Yahoo DFS Football: Championship Round Picks

Yahoo DFS Football: Championship Round Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.

The final Yahoo! NFL DFS slate of the season begins Sunday at 3:05 p.m. EST and features the NFC and AFC Championship Games, starting with Buccaneers-Packers followed by Bills-Chiefs. Tampa Bay stunned Green Bay 38-10 in the regular season, but the Packers will benefit from home-field advantage in chilly Lambeau Field for this rematch. The Chiefs will be defending their home turf after beating Buffalo 26-17 on the road in the regular season, but Kansas City's best player is in jeopardy of sitting out. All four remaining teams got here predominantly through prolific quarterback play, so pinpointing which passing games will thrive and which running games will provide adequate support will be key to finishing your NFL DFS campaign on a high note. Among the recommended options for this slate are a quarterback-receiver duo that has been unstoppable all season, a star player riding some impressive streaks and a running back who's peaking at the perfect time.

QUARTERBACK

Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. TB ($33): Tampa Bay managed to stifle Drew Brees last week, as Brees didn't seem to have the arm strength to beat the Buccaneers' physical cornerbacks over the top. Rodgers has no such limitations and is coming off a spectacular regular season in which he posted a 48:5 TD:INT. He added two passing touchdowns against the Rams in the divisional round last week while also reminding the world that he still has some juice left in his 37-year-old legs, scoring a rushing touchdown with the help of a nifty fake. Green Bay's offense is clicking on all cylinders, yet Rodgers is priced comfortably below two of the other three starting quarterbacks.

RUNNING BACK

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC vs. BUF ($20): Edwards-Helaire missed the divisional round due to hip and ankle injuries, but he's slated to make his return and reclaim lead back duties from Darrel Williams, who filled in admirably last week. Of the four remaining teams, Buffalo allowed the second-most rushing yards to running backs (1,550) and tied Green Bay for the most rushing touchdowns allowed to the position (14) in the regular season, so the rookie first-round pick is set up for success in his playoff debut as Edwards-Helaire should play in all situations. The Chiefs allowed the most yards to running backs in the regular season among remaining teams, but the pass-heavy Bills offense will likely stick to their bread and butter rather than change philosophies based on the matchup.

Leonard Fournette, TB at GB ($22): A healthier Ronald Jones (quadriceps) could cut further into Fournette's workload, but the former fourth overall pick has earned lead back duties this postseason with 156 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries, plus nine catches for 83 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets through Tampa Bay's first two playoff games. He should continue to see the bulk of the work against a Packers defense that gave up 14 touchdowns to running backs, plus the third-most receiving yards (764) to the position in the regular season.

WIDE RECEIVER

Davante Adams, GB vs. TB ($38): If you're going to commit to Rodgers, it would be foolish not to stack Adams on top, and the wideout is a strong standalone choice regardless of the direction you take at quarterback. Even while dealing with premier cover corner Jalen Ramsey last week, Adams still managed to catch nine balls for 66 yards and a touchdown. The fact that he ranked fourth in targets (149), second in receptions (115), fifth in yards (1,374) and led the league in receiving touchdowns (18) is impressive enough on its own, but he did all that while missing two games, so Adams was easily the league's most productive receiver on a per-game basis and should make a major impact against a Buccaneers defense that was much better against the run than the pass this season. Adding in the affordable Allen Lazard ($13) to create the cap space for Adams is recommended if you're stacking the Packers passing game.

Mike Evans, TB at GB ($24): Evans was covered well by Marshon Lattimore last week but made his lone catch count, scoring his 14th touchdown of the season. Tom Brady's favorite red-zone target is always a threat to score from in close, and Evans should see his yardage total bounce back considering he had registered at least 110 yards in three of his last four games heading into the divisional round. With Antonio Brown (knee) in danger of sitting out and Chris Godwin underwhelming last week, Evans is the Buccaneers receiver with both the highest floor and highest ceiling. On the value side of things, Scotty Miller ($10) would be an intriguing option if Brown sits, as the affordable wideout would then see the field in Tampa Bay's frequently-used three-receiver sets.

John Brown, BUF at KC ($14): Brown was shut out in the wild-card round but bounced back nicely against the Ravens last week, catching eight of 11 targets for 62 yards. Given Buffalo's extremely pass-heavy approach and all the attention Stefon Diggs will get from Kansas City's defense, Brown offers nice value at 40 percent of Diggs' valuation. His field-stretching ability gives Brown a high ceiling and his volume floor has generally been solid when healthy, the wild-card round dud notwithstanding.

TIGHT END

Travis Kelce, KC vs. BUF ($34): The gap in expected production between Kelce and the other tight ends is so large, especially when considering the matchup, that it more than justifies the massive difference in price. He should be a near-lock for lineups if Patrick Mahomes clears the concussion protocol in time to play, but Kelce should be worth paying up for even if Chad Henne's under center for Kansas City. Kelce comes into this game riding streaks of five consecutive games with a touchdown and nine consecutive games with at least seven receptions, plus he has racked up at least 98 yards in seven of the last nine games. His lone multi-touchdown game of the season came against the Bills, and Kelce could deliver an even better performance in the rematch against a defense that allowed the most catches and second-most yards to tight ends in the regular season.

DEFENSE

Green Bay Packers, GB vs. TB ($13): The Bills would become the chalk choice here if Mahomes doesn't play, but the Packers offer solid value at just $13. Green Bay's pass rush has thrived at Lambeau Field all season, ranking fifth in home sacks per game (3.4) in the regular season and getting to the quarterback four times in last week's win over the Rams. Buccaneers-Packers has the slightly lower over/under at 51.5 compared to 54.0 for the other game, and Tampa Bay produced a very pedestrian 316 yards of total offense last week, making the Packers a strong choice in a slate that will likely lean more towards offense than defense.

Honorable Mentions

QB: Patrick Mahomes (KC, $38), Tom Brady (TB, $28)

RB: Devin Singletary (BUF, $16), Darrel Williams (KC, $16), Ronald Jones (TB, $23)

WR: Allen Lazard (GB, $13), Stefon Diggs (BUF, $35), Scotty Miller (TB, $10)

TE: Robert Tonyan (GB, $18), Cameron Brate (TB, $14)

DST: Kansas City Chiefs (vs. BUF, $12), Buffalo Bills (at KC, $16)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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