FanDuel NFL Wild Card Cheat Sheet: Daily Fantasy Rankings, Projections, Stacks (Download Free)
Contents
The weekly NFL FanDuel Cheatsheet can be downloaded for free by clicking the green excel picture. It’ll bring you the top cash picks, tournament options, stacks, and best values. Also, be sure to check out our DFS Projections and Rankings to help cover other slates and to further the decision-making process for those lineups. Look for the Cheatsheet each Wednesday as it will cover the upcoming main slate, which is the 1 PM and 4 PM games on FanDuel.
Downloadable Wild Card FanDuel Cheat Sheet
Saturday Slate
This week’s action is broken up into two main slates, which feature three games apiece. There is a collective weekend slate as well. Looking at the Saturday games, the Buccaneers and Bills have the highest implied totals, while the Rams and Washington both sit below 20. Tampa is favored by eight and the Bills by 3. Despite the Rams quarterback issues, the Seahawks are favored by three points, which shows Vegas is putting a lot of stick into the Rams defense.
The Bills offense is certainly the most intriguing target for me on Saturday. They have been on fire heading into the playoffs and boast one of the best QB/WR tandems in the playoffs. Allen is averaging 28 FD points over the last seven games, which is the highest of any quarterback on the slate. While the Colts have a decent defense, the secondary has been scuffling down the stretch and rank bottom ten in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks and wide receivers over the last five weeks. Stefon Diggs is a tremendous pay up option but you also have value options like John Brown and likely Cole Beasley to use as well to offset some of that heavy pricing of the team. Dawson Knox is a pay down option and but you run the risk of a dud, but a touchdown and some lackluster games by Thomas and Gronk, you are sitting pretty. On the flip side of this game, Jonathan Taylor and TY Hilton are options for the Colts, you can also use Nyheim Hines in large-field tournaments in hopes that he produces on second-hand touches.
Tampa has the big injury news as Mike Evans is back at practice, but still listed as questionable. I would have given bumps to Chris Godwin and the other pass-catchers, but the logjam seems it will be in the back for the playoffs. My issue with Tampa is going to be pinpointing the right guys as they will likely not put up 30+ and have everyone involved like they did the past few weeks. While we will keep an eye on Evans, he is intriguing if fully healthy as Washington has a top-five pass defense, but oddly struggles against WR1s. Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown are still options this week but the floors are lower. Rob Gronkowski is also in play as well as the Buccaneers defense. Tampa has had the best-run defense over the last two seasons and I hate targeting them with backs but Antonio Gibson is still worth a look on a three-game slate and has slayed some stellar run defenses this season.
Seattle and Los Angeles would have been more interesting with Jared Goff under center, but undecided backups for this week make them less intriguing DFS plays. Cam Akers is super cheap for someone who will see 15+ touches and I do think Robert Woods is still interesting given his price tag is below $7,000. Cooper Kupp will also be back this week and the Seattle secondary despite an improved second half is still one I don’t mind taking some shots against. Plus on a three-game slate, you are going to need to take some chances on lower-owned plays. Seattle’s passing attack draws the toughest secondary and we have seen them post below-average numbers against them even dating back to last season. We know the upside is still there but a low-scoring slugfest wouldn’t be kind to their fantasy outcomes.
Sunday Slate
The Sunday slate has a better feel to it with higher implied totals and a few weaker defenses on the slate compared to Saturday. Tennessee, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans all have an implied total of 26 or higher. The only blowout expected is the Saints and Bears game, as New Orleans is a ten-point favorite. Speaking of the Saints, Alvin Kamara will be back despite not practicing and Michael Thomas is already back practicing and ready to go for this week. While on paper this is a tough matchup, the Bears defense has certainly been beatable down the stretch. The Saints offense is also a well-oiled machine so using Kamara and also a depleted price tag on Thomas is not a bad way to go. Chicago has also struggled against tight ends this season, allowing the second-most fantasy points and a total of 12 touchdowns, Jared Cook is a solid GPP option. For the Bears, it is about the wide receivers as they should be in comeback mode for most of this one. Mooney and Robinson have been the most intriguing pass-catchers for fantasy this season.
Baltimore and Tennessee have the highest total on the weekend at 55. We have seen these two teams play over the last two years as the Titans have won both of them. Derrick Henry has had his way in both games and ultimately ended each. Henry is certainly going to get his share of touches and is a safe guy this week even against a tougher Baltimore run defense. You can’t forget about the pass-catchers here as well, with AJ Brown, Jonnu Smith, and Corey Davis all having strong seasons. Baltimore has a good secondary but the Titans should still be able to put up some big chunk plays. As for Baltimore, they will have the easiest defense to face all weekend. Tennessee ranks bottom five against the pass and are middle of the road against the run. Lamar Jackson is safe for a big game and the same goes for JK Dobbins. He is cheaper than I expected and gives you some cash relief. Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown are also in great spots.
This will be the third time Cleveland and Pittsburgh have played this season, but unlike last week, Ben Roethlisberger will return. The Steelers lead the league in pass attempts per game with their short passing scheme. Using that against Cleveland this week isn’t a bad idea given it avoids their pass rush and attacks a secondary that has struggled this season. Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster will be primary targets but don’t forget about Chase Claypool.
