The NFL Divisional Round begins Saturday with the Broncos hosting the Bills followed by the 49ers taking on the Seahawks. Let's dig into the Saturday FanDuel NFL DFS slate and highlight some of the top players to consider when crafting your lineups.
The Games
| Over-Under | Road Team | Road Team Total | Home Team | Home Team Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45.5 | Bills | 23.5 | Broncos | 23.5 |
| 44.5 | 49ers | 18.5 | Seahawks | 26.5 |
There is no significant difference between the two totals for these games; the Seahawks are the biggest favorite on the slate and have the highest team total.
Value Options
Zach Charbonnet, SEA vs. SF ($6,700): Charbonnet had 12 rushing touchdowns this season, giving him 20 rushing scores since the beginning of last season. Over that same two-season span, Kenneth Walker III posted a total of 12 rushing scores, five of which game this season. While Walker has the potential to rack up more yards, Charbonnet has been the Seahawks' preferred option inside the red zone. That touchdown potential leaves him with upside at his salary.
Brandin Cooks, BUF at DEN ($5,900): Khalil Shakir led the Bills with 12 targets against the Jaguars in the previous round, while Cooks was the next highest with five, finishing with three receptions for 58 yards. Other than Shakir and Cooks, no other player in the game finished with more than 36 receiving yards for the Bills. Cooks has quickly become an important part of their offense, so while this matchup might not be ideal against a good Broncos defense, his role and cheap salary make him somewhat appealing.
Other Value Options
RB Kenneth Walker III, SEA vs. SF ($6,500)
WR Ricky Pearsall, SF at SEA ($6,000)
WR Rashid Shaheed, SEA vs. SF ($5,500)
TE Dawson Knox, BUF at DEN ($5,100)
Stacks to Consider
Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills
Of the four defenses on this slate, the Bills might have the worst. Even in their win last week, they gave up 24 points to the Jaguars, including three touchdowns to Trevor Lawrence. A key stat for this matchup might be that they allowed the fifth-most rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks. Bo Nix ($7,500) can do damage with his legs, which he showed during the regular season by rushing for 430 yards and four touchdowns. Another plus for Nix is this game being played in Denver, where he averaged 252.0 yards per game compared to 207.9 on the road.
The top wideout to stack with Nix is Courtland Sutton ($7,300), who just finished with the third 1,000-yard season of his career. He had a 21.0 percent target share for the Broncos and accounted for 34.7 percent of their air yards. The Broncos also gave him 12 red-zone targets over their last seven games, three of which came from inside the 10-yard line.
High-Price Hero
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA vs. SF ($9,600): Smith-Njigba finished with at least 72 receiving yards in all but one game this season, including nine with at least 100. The main reason for his breakout was a ton of passes being thrown his way, as he accounted for 35.7 percent of the Seahawks' targets and a whopping 49.2 percent of their air yards. While his average depth of target of 11.1 yards wasn't off the charts, he helped make up for it by averaging 4.6 yards after the catch.
When Smith-Njigba played the 49ers in Week 1, he caught nine of 13 targets for 124 yards, and then he had hauled in six of eight targets for 84 yards against them in Week 18. With a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line, expect the Seahawks to pepper Smith-Njigba with targets.
The Smash Spot
Josh Allen, BUF at DEN ($9,000): Allen put the Bills on his back to pull off the upset over the Jaguars last week. Despite his limited receiving options, he threw for 273 yards and one touchdown while adding 11 rushes for 33 yards and two touchdowns. It was the sixth time this season he scored multiple rushing touchdowns.
Allen hasn't finished with fewer than two total touchdowns in a playoff game since 2022. The Broncos allowed just 18.3 points per game this season, but that shouldn't discourage anyone from feeling good about rolling with Allen.
