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Who should I start for fantasy football playoff leagues in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Omarion Hampton, Troy Franklin, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Kenneth Walker III, Kyren Williams, Luther Burden III, DeVonta Smith, George Kittle, Emanuel Wilson.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common fantasy football playoff league lineup decisions involve players like Omarion Hampton, Troy Franklin, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Kenneth Walker III, Kyren Williams, Luther Burden III, DeVonta Smith, George Kittle, Emanuel Wilson. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in playoff leagues. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for playoff leagues and the 2026 NFL playoffs. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in playoff leagues:
Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams is gearing up to be a legit fantasy playoff running back option for fantasy managers playing in a playoff league. According to Novig, the Rams have the second-best odds to make the Super Bowl in the NFC, behind the Seattle Seahawks, who currently hold the No. 1 seed. For those playing in playoff fantasy leagues, you want to target guys like Williams, who is going to be on a team that has a better chance to make a deep run. The Rams open up as favorites (-10.5) against the Carolina Panthers in round one, and Williams should be viewed as one of the better running back options in this contest.
Williams put together another nice 2025 season, rushing for 1,252 yards on 259 carries (4.83 YPC) and 10 touchdowns. He finished as the RB9 on the season, and the only risk you run with Williams is the running back by committee approach with Blake Corum, who, since Week 7, has seen 11 carries or more seven times. That being said, Williams is the veteran running back and has been the lead back, even with Corum chipping away at his overall workload, and it's likely Sean McVay will want to lead with his veteran, given the important nature of these playoff games.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown really took fantasy managers for a roller coaster ride in the 2025 regular season. For the first 11 weeks of the season, including the Eagles' Week 10 bye, Brown scored three or fewer fantasy points in three of those 10 games played. However, from Week 11 on, which was seven games played for him, he had 595 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
On the season as a whole, Brown eclipsed 1,000 yards with 1,003 and seven touchdowns, finishing as the WR14. Although frustrating given his second-round ADP coming into the season, he was much better in the second half than in the first, and the Eagles are hoping that carries into the playoffs to help them make a run.
From a playoff fantasy perspective, the Eagles have the third-best odds, according to Novig (+465), to win the NFC, and are favorites (-4.5) against the San Francisco 49ers in Wild Card weekend. What this means is that fantasy managers drafting for these leagues may want to invest in Eagles players, such as Brown, as they have a better chance of continuing to score points as the team goes deeper into the playoffs. The 49ers' defense has been horrible against receivers of late, making Brown an excellent round one play.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III finished his rookie season with 47 catches (60 targets) for 652 yards and two touchdowns while adding six carries for 37 yards in 15 games. Burden posted an elite 2.71 yards per route run, which only trails Odell Beckham Jr. among rookie wideouts since 2013. The rookie second-rounder caught at least three balls in his final eight games and had his best game of the season in Week 17 at San Francisco with 138 yards and a touchdown.
The Missouri product has seen his opportunities increase with Rome Odunze (foot) sidelined for the past five games with a stress fracture in his foot, and Odunze's potential return in the Wild-Card round could limit Burden's fantasy appeal. However, Burden looks like a future star and should be viewed as a high-upside WR2 on Saturday against the division-rival Green Bay Packers.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Across 17 games in 2025, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith recorded 77 receptions for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns on 113 targets. While the 27-year-old's season-long numbers are solid, he ended the year on somewhat of a cold streak. Over his last six games played, Smith recorded more than 10 PPR points just once. However, Smith remains the clear second option in the Eagles' passing game alongside wideout A.J. Brown. Philadelphia also has a relatively favorable matchup in the first round of the NFL playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers.
In the regular season, San Francisco's defense ranked 23rd among all NFL units in passing yards allowed (4,110) and tied for 21st in passing touchdowns allowed (29). Smith should have a chance to make plays, particularly if the 49ers' high-powered offense forces Philadelphia into a shootout. Fantasy managers in playoff leagues can view Smith as a solid wide receiver option entering the postseason.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Playoff League Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Omarion Hampton, Troy Franklin, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Kenneth Walker III, Kyren Williams, Luther Burden III, DeVonta Smith, George Kittle, Emanuel Wilson. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in playoff leagues.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Playoff League Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for playoff leagues (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Playoff League Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for playoff leagues for Omarion Hampton, Troy Franklin, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Kenneth Walker III, Kyren Williams, Luther Burden III, DeVonta Smith, George Kittle, Emanuel Wilson:
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