After 19 weeks of NFL football, the final four teams are all that remain. The two games, scheduled for Sunday afternoon and evening feature an interesting mix of teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were a stretch to even make the postseason in 2017.
Whether you have a rooting interest in these two games or not, this weekend offers one of the last chances of the year to play some DFS football. With only two games, the pool of players is small. Considering the teams, style of play, strengths and weaknesses the following players offer high potential at a low-cost. Here are the best value picks for the Conference Championship weekend in DFS football.
QB – Blake Bortles $5000
After consecutive 16.0 point fantasy performances in the playoffs, Bortles get another chance to have a good fantasy game in the Conference Championship. While the Jags have won the last two playoff games despite Bortles averaging right around 150 passing yards, they will need more from him on Sunday afternoon to beat the Patriots.
The Patriots strategy is simple. Remove the best player from a team’s offense and make everyone else beat them. For the Jaguars, the best player is running back Leonard Fournette. Fournette is coming off an outstanding game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but will be much less effective this weekend. Bortles will need to air it out often for the Jaguars to match the Patriots. Even if Bortles and the Jaguars lose by multiple touchdowns, garbage time Blake is a great fantasy QB and could top over 300 yards against the Patriots suspect secondary – even if he has a turnover or two.
RB – James White $4900
James White took the fantasy community by surprise last weekend with a two-touchdown performance in the Patriots convincing win over the Tennessee Titans. White saw his role in the Patriots offense decline as Dion Lewis took over the majority of back duties. The time off to recover from injuries and the lighter workload have James White fresh for the Conference Championship game.
Although the Jacksonville Jaguars secondary looked vulnerable against the Steelers, they still match up well against the Patriots smaller receivers. Because of that, Brady may look more to his running back as receiving options. White is one of the best receiving backs in the NFL and a slippery target in the red zone. In a full point PPR scoring format, White is an excellent value at $4900.
WR – Dede Westbrook $3900
If Blake Bortles is expected to have a good game, then one of his wide receivers is a great option to get into your DFS line-up. For the cost, Dede Westbrook is the best option to choose from the Jaguars offense. The Patriots rank in the bottom four against wide receivers this season. They gave up two touchdowns to rookie Corey Davis last week, who is a rookie who did very little this year. That means Westbrook has a shot to make some nose.
Westbrook, like Davis, is somewhat commonly used third wide receiver on the team’s offense. As the Patriots limited the Titans top-two receivers, they could do the same to the Jaguars, opening the field up more for Westbrook. For the cost and big-play potential, Westbrook is worth a spot in your DFS line-up this weekend.
TE –Rob Gronkowski $7900
For the second week in a row, despite the cost, no tight end offers better value than Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski is coming off his fifth straight game with at least 17.0 fantasy points. He is a match up nightmare for every team in the NFL, including the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars defense at times struggled to contain Vance McDonald of the Pittsburgh Steelers. McDonald caught ten passes for 112 yards last week. If McDonald, who finished the 2017 season with only 188 receiving yards, can post those numbers against the Jaguars, who knows how high the ceiling on Gronkowski is this Sunday. The Jags defense doesn’t have many weaknesses but this looks like one area that the Patriots will be looking to exploit.
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