After an entertaining Wild Card weekend, which included a quarterback throwing a touchdown to himself and Blake Bortles finishing with more rushing yards than passing, let’s hope for some more entertaining affairs as we head into the Divisional Round.
Saturday gets rolling with an NFC showdown as the sixth seed Falcons go into Philadelphia as the favorites against the number one seed. After that, the heavily favored New England Patriots host the Tennessee Titans in the AFC. There are some exciting players to watch in these games that could have productive fantasy games in DFS. Here are the best DFS values for NFL fantasy purposes in those two games.
QB – Matt Ryan $5700
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is coming off an efficient game, albeit lacking fantasy wise. This week, he has a good chance to top the numbers he put up in Wild Card weekend. The Eagles have one of the stingiest rush defenses in the NFL. They allowed the fewest rushing yards this season.
Because the Eagles strength on defence is stopping the run (the opposite of the Rams), the Falcons should employ a more pass-heavy game plan. This strategy should help Ryan post better numbers this weekend. Ryan averages 258.6 yards passing and 2.33 passing touchdowns per game against the Eagles in his career. If he gets around those numbers, he will finish Saturday with about 20.0 fantasy points.
RB –Jay Ajayi $4600
Philadelphia Eagles
After joining the Eagles mid-season in a trade, Jay Ajayi elevated his game as the Eagles most dangerous running threat. Ajayi averaged 5.8 yards per carry, but only touched the ball 80 times (70 carries, ten receptions) in his seven games with the Eagles. Ajayi should be nice and fresh for the postseason and with Carson Wentz out, the Eagles should rely more heavily on the run game.
At just $4600, Ajayi is a steal. Ajayi has become a more prominent part of the Eagles offense over his last three games, touching the ball 16, 14, and 16 times and averaging 81 yards from scrimmage over that stretch. He sat out the Eagles finally, meaning he should be ready to touch the ball, at minimum 15 times. Blount and Clement are not as universally talented as Ajayi and should see a reduced role on Saturday.
WR – Taylor Gabriel $3000
Atlanta Falcons
If the Philadelphia Eagles are going to win on Saturday, the will need to remove Julio Jones from the game (or at least limit his effectiveness). With Julio drawing frequent double and maybe even triple teams, the field will open up for the Falcons other wide receivers. At $3000, Taylor Gabriel is the best low-cost receiver in the Saturday mix.
Gabriel did not have as productive of a season in 2017 as he did in 2016. However, that can be said about the entire Falcons offense (with a few exceptions such as Austin Hooper). Even though his numbers are down, he has proven he can be productive in the postseason. Last year, he topped 70 yards in two of the Falcons three postseason games. In the other game, he caught a receiving touchdown. For a low-cost option, Gabriel is the best receiver on Saturday.
TE –Rob Gronkowski $7100
New England Patriots
Despite being the most expensive tight end to start on Saturday, Gronkowski is the best value and safest pick to play in DFS on Saturday. Travis Kelce (the Kansas City Chiefs tight end) torched the Titans defence before a concussion prematurely ended his night. Kelce is arguably the most comparable tight end to Gronkowski. Large and fast, with excellent hands, the two play similar, although Gronk is more of a physical presence.
At $7100, Gronk is the most expensive DFS value player we have suggested all season. However, Gronk is just so much better and more reliable than the other tight end options, making him worth the money. It is reasonable to expect Gronkowski to score 20.0 fantasy points against the Titans. The other tight ends, it is tough to predict if any of them will score in double digits on Saturday.
Now that the playoffs have arrived, click here to bet on the football futures for the 2017 NFL season right now. DSI will have all of the latest lines, spreads and props for this year’s action!
