The National Football League regular season has come to an end, which means it’s time for the Fantasy Spotlight DFS edition to turn its attention to the playoffs. One of the great attributes of both DraftKings and FanDuel is the ability to keep playing fantasy football all throughout the postseason. With that said, lets take a look at our Wild Card weekend DraftKings targets.
Fantasy Spotlight: Wild Card Weekend DraftKings Targets
Quarterback
Alex Smith: Kansas City Chiefs vs Tennessee Titans
Salary: $6,300
The AFC West Champion Kansas City Chiefs host Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans. Over his last four games, Alex Smith has seven touchdowns compared to only one interception. He threw for over 300 yards twice during that span. The Chiefs offense is starting to roll once again and they are certainly looking towards making a deep playoff run. The Titans defense ranked 18th in the regular season against opposing quarterbacks, so look for Smith to use the home-field advantage and put up a very productive DFS stat line.
Other Notables: Jared Goff $6,700, Cam Newton $6,500 and Drew Brees $6,400
Running Back
Alvin Kamara: New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers
Salary: $8,600
While the quarterback pool is short on great plays, the running back pool certainly is not. There are so many ways you can go, but we will start with Alvin Kamara. During a week 13 win at home against the Carolina Panthers, Kamara posted 29.6 DraftKings fantasy points. Among those points were 60 rushing yards and two touchdowns, as well as five catches for 66 yards. Outside of Todd Gurley II (who is obviously a great play this week as well), Kamara has been as consistent as they come down the stretch. The Panthers rush defense has been good all year but that will be irrelevant on the road against Kamara and the New Orleans Saints.
Leonard Fournette: Jacksonville Jaguars vs Buffalo Bills
Salary: $7,400
Perhaps two of the biggest surprise teams in the NFL this year are playing against each other this weekend. The Jacksonville Jaguars won the AFC South and the Buffalo Bills broke a near 20 year-long playoff drought. We know the Jaguars defense is as dominant as any in the league, however to win this game Blake Bortles must minimize mistakes. How do you do that? By giving the ball to your workhorse running back against one of the worst run defenses in the league. The Bills finished 32nd against fantasy running backs and allowed over 124 rushing yards per game. Running backs are very high priced this week and at $7,400 Fournette offers a great return on investment.
Other Notables: Kareem Hunt $8,100, Christian McCaffrey $6,400 and Devonta Freeman $6,300
Wide Receiver
Michael Thomas: New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers
Salary: $7,800
In two games against the Panthers during the regular season Michael Thomas had a combined 39.7 fantasy points per game in DraftKings. Translation: Thomas likes playing against the Panthers secondary. Thomas is the highest priced wideout not named Julio Jones on Wild Card Weekend. With Carolina ranked 28th against opposing wide receivers Thomas makes for a no-brainer play in all DFS formats this week.
Cooper Kupp: Los Angeles Rams vs Atlanta Falcons
Salary: $5,800
Perhaps the best value play of the week is Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp. The Rams rookie has caught five or more passes in five of his last seven games, scored twice and cracked 100 yards twice as well. Both 100-yard games were at home and he a safety net for quarterback Jared Goff. The Atlanta Falcons rank 11th against fantasy wide receivers but will have to focus their attention to not only Kupp, but Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods as well as try to keep Gurley in check. Expect Kupp to utiltize the middle of the field and put together a seven to eight catch day.
Other Notables: Tyreek Hill $6,800, Mohamed Sanu $5,600 and Rishard Matthews $4,900
Tight End
Travis Kelce: Kansas City Chiefs vs Tennessee Titans
Salary: $7,100
Tight end is very thin this weekend and Travis Kelce is far and away the priciest, but also the best play of the week. Kelce has double-digit fantasy points in ten of his last 12 games. Tennessee was 21st in the regular season against fantasy tight ends, making this a great matchup for Kelce at home. With quarterbacks and wide receivers priced affordably, it makes total sense to pay up for Travis Kelce this week.
Other Notables: Greg Olsen $5,000, Delanie Walker $4,700 and Gerald Everett $2,500
Defense
Jacksonville Jaguars
Salary: $4,400
This is a situation like the tight ends. The Jaguars are clearly the best defense on the slate this week and offer the best return on investment. LeSean McCoy is banged up and will be limited for the Bills which means Tyrod Taylor will have to step up and throw more than normal. With the Bills lacking consistent production from their wide receivers, Jacksonville will be ready for a big defensive effort.
