NFL DFS Picks: Best Lineup for Wild Card Weekend
By Dan Salem
The season may be over, but that doesn’t mean fantasy football has to end. Your NFL Daily Fantasy lineup for the Wild Card Round is a battle of philosophies.
Its wonderful to keep playing NFL DFS fantasy footall into the playoffs, because now only great players remain and only four games are taking place. This means you must go for broke and take risks in order to win, because everyone will be starting Aaron Rodgers in the Wild Card Round.
Related Story: Wild Card Weekend Best Picks Against the Spread
Who is the sleeper running back no one expects to succeed? Can you get a star player at every position? Two daily fantasy lineups to choose from with two different philosophies, but only one will dominate the weekend.
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem discuss NFL Daily Fantasy in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
Fantasy football seasons are in the books and the playoffs are all about NFL daily fantasy. Four games are taking place this first weekend. I am going to give you two different daily fantasy lineups for the weekend’s games and I want you to pick your favorite.
I will be using Yahoo daily fantasy values because the pricing model coordinates more logically with real auction drafts. We are playing with a $200 budget.
Lineup the First
QB – Matt Moore, $23
RB – Thomas Rawls, $13
RB – Paul Perkins, $15
WR – Antonio Brown, $37
WR – Odell Beckham, $36
WR – Davante Adams, $23
TE – Jared Cook, $13
FLEX – Jarvis Landry, $22
DEF – Houston Texans, $16
Matt Moore is one of the cheapest quarterbacks, yet he has a chance to do well against a shaky Pittsburgh defense. I spent the savings by going heavy on elite wide receivers here. It also required skimping on running back, but both guys selected should be the top carriers on their respective teams. I expect Perkins to out-gain Rashad Jennings by a comfortable margin for New York. Jared Cook was a lottery ticket at tight end, while the Houston defense should be one of the better performing of the day against Connor Cook and Oakland.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Lineup the Second
QB – Ben Roethlisberger, $35
RB – Jay Ajayi, $32
RB – Zach Zenner, $15
WR – Jordy Nelson, $31
WR – DeAndre Hopkins, $19
WR – Amari Cooper, $18
TE – Eric Ebron, $17
FLEX – Eli Rogers, $14
DEF – Houston Texans, $16
We are going with a premiere option at quarterback here, hoping Big Ben can carry the scoring load, along with one of the best running backs of the weekend. I am taking a chance with Zach Zenner, but he should be Detroit’s top ball carrier. At wide receiver is where this lineup will be made or broken. All big names; Hopkins and Cooper are boom-or-bust options, though, considering who they have at quarterback. I am banking on the talent to overcome.
Dan Salem:
You presented two excellent lineups for this weekend’s NFL Daily Fantasy challenge. Ultimately its about which matchups you favor and which players are playing a significantly worse defense. I love how you put the Houston Texans defense on both lineups. They are easily the best play, facing a rookie quarterback in his first NFL start. I’m not sure you gave enough stock to the tight end position, but that won’t make or break your week in the Wild Card Round.
To make this decision, I initially took the three best players on each lineup and asked myself if they can carry the load. In our first lineup its the three wide receivers who must absolutely dominate; Beckham, Brown and Adams. I believe all three will have big days for their respective teams. Adams is a potential question mark for the Packers, because he’s been boom or bust all season. Mark that down as one red flag. In our second lineup we have Roethlisberger at quarterback, Ajayi at running back, and Nelson at receiver. I again trust all three to dominate, more so than the three receivers.
Playoff football often comes down to defense and a running game. That means picking stronger running backs is preferable, especially when two teams are playing in Green Bay and another two in Seattle. The teams playing in Houston don’t have reliable quarterbacks. That means only one matchup might have great quarterback play and good weather, the Steelers versus Dolphins. My pick is Lineup Two for this reason.
NFL Playoffs: Has Luck Run Out for Raiders and Lions?
While trying to select players no one else will is good practice in principle, its not going to win you much of anything this weekend unless one team shocks us all. That team would likely be the Raiders against the Texans, because everyone else is a known commodity by now. Pick a few studs and solid second options. Lineup two is best.