While the NFL regular season over and fantasy leagues have ended, DFS football keeps on going. Wild Card Saturday features a total of four teams. With the limited number of games in the playoffs, the pool of players available is much smaller. Still, finding value is important for anyone who wants to maximize their DFS line-up by including Todd Gurley, Julio Jones or Travis Kelce. For Saturday’s batch of NFL Wild Card games, here are the best values in DFS football.
QB – Alex Smith $6300
Kansas City Chiefs
With the field of quarterbacks consisting of just four players, finding a low-cost option is not always feasible. Instead, the player with the highest fantasy ceiling is a preferable option. Coming in as the second most expensive options ($200 more than Matt Ryan), Alex Smith is the best quarterback to pick for the Saturday slate of Wild Card games. Smith had his most productive NFL season and finished the year as the second-best fantasy quarterback (behind only Russell Wilson).
Smith has been successful in the playoffs. He has thrown a touchdown in all six of his playoff starts while adding 27 or more rushing yards in five of the six games. His ability to limit turnovers (more than Matt Ryan and Marcus Mariota) is another benefit. Start Smith on Saturday at home against the Tennessee Titans.
RB – Tevin Coleman $4100
Atlanta Falcons
As the backup with the most favorable matchup, Tevin Coleman is the best value option for Wild Card Saturday. The Los Angeles Rams ranked last in DraftKings for points to running backs this season. Coleman was underrated in the 2017 season.
Keep in mind that this game could be a high-scoring affair. The Rams have the top scoring offense in the NFL. We know what the Falcons are capable of when they get in a rhythm. Taking a look at the totals, this game has the highest number on the board this week (48.5), so the odds makers are expecting plenty of points.
Coleman scored eight touchdowns and could have surpassed 1000 yards from scrimmage had he not missed the Falcons Week 15 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coleman was a productive member of the Falcons playoff team last season. Although he only finished with 178 in three games, he scored a touchdown in each of the Falcons games. With a high chance at topping ten touches and a realistic chance at reaching the end zone, Coleman is the best value running back on Saturday.
WR – Eric Decker $3500
Tennessee Titans
A veteran presence is what the Titans badly need on Saturday, if they want to pull off an upset against the Kansas City Chiefs. Decker has five playoff games of experience. Although, he is somewhat disappointing in those games (never catching a touchdown or breaking 100 yards receiving), he at least has the experience.
This NFL matchup favors Decker and the Titans wide receivers. The Chiefs finished last in DraftKings for points allowed to wide receivers. With DeMarco Murray likely out of Saturday’s game, the Titans will need to approach the Chiefs with a more two-dimensional offensive game plan, which will help Decker. At $3500, the price on Decker is priced low enough to start on Saturday.
TE – Tyler Higbee $2500
Los Angeles Rams
Outside of Travis Kelce, there is no reliable option at the tight end position (apologies to Delanie Walker fans), playing on Saturday. Since Kelce is quite expensive, putting him in your line-up will cost you the ability to get other stars like Todd Gurley and Julio Jones. Therefore, looking for the low-cost tight end with touchdown potential is a viable option.
This Saturday, Tyler Higbee is the best value option. The big-bodied tight end could see his role in the passing game expand, as the Rams try and utilize play-action more frequently. Since he is a better blocker than Gerald Everett, he will be the tight end of choice when the Rams run a play action pass. The Rams and Falcons game figures to be high-scoring, opening up the touchdown chances for Higbee.
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!
