Divisional Round Saturday DraftKings Picks: NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football playoff tournaments

Matt Lutovsky

Divisional Round Saturday DraftKings Picks: NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football playoff tournaments image

The NFL playoffs roll on with two games on Saturday (Rams-Packers, Ravens-Bills), and that means daily fantasy football players have more chances to cash in. Our divisional round DraftKings tournament lineup feels a bit chalky, but on a two-game slate, that's largely unavoidable unless you really decide to fade the stars, which is a risky DFS strategy in its own right. 

All four teams are represented with multiple picks in our lineup despite some strong defenses in action. Our biggest stack is a Ravens trio going against the worst defense of the day. We're also banking on a couple bounce-back performances from players who likely won't be as popular as they should be.

MORE DIVISIONAL ROUND DFS: Top valuesLineup Builder

Divisional Round Saturday DraftKings Picks: NFL DFS tournament playoff lineup

QB Lamar Jackson, Ravens @ Bills ($7,600). Jackson has the best QB matchup of the weekend, and he continued his season-ending hot streak last week with 136 rushing yards and 179 passing yards. He only managed one TD, but we know he always has the potential for multiple scores. He's $200 more than Josh Allen and $700 more than Aaron Rodgers, so you're not exactly breaking the bank to use him.

RB JK Dobbins, Ravens @ Bills ($6,000). Dobbins has scored in seven straight games, and even though his rushing numbers took a bit of a hit last week (nine carries, 43 yards), he's still Baltimore's best back and most likely to be involved in the passing game. The Bills gave up 153 yards on 27 carries to Colts' backs last week, and the Ravens should pound them even more. 

SATURDAY PLAYOFF DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel

RB Cam Akers, Rams @ Packers ($5,700). It's tempting to opt for Devin Singletary ($4,500) with Zack Moss (ankle) out, but Akers has the much better matchup and has been a beast down the stretch. Over his past five games, he's averaged just under 25 touches and just over 122 total yards per contest. He's also scored twice in that span. Green Bay has struggled against the run all year, so Akers will be a very chalky pick, but you know he's going to get the opportunities, so fade him at your own risk.

WR Robert Woods, Rams @ Packers ($5,900). With Cooper Kupp likely to be out or limited because of a knee injury, Woods should be peppered with targets. Fading Woods and instead targeting cheaper options like Josh Reynolds ($3,200) or Van Jefferson ($3,000) isn't a bad idea, but L.A. loves to get Woods the ball on short passes or end-arounds, and he'll still get those opportunities even with tougher coverage. He's had at least seven targets in eight straight games, so, at the very least, he should be able to rack up catches in DraftKings full-point PPR format.

SUNDAY PLAYOFF DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel

WR John Brown, Bills vs. Ravens ($4,600). We really liked Brown last week, and he proceeded to catch none of his four targets. Meanwhile, Cole Beasley (7-57) and Gabriel Davis (4-85) were both all over the field. As a result, Brown will likely be heavily faded this week, especially with the aforementioned Rams and Bills receivers presenting good value. That's fine. We'll stick with the talented Brown, who, before last week's shutout, had posted at least four catches for 72 yards in each of his previous three games.

WR Allen Lazard, Packers vs. Rams ($3,900). It's always difficult to pick a secondary Packers receiver, which is why many just choose to ignore them, but with Jalen Ramsey expected to be draped all over Davante Adams, it makes sense to take a chance on another green-and-gold pass-catcher. Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($3,800) has more big-play upside, which is more appealing in most DFS contests, but Lazard has been playing a higher percentage of snaps lately and has more red-zone potential. Aaron Rodgers is still going to throw the ball, and while Adams will get his targets, it's likely Lazard and/or MVS will see an uptick in looks, so it makes sense to play one at their cheap prices.

FULL-SLATE PLAYOFF DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel

TE Mark Andrews, Ravens @ Bills ($5,000). Robert Tonyan ($4,200) has been solid this year, but Andrews is still the best TE on the slate. More important, he has by far the most favorable matchup, as Buffalo allows the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends. Andrews disappointed a bit last week with just four catches and 41 yards, but he has multi-TD upside every time out. It never hurts to pay down at TE and hope for a random touchdown, like Dawson Knox ($3,100) scored last week, but Andrews gets enough targets to pay off his high price.

FLEX Stefon Diggs, Bills vs. Ravens ($7,300). We tried to make this lineup without Diggs, as crazy as that sounds, but when we got down to our last pick, we still had enough money for him. Instead of taking a chance with a backup RB like Jamaal Williams ($4,400) or Gus Edwards ($4,200) or a WR deeper down the depth charts, we decided not to overthink it and take the guy who's arguably been the best receiver in football this year. Diggs has been automatic in any matchup, often racking up receptions and going over 100 yards -- both of which are big on DraftKings. We couldn't afford Davante Adams ($8,600) and didn't really feel great about Aaron Jones ($6,800), so Diggs was our pick.  

D/ST Green Bay Packers vs. Rams ($3,900). The Packers are the obvious pick given that they have the most favorable matchup against a shaky QB, but we all know the best D/ST play often comes down to a random big play that any defense can pull off. Any of the four defenses on this slate are worth considering, and the other three are all at least $1,000 cheaper than Green Bay. If you are looking for some differentiation, you can probably find it with another defense. 

Matt Lutovsky

Matt Lutovsky Photo

Matt Lutovsky has been a writer and editor for The Sporting News since 2007, primarily writing about fantasy sports, betting, and gaming.