X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

Divisional Round Busts - Overvalued Players to Avoid In Fantasy Football

Eight teams remain alive in the chase to win the Super Bowl after a Wild Card Round that featured three home teams -- the Texans, the Ravens, and the Bears -- all lose. That leaves us with some matchups in this round that don't look great on paper, but that should provide some compelling football.

This is also the last week where you have four games to choose from when playing DFS. Sure, you're going to play during the conference championship games, but this is the last time you have enough games to choose from to actually feel like you're playing the fantasy game still. Who should you end up leaving out of those lineups? I've picked one guy from each team who I'm avoiding this weekend when building my own DFS lineups, with some reasons why I don't love their matchups.

Here are eight lineup busts and avoids for the NFL's Divisional Round.

 

Top Eight Busts - NFL Divisional Round

Indianapolis Colts: Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins (Running Back)

I spent a long time debating if any of the regulars on this Colts offense were worth mentioning this week, but the Chiefs defense has a whole lot of weaknesses and this game is likely to be a shootout, so instead, I'm going another way with this. Hines and Wilkins shouldn't be thought of as under-the-radar picks this week, as last week's usage suggest that neither is a big enough part of this offense. Marlon Mack was on the field for 81 percent of offensive snaps, while Hines and Wilkins sat at 12 and 10 percent. Wilkins touched the ball twice; Hines didn't receive any touches. This is Marlon Mack's backfield.

Kansas City Chiefs: Sammy Watkins (Wide Receiver)

The Colts allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers during the regular season, and while I mostly trust Tyreek Hill to play well and last week showed that the Colts can struggle against slot receivers, the likely return of Sammy Watkins doesn't raise a single "oh, is he actually a sleeper this week" thought in me. Yes, he had six games with 50 or more yards last season, but this matchup with the Colts should be a rough one. I was reading this article by Matt Verderame about the Colts defense and how it matches up with the Chiefs, and one of the main takeaways is that the Colts defense can do a good job of preventing things over the top, but they struggle against tight ends and plays underneath the coverage. They should be able to contain Watkins.

Dallas Cowboys: Cole Beasley (Wide Receiver)

Beasley is dealing with an ankle sprain and was limited to 41 percent of the Cowboys' offensive snaps in the Wild Card Round. He's officially listed as questionable ahead of Saturday's game, and while it wouldn't be a surprise to see him suit up, another game of limited usage is likely in store. The Rams have been susceptible to big plays by wide receivers, but it's more likely to be Michael Gallup who benefits from occupying the "being covered by Marcus Peters" role.

Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff (Quarterback)

The last time Jared Goff stepped onto an NFL field, he threw for four touchdown passes, but the four games before that featured Goff tossing two touchdowns and six interceptions. Now, he takes on a Cowboys defense that was holding opposing quarterbacks to the ninth-fewest fantasy points in the league during the regular season and that held Russell Wilson to just one touchdown pass in the first round.

Advertising

Los Angeles Chargers: Hunter Henry (Tight End)

Henry will make his season debut on Sunday, and while a healthy Henry is better than Antonio Gates at this point, it's worth looking at how inconsistent Gates has been this year as a model for what Henry's usage could be on Sunday. Will he immediately jump into a starring role on this team in a road playoff game? Or will Rivers continue to look away from the tight end and target other pieces on the offense? And how much will Gates end up playing? Lots of question marks with Henry.

New England Patriots: Tom Brady (Quarterback)

Yeah, yeah, yeah...picking Tom Brady to bust in a home playoff game would have been sacrilege as recently as last season, but of all the defenses left in the playoffs, the Chargers allowed the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this year, and Brady finished as the QB14, tying his lowest mark from a season in which he played all 16 games. Brady is 41 years old and it's become pretty undeniable at this point that he's slipped. While he's had his moments this year, I trust Brady less than a lot of the other quarterbacks taking the field this weekend.

Philadelphia Eagles: Darren Sproles (Running Back)

The Saints allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs during the regular season, and Sproles is coming off a 13-carry, 21-yard day against the Bears. I think the Eagles passing game should be fine this week, but I don't expect to see much action in the run game. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams are also avoids.

New Orleans Saints: Tight Ends

The Saints beat the Eagles 48-7 earlier in the year, but the Saints tight ends didn't have great games in that one. Josh Hill caught two passes. Dan Arnold caught two passes. Ben Watson didn't have a catch. Overall, the Eagles allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends during the regular season.

More Weekly Lineup Prep




LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF