RADIO
Wild Card weekend is officially here in the NFL and this year we get six games instead of just four! With six teams from each conference playing this week and only two teams getting a bye, we are in for one heck of a treat with two triple-headers on Saturday and Sunday!
More NFL games = more NFL DFS slates and we have you covered with all of the content you're craving here at RotoBaller where our team of NFL analysts will be breaking down these games from all angles. These slates will be challenging (as most small slates usually are) as there really aren't that many bad defenses to pick on anymore and we will have to dig a little deeper than usual to find the matchups that we really want to target.
In this article, I will be providing you with my Wild Card Saturday slate daily fantasy football lineup picks on FanDuel. These lineups can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our weekly FanDuel DFS lineup picks and lots of other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win big! Feel free to give me a follow on Twitter @ThunderDanDFS.
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NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Slate
1:05 PM EST: Buffalo Bills (-7) vs. Indianapolis Colts (51.5 O/U)
4:40 PM EST: L.A. Rams (+4.5) @ Seattle Seahawks (42.5 O/U)
8:15 PM EST: Washington Football Team (+8) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (45.5 O/U)
FanDuel DFS Quarterbacks
Josh Allen vs. IND ($9,000)
Allen is the priciest QB on the slate, but it's hard to argue against using him as he carries the most upside of anyone with his elite scrambling and playmaking abilities. He threw for a cool 37 TDs this season and ran 8 in on the ground while averaging 25 FD points per game.
The Bills don't have much of a run game and the Colts have a very solid run defense which leads me to believe that we will see 40+ passing attempts from Allen in the game with the highest Vegas total on the slate. You should absolutely pay up for him in cash games with the floor he brings and I love the idea of stacking him with one or two receivers, too. The Colts' secondary has proven to vulnerable over the second half of the season.
Philip Rivers @BUF ($6,900)
If I am not paying all the way up, then I'm likely to go down to Rivers or maybe even Alex Smith. The Colts want to run the ball, but they're going to have to put points on the board in order to keep up with this potent Bills' offense. Rivers isn't the QB he once was, but played pretty well down the stretch for Indy, tossing two or more touchdowns in five of their final seven games. Vegas thinks this game is high-scoring and I tend to agree that it's likely to outscore the other two games with better defenses in them.
FanDuel DFS Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor @BUF ($8,800)
Taylor has been running over defenses for the last month and was a core play of mine last week, helping me win some decent money with a top-five finish in a GPP on FanDuel. He will have a tougher go of it Saturday against the Bills than he had against Jacksonville, Houston, and Las Vegas in December, but he even posted 74 yards and two scores against the Steelers Defense in week 16.
The Bills have the weakest run defense on the slate and I expect the Colts to try to exploit that matchup. Look for Taylor to get fed early in an attempt to get Indy playing from in front. He's always a threat in the passing game, too, even if they haven't used him out of the backfield much the last two weeks.
Ronald Jones II @WAS ($6,700)
Jones is never a sexy play by any means, but he's healthy and back in the lead back role for Tampa. I think we see Coach Arians try to establish the running game against Washington this week and the numbers suggest that would be a good thing as they're 11th against the run and 2nd overall against the pass. The last thing Tampa wants is Tom Brady throwing it 40 times this week against a solid Washington pass rush and secondary.
Jones has been steady pretty much all season when healthy and Leonard Fournette isn't really a threat to his early-down touches. If Tampa is going to play this game from in front, Jones should get fed and we have to like his potential game script here as the Bucs are touchdown favorites at home.
FanDuel DFS Wide Receivers
Stefon Diggs vs. IND ($8,700)
Diggs finished as the regular-season champ in yards as he led the NFL with 1,535. He has been Josh Allen's go-to-guy all season long and there's no reason to think he won't get fed this weekend with the Bills playing their first home playoff game in a long time.
Diggs has been matchup proof this season and his target volume can't be ignored on this slate. He's going to get a ton of opportunities to make plays and the best corner the Colts have is Xavier Rhodes, who isn't likely to be able to contain Diggs. With so many other question marks on this slate (Evans injury, Kupp out?), it makes sense to lock in the top-projected receiver into your lineups and figure the rest out with what salary you have remaining.
Antonio Brown vs. WAS ($6,500)
I mentioned that Mike Evans' status is in question for this weekend after he sustained an injury last week and was forced the leave the game. It looks like he is going to try to play, but he could be limited which means we should see more targets for AB and Chris Godwin.
Brown was outstanding last week, hauling in 11 of 14 targets for 138 yards and two scores. He looked like the AB we saw in Pittsburgh and he continues to be an incredibly tough cover with his ability to line up wide or in the slot. He's now got four touchdowns in his last three games and at this price, I'll happily pencil him into my lineups. Look for Brady to target him on a lot of short passes this week to avoid the Washington pass rush.
FanDuel DFS Tight Ends
Logan Thomas @TAM ($6,400)
We know that Alex Smith loves his tight ends, right? Thomas has become a huge part of this offense ever since Smith took over at QB and he's posted some monster games down the stretch. With Tampa being so stout against the run, I expect Washington to have to throw the ball a lot in this game, meaning Thomas is going to get his looks.
The Bucs gave up the 11th most fantasy points to the TE position this season and Thomas is going to be running routes where they are most vulnerable - in the middle of the field. It's a steep price to pay for a TE, but Thomas is easily the cream of the crop here and I'd make fitting him into your builds a priority.
FanDuel DFS Defense/Special Teams
I am all about paying down on this slate in order to jam in some of the higher-priced position players. Because of that, I will rule out the Rams Defense at 4900 on principle alone, despite how solid of a unit they are. I'd much rather go down to Washington at $3700 as I think they have a decent floor due to their pass rush and Tom Brady's lack of mobility. Or I'll go all the way down to Seattle at $3600 who could be playing a Rams team that is forced to start a backup QB and could also be without Cooper Kupp, too.
Well, that's it, everyone! Good luck, RotoBallers, in your contests and I hope this slate turns out to be a profitable one for you!
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