The top-seeded 49ers will host the surging Lions in the NFC Championship Game in Santa Clara this Sunday night (6:30 p.m. ET, FOX), with enough offensive star power to light the Bay Area sky. However, if you're entering a DFS lineup on DraftKings, FanDuel, or SuperDraft, drafting sleepers and value picks will be just as crucial to winning tournaments as picking superstars. Today we will highlight the cream of the affordably-priced crop from this NFC clash.
The big names are plentiful in this one. Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant-turned-MVP candidate, faces off against former No. 1 pick Jared Goff, Christian McCaffrey, odds-on favorite to win Offensive Player of the Year, led the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards, 2,023 all-purpose yards, and 21 TDs this season. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Amon-Ra St. Brown are three of the most elite wideouts in the sport, and George Kittle and Sam LaPorta are arguably top-four pass-catching tight ends. Oh, and Detroit has a 1-2 backfield punch of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who combined for 2,393 scrimmage yards and a whopping 24 touchdowns.
We all know that picking the right elite stars for our DFS lineups makes our case for tournament contention. However, striking out on sleepers can easily break our chances of winning daily fantasy cash. And the more cheap production we draft, the more studs we can afford at other roster spots. That's why we're highlighting the dark-horse DFS sleepers and value picks from 49ers-Lions this weekend, and listing their salaries and boosted for each major site along the way. Let's go!
Best NFL DFS sleepers for 49ers vs. Lions NFC Championship Game
QB: Brock Purdy, 49ers vs. Lions (DraftKings: $10,000 | SuperDraft: 1.2x)
Many will probably scoff at the thought of Purdy in a column with the word "sleeper" in the headline. Of course Mr. Relevant isn't a sleeper, per se, but he's absolutely a value pick. We can't believe how cheap we can get Purdy on DK — $10K seems extremely cheap for a guy who spent a good part of the regular season in the MVP conversation.
Purdy has a litany of weapons around him — Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle — and he's facing a Lions defense that surrendered the third-most DK points to QBs this season. The majority of our DK and SD lineups have Purdy at or near the top of the roster.
RB: David Montgomery, Lions at 49ers (DK: $5,600 | FD: $13,000 | SD: 1.35x)
Most DFS enthusiasts would much rather draft electric rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs, as he has been much more explosive through gaps and in the open field. However, Montgomery coming in at $3,000-$3,200 cheaper seems like too much value to pass up. The veteran once again finished with 10 rushing attempts, one more than his rookie running mate.
Remember, the 49ers have one of the more dominant front-sevens in the NFL, having allowed the third-fewest rushing yards and fourth-fewest rushing TDs this season. Dan Campbell's Lions will need to establish the power run through Montgomery if they expect to control the pace or open up the downfield pass. DMont had 13 TDs on the season — Campbell won't suddenly move away from him now.
RB: Elijah Mitchell, 49ers (DK: $2,200 | FD: $7,500 | SD: 1.6x)
If you need a bargain-bin buy at running back, look no further than each team's dark-horse red-zone threat. Mitchell is the top backup to Christian McCaffrey, and he has been known to spell CMC on third downs here and there as well as on the goal line after CMC busts a long one.
RB: Craig Reynolds, Lions (DK: $1,600 | FD: $7,000 | SD: 1.7x)
Reynolds came in last week and scored a huge 4th-and-goal TD, much to the chagrin of Montgomery investors. These are boom-or-bust picks, in a sense — you don't expect much when you draft them, but you're elated when they fall into the end zone or break an explosive play.
