FanDuel DFS NFL picks and advice for the Wild Card Round to help you build the perfect DFS fantasy football lineup.
Welcome back to another installment of FanDuel DFS advice, this time for the Wild Card Round. Week 18 saw some of the highest-scoring games of the year, and while there were certainly some surprises when it came to playoff implications, I saw a lot of success by playing lots of players from the Seahawks and Cardinals game.
Unfortunately, I was unable to profit in cash formats because I ended up opting for Jonathan Taylor over Cooper Kupp in my lineup, which ultimately was the wrong choice.
Looking ahead to the Wild Card Round, I will be formatting this article a little differently than articles in previous weeks. While usually I break down the slate position by position, this week I will break it down game by game since while in a normal week most people will likely just play the main slate on Sunday, there are a variety of different ways you can play DFS when the games are spread across three days.
Another reason I will be going game by game is so I can break down how I believe each game will unfold and how to attack the game based on that logic. While I would personally recommend playing a slate with all the games included because it gives more variation and is just more fun, you also can’t go wrong playing single slate games either.
When talking about players I will reference the salaries and salary cap of a typical FanDuel tournament. I will also show a complete sample lineup, which consists of nine positions: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, FLEX, and DEF.
Note that your individual strategy should change based on the type of contests you enter, though I will reference different strategies for both cash and tournament formats.
Without further ado, here are picks and FanDuel DFS advice for every position for the Wild Card Round!
Raiders @ Bengals (-5.5, O/U 49 Points)
In a matchup between two of the league’s highest over-achievers, Vegas projects a relatively high-scoring game controlled by the Bengals. I tend to agree with Vegas here, and while I have no lean on the spread, I do think the Bengals are the stronger team on both sides of the ball.
Joe Burrow ($7800) is a very appealing option against a pretty average Raiders secondary at a reasonable price, and assuming he is fully healthy I think he should be able to pay off his salary with ease.
On the other side of the ball, Derek Carr ($6800) has a very appealing salary, especially looking at that green 32nd ranked pass defense, but I think he struggles a bit in this game against a Cincinnati pass rush that has been stronger in recent weeks.
I really like the running backs in this game, especially Josh Jacobs ($7200), who I think will be heavily involved in the passing game with Carr under pressure. While many are familiar with the correlation between Josh Jacobs and the Raider’s success, I think Jacobs can deliver a strong yardage performance and pay even higher dividends if he finds the end zone.
Joe Mixon ($8500) has a bit steeper of a price tag, but I am willing to pay up as I foresee the Bengals trying to control the game on the ground and through their defense, especially with Mixon coming off a week of rest. He is the most expensive running back on the slate but I think he is also the best running back in the playoffs.
Seeing as I am low on the Raiders pass offense, I am not a huge fan of Hunter Renfrow ($7300) or Darren Waller ($6300), even against a Cincinnati defense that has been awful against the tight end.
Ja’Maar Chase ($8200) is a bit too expensive in my opinion, but I am tired of getting burned in tournaments fading him so I will likely run him out there in a few lineups.
Tee Higgins ($6900) is the value play as he has been the more consistent receiver of the two and has flashed his ability to have a huge game a few times this year as well. At $1300 cheaper than Chase, sign me up.
For defense, I think Cincinnati ($4300) is not too bad, but there are better options in other games. If you project a lower-scoring game, Las Vegas ($3300) is very cheap and not a bad punt option.