Divisional Round DFS Report
A look at the best NFL DFS plays for the Divisional Round
Now that we've entered the Divisional Round and are only dealing with four games, we have to get a little more locked-in with what we're doing with our DFS lineups. There aren't nearly as many player options as we've become accustomed to, and the chalky players are going to be even more chalky that usual.
As we look at our cash game lineups in 50/50s and H2Hs, it will be extremely important to figure which chalky players we have to roster (or not roster), while figuring out how to differentiate ourselves from the crowd. Tournaments are a similar concept, but we're going to have to get a little more creative as the ways to differentiate ourselves in larger formats are fewer and far between than during the regular season.
Whether you're playing on DraftKings, FanDuel, or elsewhere, the main concept is the same. We're trying to get the most value for what we spend on each player, while targeting high floors in cash games and upside in tournaments. Let's go position-by-position and take a look at some of the players that stand out this week.
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson is well-positioned to put up BIG numbers against a Texans defense that has given up points this season. He also serves as the Ravens goal line back quite often and should be a strong cash game play if you can fit him into your lineup. If you can't, you can move to cheaper options in the game with the highest over/under this week. I like Jared Goff a tad more than Baker Mayfield (he's safer), but Mayfield may end up throwing the ball quite a bit if the Bucs are in catchup-mode.
Tournaments are more of a "pick a player you think might be lesser-owned" situation this weekend and I think Patrick Mahomes might present us with the most upside at a lesser-owned percentage. Stroud and Love face tough defenses, but are cheap and shouldn't be in too many lineups so you could stand out from the crowd there.
Top cash game plays: Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield
Top tournament plays: Patrick Mahomes, C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love
Running Back
McCaffrey is the easy lock this weekend as he isn't that expensive all things considered. Pacheco and White should each see at least 15 touches and aren't facing brick-wall run defenses. I honestly don't like much else in cash games for running backs.
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are splitting snaps for the Lions, but Gibbs has upside that could play well in tournaments. Cook and Singletary are both high-volume backs but both have tough matchups so should be limited to tournaments.
Top cash game plays: Christin McCaffrey, Isiah Pacheco, Rachaad White
Top tournament plays: Jahmyr Gibbs, Aaron Jones, Devin Singletary
Wide Receiver
ARSB is an easy play who should see double-digit targets while all the rest of my cash game list below should see similar usage. You can't fit them all into cash games due to their salary, so I like the idea of sprinkling in one of Shakir or Reynolds as both have a decent floor at a cheap price. -- especially Reynolds.
Evans is in the mix for tournaments (so is Deebo), but I really like targeting Diggs and Flowers due to their upside (and Diggs may be lesser-owned than he should).
Top cash game plays: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Brandon Aiyuk, Rashee Rice, Nico Collins
Top tournament plays: Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Stefon Diggs, Zay Flowers, Khalil Shakir, Josh Reynolds
Rashod Bateman
Tight End
I think I'm going to go with Otton in cash games due to his price that opens up other spots, but both Daltons should see plenty of targets and are great options for cash games as well.
Tournments offer us the ability to get a little more risky with guys other players might stay away from due to either price/injury/underperformance, so Kelce, Andrews, and Kittle are all solid tourney options.
Top cash game plays: Dalton Kincaid, Dalton Schultz, Cade Otton
Top tournament plays: Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, George Kittle
Defense/Special Teams
I never worry too much about defense, so I'm going to try to find cheaper options who I don't think will give up massive points. There's a risk of both the Bills and Lions going off, but I think we can get away with either the Chiefs (mostly for cash games) and the Bucs (mostly for tournaments) here this week.
