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DraftKings Plays - Divisional Round

Randall-CobbThe Wild Card round was fun, but this is the best weekend of football. Four games of nail biting, edge-of-your-seat drama. So why not make them a little more interesting with some action on DraftKings?

Daily fantasy is difficult enough in the regular season, but the playoffs are even more challenging. With just eight teams in action, the lineup combinations are limited. But there are some solid plays this week for those in cash game contests.

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Here’s the optimized lineup I produced using the PFF Daily Fantasy Tool:

DK Divisional

QB: Russell Wilson

Finishing the regular season No. 15 in passing yards, Wilson isn’t likely to air it out this weekend. Despite his modest passing numbers, he posted the third highest fantasy points among quarterbacks in standard scoring leagues. Wilson managed this feat with an impressive 849 rushing yards and six scores, both of which led all quarterbacks.

Carolina is much better defensively now than they have been most of the season, but they have been vulnerable to strong rushing attacks like we see in Seattle. Wilson’s ceiling isn’t extremely high, but he offers a high floor at a reasonable price this week.

RB: Dan Herron

Herron flashed moments of impressive play last week posting 141 total yards and a score on 22 touches. However, his two fumbles raised questions about ball security. The good news from a fantasy standpoint is Colts head coach Chuck Pagano publicly supported Herron and said Indy will “stay the course” with him.

Even with his fumbling problems, Herron out-snapped Zurlon Tipton 58 to 18. Herron will get plenty of touches this week against a Denver defense that got gashed by Jeremy Hill in Week 16. Broncos LB Brandon Marshall was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable. Marshall expects to play, but if he doesn’t Herron’s value gets a big boost. Regardless, his price tag warrants a start this week, especially with Draft Kings PPR scoring.

RB: Eddie Lacy

Lacy was a force down the stretch averaging 116.2 total yards and scoring five times in the Packers’ last six games. Dallas managed to contain Joique Bell and Reggie Bush last week, but this Cowboys defense is susceptible to the run. Game script along with the cold weather and Aaron Rodgers injury all suggest Lacy sees 20-plus touches and has a big day this weekend.

WR: Randall Cobb

Cobb found the end zone an impressive 12 times in the regular season, and enters the playoffs with 307 combined yards and two scores over the last three games. Primarily a slot receiver, Cobb will face Orlando Scandrick, who yielded seven catches for 79 yards last week. Despite the cold weather, this one projects to be a shootout where Cobb will get plenty of opportunities to put up numbers.

WR: Julian Edelman

Edelman is back after missing the last two games of the regular season with a concussion, but he should be good to go following the Patriots’ first-round bye. Over the last six games, Edelman averages 9.7 targets and 84.2 receiving yards per game. He also scored three times over that span.

With the Ravens bringing significant pressure off the edges, Tom Brady won’t have a lot of time to pass down field. This bodes positively for Edelman, who will see a lot of Ravens CB Anthony Levine in the slot. That’s a plus matchup that Brady and Edelman will have no problem exploiting.

WR: Jermaine Kearse

So far, we’ve played all the hits. Now it’s time for a deep cut off the B-side of this week’s album. Kearse isn’t likely to see more than a half-dozen targets in the Seahawks’ limited passing offense, but he does offer some big play upside. Plus, this play gives us a mini stack with Wilson.

TE: Dwayne Allen

Only two Colts saw more than three targets last week, and Allen wasn’t one of them (T.Y. Hilton and Dan Herron). The good news is that Allen looks healthy, and Andrew Luck did look his way more than Coby Fleener’s.

This week, Allen is $900 cheaper than Fleener, which is fine by me. Allen’s red zone presence makes him the better fantasy bet this week against a Broncos team that has given up a touchdown reception to a tight end in three of their last five games.

FLEX: Torrey Smith

Last week both Baltimore Smiths saw six targets with Steve topping 100 yards and Torrey finding the end zone. Looking forward to this week, there’s good news for Torrey: Darrelle Revis is more likely to shadow Steve. That means Brandon Browner will cover Torrey.

While Browner is no walk in the park, Torrey is a sneaky play this week. He’s show up as an unlikely red zone presence this season, and could very well fill that role again this week in what is shaping up to be a very close back-and-forth contest between the Ravens and Pats.

DST: Seattle

It didn’t look promising for this Seahawks unit earlier in the season, but they’ve come together and enter the playoffs as arguably a better all-around unit than last year’s version that dominated the Super Bowl. While the Panther’s run game has been clicking over the last month, they lack the firepower to give Seattle a real test.

Cam Newton also looked a bit shaky throwing the ball last week and almost hand delivered a pick-six to Antonio Cromartie. Seattle will make him pay for mistakes like that. Despite their healthy price tag, the Seahawks are a must-play in cash games this week.

 


Jeff Ratcliffe is the Assistant Managing Editor and resident IDP maven of PFF Fantasy.  

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