While fantasy leagues wrapped up in Weeks 17 and 18, the DFS season is hitting its home stretch. The NFL's super wild-card weekend slate provides DFS players with six entertaining games spread across three days. We've crafted our favorite FanDuel full roster lineup for this weekend's slate of games, opting to stack a contrarian QB and WR while riding with a couple of big-named studs, as well.
We've also taken advantage of some of the injury situations around the league, rostering a wideout and running back who could both significantly outperform their price tags, resulting in some DFS cash at the end of the weekend.
Before we break down our picks and strategy, here are the most notable scoring rules for FanDuel contests: four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR.
WILD-CARD DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel
Wild-Card Weekend FanDuel Picks: NFL DFS lineup for Playoff GPP tournaments
Sat-Mon Late Swap, $60,000 budget
QB Daniel Jones, Giants @ Vikings ($7,400). While most DFS players will opt to roster Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert, we'll bank on a successful fantasy showing from Jones against the Vikings' 31st-ranked pass defense. When Jones faced the Giants back in Week 16, he put up 21.76 FanDuel points while throwing for a season-high 334 yards. Jones' running ability makes him even more enticing, averaging 44.3 rushing yards per game (fifth among QBs). In the game with the highest over/under (48), we think Jones presents solid value at $7,400 as a contrarian play with the ability to throw for multiple TDs.
JAGUARS-CHARGERS:
Betting preview | Best props | FD lineup | DK lineup
RB Christian McCaffrey, 49ers vs. Seahawks ($9,800). Not much needs to be said about McCaffrey, as San Francisco's RB1 is always a threat to score 20-plus FanDuel points. This week, he could see more usage than normal with rain in the forecast, which is good news against a Seahawks defense allowing the 26th-highest rush EPA (0.012). McCaffrey gashed Seattle's defense back in Week 15, rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown, and could potentially one-up that performance. McCaffrey's receiving abilities are an added bonus, as he led all RBs in target share (21.8 percent) while averaging 6.3 targets per game. We'll gladly dish out $9,800 on CMC.
MRE RAVENS-BENGALS:
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RB Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers vs. Cowboys ($6,400). Fournette was one of the bigger disappointments this fantasy season, but we'll buy low on a respectable fantasy showing from him on Monday night. Despite being one of the most inefficient RBs (-28.1 EPA), Fournette is still averaging 11.8 carries and 5.2 targets per game. Volume is king in fantasy, and while fellow RB Rachaad White has cut into his workload over the second half of the season, don't be surprised to see Fournette get more run now that we're in playoff mode.
SEAHAWKS-49ERS:
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WR Justin Jefferson, Vikings vs. Giants ($9,000). Jefferson's in line for a bounce-back performance against a Giants defense he torched for 25.3 FanDuel points back in Week 16 (133 receiving yards, 12 receptions, one TD). While he's always capable of making big plays, Jefferson's ability to dominate in the red zone is the main reason we're rostering him this weekend. He leads all WRs in red-zone targets (28) and is always a threat to score multiple TDs. The Giants' pass defense also hasn't been all that great over the back half of the season, sporting the 19th-highest drop-back EPA (0.033) since Week 9.
GIANTS-VIKINGS:
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WR Darius Slayton, Giants @ Vikings ($5,800). We're stacking Jones and Slayton, thinking Sunday's Giants-Vikings matchup will be an offensive-centric game. Slayton ended the regular season as the Giants leading receiver (724 yards) and we think he'll put forth a solid showing against a subpar Vikings' pass defense. Slayton saw six targets and hauled in four passes for 79 yards against the Vikings in Week 16, and we're hoping he replicates that outing. Slayton's 12.5 aDOT (25th among WRs) could lead to a big play or two, and with the Giants likely forced into a pass-heavy offensive gameplan, Slayton could realistically see seven-plus targets, making him an enticing addition at only $5,800.
COWBOYS-BUCCANEERS:
Betting preview | Best props | DK lineup | FD lineup
WR Joshua Palmer, Chargers @ Jaguars ($6,500). While you never want to see your teammate go down with an injury, Palmer's a beneficiary of Mike Williams' back ailment, as the second-year wideout's going to log a high snap share as the team's de facto No. 2 receiver. Palmer's as close to a must-start as it gets, as he should see a high number of targets in Los Angeles' pass-heavy offense. In the four games Mike Williams missed this season, Palmer averaged 66.5 receiving yards on 5.8 receptions per game. A similar stat line would help keep our lineup competitive.
TE Hayden Hurst, Bengals vs. Ravens ($5,100). Since we spent up to roster McCaffery and Jefferson, we're going to hunt for value at tight end and think Hurst can come through for us. After missing three games with a calf injury, Hurst returned to game action last week and logged a 73 percent snap share. While he hauled in four passes, he only recorded 14 receiving yards, but chances are he's able to record at least 20-plus receiving yards should he haul in four passes this week. Hurst averages 8.1 yards per reception on the season, so his Week 18 output should be looked at as an anomaly. Given the Bengals' offensive success of late, Hurst could very well rack up 40-plus receiving yards while also reaching paydirt.
FLEX Jeff Wilson Jr., Dolphins @ Bills ($6,000). With fellow RB Raheem Mostert (broken thumb) ruled out, Wilson Jr.'s in line for a high usage day on Sunday. While the Dolphins' offense isn't expected to do much with Skylar Thompson getting the start, Wilson Jr. might end up being more impactful as a receiver, racking up a handful of cheap receptions. At $6,000, he's a formidable injury fill-in who should have a large enough workload.
DEF Los Angeles Chargers vs. Jaguars ($3,900). We'll round out our lineup with the Chargers D/ST, and while their run defense is still one of the worst in the league, their pass defense has improved mightily over the back half of the season. Since Week 9, the Chargers defense has allowed the third-lowest drop-back success rate (40.8 percent) and could potentially keep the Jaguars' offense in check. L.A.'s D/ST likely won't be rostered at a high percentage, giving us some differentiation, as well.
