Stars and scrubs is the name of the game for our DraftKings cash game picks for NFL Wild Card Weekend. The playoffs only provide us with small-slate daily fantasy football contests, so for those of you playing cash games, it's still key to find some way to differentiate more intentionally than usual. Some of the names below might resemble traditional tournament plays, but they allow us to get three of the safest players on the first-round slate into our DFS lineup, which is what's most important.
The Drew Brees-Michael Thomas pairing is remarkably high floor and high ceiling on Sunday in the NFC, while we snag Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins out of the AFC to have three of the slate's best players in our lineup. Add in a very underpriced Sony Michel, and this lineup should work out nicely.
FANDUEL PLAYOFF LINEUPS: Saturday | Sunday | Single games
NFL DFS Wild Card Weekend: DraftKings Cash Lineup Picks
QB Drew Brees, Saints vs. Vikings ($6,600). Brees feels like the definition of a cash game quarterback, and the Vikings don't scare me off of him here. His price is fair, and the pairing with Thomas feels very low risk.
RB Derrick Henry, Titans @ Patriots ($8,200). Henry may be lower owned than he should be due to the defensive matchup, but he (along with Dalvin Cook) provides the best chance at 20 carries on the slate.
RB Sony Michel, Patriots vs. Titans ($4,600). Of course the Patriots could mix things up like they occasionally do and go away from Michel, but his workload down the stretch suggests the Pats know how important he is to advancing in the playoffs. His low pricing is curious and should be taken advantage of.
WILD CARD WEEKEND LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel
WR Michael Thomas, Saints vs. Vikings ($9,300). DraftKings' PPR scoring makes Thomas even more powerful than he would be on other sites, so you can't fade him here in cash games without a ton of high-priced options to choose from.
WR Greg Ward Jr., Eagles vs. Seahawks ($5,300). Ward, like Thomas, benefits from the DK PPR scoring as Carson Wentz continues to look his way on underneath routes. Seattle's defense isn't scary anymore, either.
WR Deontay Burnett, Eagles vs. Seahawks ($3,100). This pick has risk, but you aren't getting through a small slate like this with no risk. Burnett saw four targets in Week 17 and should continue to see enough activity for Philly to snag a few passes again.
TE Dawson Knox, Bills @ Texans ($2,900). Knox has been a favorite of mine all season, as his price has never really reflected the chunk-play upside he has as Buffalo's tight end. Houston also can be vulnerable in its secondary, too.
FLEX DeAndre Hopkins, Texans vs. Bills ($7,700). The Tre'Davious White matchup is intimidating, but Deshaun Watson will look his top receiver's way regardless of matchup, and Hopkins is good enough to deliver.
D/ST Tennessee Titans @ Patriots ($2,400). On a non-appealing D/ST slate, taking one of the lowest-priced options makes sense. And although we've rostered Michel against them, the Titans have a solid enough secondary to limit Tom Brady.