Sunday is the only day that will consist of three NFL playoff games throughout the entire playoffs, so here’s our last chance to play in same-day tournaments with plenty of viable options. Our Sunday-only FanDuel lineup will obviously have a fair share of studs, but in GPP tournaments, we’ll have to make some gambles to differentiate ourselves. The Eagles, Buccaneers, 49ers, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Steelers have plenty of daily fantasy football darlings, but it will be the under-the-radar sleepers that set us apart. Get our top stud and sleeper picks below.
Before we get into this week’s lineups, here are the basic rules for FanDuel contests. Scoring is pretty standard, with the only notable settings being four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR.
Sunday-only Wid Card FanDuel Picks: NFL DFS lineup advice for first round of playoffs
Saturday main slate, $60,000 budget, no more than four players from one team
QB Jalen Hurts, Eagles @ Buccaneers ($7,700)
Dual-threat QBs are more valuable in FanDuel since there are no 300-yard passing bonuses, and Hurts is cheaper than Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Tom Brady, so he’s a no-brainer here. With Hurts, you don’t have to force stacks since he can reach his ceiling without his pass-catchers getting there. He has just as high of a ceiling as the aforementioned QBs and doesn’t have to have a stellar passing game to put up 25-plus FD points. In fact, he’s averaged more FD points than Dak Prescott and is just a point behind Mahomes and Brady. Take the savings here.
RB Darrel Williams, Chiefs vs. Steelers ($6,600)
Williams has three 20-plus FD performances on his 2021 resumè, and since Clyde Edwards-Helaire (shoulder) is surely less than 100 percent, Williams should get a healthy workload against the 27th-ranked defense in FD points allowed to RBs. We’re playing a lot of Williams at his price since his ownership should be low, and his ceiling far outweighs his cost.
RB Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers vs. Eagles ($7,300)
Fournette (hamstring) will be ready to go, and it’s time for part two of Playoff Lenny. In the three games prior to his injury in Week 15, he averaged just over 26 FD points per game, and we’ve seen for years how valuable Tom Brady’s primary pass-catching RB can be. Especially with Chris Godwin (ACL) and Antonio Brown out of the way, Fournette could be even more involved in the passing attack. This season, Fournette trailed only Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler with 54 red-zone touches, and we expect him to get those valuable carries once again.
WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys vs. 49ers ($7,300)
Lamb has been awfully quiet over the last four games, averaging just 7.1 FD points/game. That said, we can either fade him or take him and hopefully avoid some chalk. We’re happy to chase his ceiling at a reasonable price against a struggling Niners’ secondary. The ceiling game could come at any moment.
WR Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers @ Cowboys ($6,100)
Aiyuk is the natural counterplay to CeeDee Lamb, and since the Dallas defense allowed the eighth-most FD points to WRs during the regular season, Aiyuk could feast if this game becomes and back-and-forth passing display. He’s put up at least 11 FD points in four of his past six games, but we know his ceiling is higher, and at this price, we’re willing to chase it.
WR Ray-Ray McCloud, Steelers @ Chiefs ($4,900)
This selection leaves us plenty of salary left over, so while we could go for more of a “sure” thing here, we’re taking McCloud to differentiate our lineup. How often is a guy who has averaged nine targets over his past three games priced at $4,900? McCloud is largely an afterthought next to Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson, but he’s capable of commanding just as many targets. He’s played at least 63-percent of the Steelers’ offensive snaps in each of the past three games, and we know Ben Roethlisberger will approach 50 passing attempts in this one. Hopefully, McCloud will be on the receiving end of some cheap receptions and a touchdown.
TE Dallas Goedert, Eagles @ Buccaneers ($5,900)
We’ll take Goedert as our lone stack with Jalen Hurts, and since Goedert doesn’t provide the “safe floor” many DFS playersers will be looking for, he shouldn’t be chalky in a slate with Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle, and Dalton Schultz. In fact, he might be the least owned out of that group and has a similar ceiling if things work to his advantage. A touchdown or two is all a tight end needs to be the TE1 on a three-game slate.
FLEX (TE) Rob Gronkowski, Buccaneers vs. Eagles ($7,400)
Tons of DFS players aren’t willing to play two TEs, but the strategy is viable and we’re happy to implement it. If Gronk had a “WR” tag next to his name, we wouldn’t think anything of it. He can produce the same volume of catches, yards, and touchdowns as any of the top pass-catchers in football, and since the Eagles are the friendliest matchup for TEs, he’s a total smash play. He’ll be chalky, but again, the two-TE lineup will give us an edge.
DEF Kansas City Chiefs vs. Steelers ($4,800)
The Steelers’ offense is as vanilla as it gets, and we know about the well-documented ascension of the Kansas City defense. In Week 16, these teams met, and Pittsburgh needed a garbage-time TD to score 10 points. Big Ben was limited to 159 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. We expect similar results in the final game of Roethlisberger’s career.
