Mikhail Sergachev

a Game-Time Call Saturday
Mason Marchment

Ready to Face Mammoth
Zach Werenski

Available Saturday
Brandon Woodruff

Making Cactus League Debut on Saturday
Zack Wheeler

Feels "Strong" After Throwing on Saturday
Carlos Correa

to Play Shortstop on Monday
Gavin Williams

has Another Good Spring Outing
Christian Vázquez

Astros Sign Christian Vazquez to Minor-League Deal
Byron Buxton

Leaves WBC Game After Being Hit by a Pitch on his Elbow
Jackson Holliday

Hitting Off a Tee
Carson Benge

Right-Field Job is Carson Benge's to Lose?
Andrei Kuzmenko

Done for Regular Season
Josh Morrissey

Activated From Injured Reserve
Jiri Kulich

Unlikely to Return This Season
Shayne Gostisbehere

Exits Early Friday
Roope Hintz

Suffers Lower-Body Injury Friday
Dylan Larkin

Not Expected to Be Out Long-Term
Evgeni Malkin

Suspended for Five Games
Maxx Crosby

Traded to Baltimore in Blockbuster Deal
Mattias Janmark

Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
Dalton Schultz

Texans, Dalton Schultz Agree on One-Year Extension
John Gibson

Starting Against Panthers
Roope Hintz

Available Against Avalanche
Sidney Crosby

Rejoins Practice Friday
Bobby McMann

Traded to Seattle
Justin Faulk

Lands in Detroit
Nazem Kadri

Avalanche Bring Back Nazem Kadri
Joe Mixon

Texans Release Joe Mixon
Quinn Priester

Brewers Concerned About Quinn Priester's Wrist Injury
Corbin Carroll

Taking Live At-Bats in Camp
Ricky Tiedemann

Could Resume Throwing Soon
Jackson Chourio

"Fine" After Suffering Hand Contusion
Trey Yesavage

Blue Jays "Still View" Trey Yesavage as a Starter
Max Holloway

A Favorite At UFC 326
Charles Oliveira

Set For BMF Title Fight
Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders Prefer Not to Start Fernando Mendoza Immediately?
Reinier de Ridder

Reinier De Ridder Looks To Bounce Back
Caio Borralho

Set For UFC 326 Co-Main Event
Rob Font

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Clarke Schmidt

Ditching New Sweeper Grip
Raul Rosas Jr.

Looks For His Fifth Consecutive Win
J.J. Wetherholt

Is JJ Wetherholt Already the Best Cardinals Hitter?
Drew Dober

Returns At UFC 326
Michael Johnson

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Rafael Devers

Could Return to Game Action Next Week
Geno Smith

Raiders Release Geno Smith
Danielle Hunter

Texans, Danielle Hunter Agree to One-Year, $40.1 Million Extension
DJ Moore

Bears Working to Finalize Deal to Send DJ Moore to Buffalo
Stefon Diggs

Patriots Releasing Stefon Diggs
Trent McDuffie

Chiefs Sending Trent McDuffie to Rams in Blockbuster Deal
Taylor Moore

Looking to Build on Cognizant Classic Finish
Robert MacIntyre

Brings Solid Form to Bay Hill
Scottie Scheffler

the Tournament Favorite at Bay Hill
Xander Schauffele

Trending Well Ahead of API
Si Woo Kim

Looking to Return to Top Form at Bay Hill
Ben Griffin

Looking to Return to Form at Arnold Palmer Invitational
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks to Build on Cognizant Classic Win at Arnold Palmer
Sam Burns

Searching for Consistency at Arnold Palmer Invitational
Daniel Berger

Offers Sneaky Upside at Bay Hill
Justin Thomas

Making Season Debut at API Following Lower-Back Surgery
NASCAR

Collin Morikawa Hopes To Better Last Year's Runner-Up Finish at API
Tommy Fleetwood

Isn't As Confident of a Start at Bay Hill as Previous Weeks
Kyler Murray

Will be Released
Trey Hendrickson

Bengals Not Using the Franchise Tag on Trey Hendrickson
Daniel Jones

Colts Place Transition Tag on Daniel Jones
Adam Scott

Might Endure Tough Times at Bay Hill
Aldrich Potgieter

Extremely Risky When it Comes to Bay Hill
PGA

Sungjae Im to Make Season Debut at Arnold Palmer Invitational
Jordan Spieth

an All-or-Nothing Option at Bay Hill
Harry Hall

Trying to Rebound After the Genesis Invitational
Ryan Gerard

Needs Better Start at Bay Hill
Kenneth Walker III

Won't Get the Franchise Tag
Patrick Cantlay

Still Plagued by Bad Putting Ahead of Arnold Palmer Invititational
Daniel Jones

Colts Expected to Use Transition Tag on Daniel Jones
Breece Hall

Jets Placing Franchise Tag on Breece Hall
CFB

Mark Stoops Joining Texas Coaching Staff
Jason Day

Attempts to Bounce Back from The Genesis Invitational
Jacob Bridgeman

Rolling into Arnold Palmer Invitational
Russell Henley

Looks to Defend Title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Khalil Mack

Will Play in 2026
MMA

Lone'er Kavanagh Gets Back In The Win Column
Brandon Moreno

Gets Outclassed
Marlon Vera

Loses Fourth Fight In A Row
Daniel Jones

Colts Have "50/50" Chance to Get a Deal Done With Daniel Jones
David Martinez

Remains Undefeated In The UFC
Daniel Zellhuber

Loses Third Consecutive Fight
King Green

Gets Second-Round TKO Win
Felipe Bunes

Drops Decision At UFC Mexico City
Édgar Cháirez

Edgar Chairez Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Ryan Blaney

Falls to Eighth Despite Running Most of the Race in the Top Five At COTA
Ty Gibbs

Wins A Stage and Finishes Fourth At COTA
Christopher Bell

Earns First Top-Five Finish of the 2026 Season at COTA
Kyler Murray

"Repeatedly" Linked to Jets
Shane Van Gisbergen

Falls Short of Victory At COTA
Tyler Reddick

Wins At COTA and Makes NASCAR History
David Montgomery

Texans Acquire David Montgomery From Lions
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF