The Cruncher List | Wildcard Saturday FanDuel & DraftKings NFL DFS Lineup Advice, Tips & Picks.

Here to help you build the best possible FanDuel & DraftKings NFL Wildcard Saturday Line-up.

With 3 games on the Saturday and Sunday slates this weekend – we will have two Main Slates to play this weekend – which has it’s pros and cons.  With 7 teams making the playoffs in both conferences, we have an extra game per day during Wildcard Weekend than we normally would, with games at 1, 4 and 8 each day.  Let’s have a look at some of the best plays on the board as we head into the weekend!

Indianapolis @ Buffalo (-6), Projected Total: 51.5 points

Indianapolis – Projected total: 22.75 points

QB Philip Rivers	DK: $5,400	FD: $6,900
RB Jonathan Taylor	DK: $7,900	FD: $8,800
RB Nyheim Hines	DK: $4,700	FD: $5,600
WR TY Hilton	DK: $5,000	FD: $6,200
WR Zach Pascal	DK: $3,800	FD: $5,300
TE Jack Doyle	DK: $2,900	FD: $4,500

The Colts check in this week as 6 point dogs, tasked with the challenge of heading to Buffalo to take on a Bills team that is white hot right now.  I think that the Colts are in tough in this one, however – that doesn’t mean that they do not have fantasy appeal for Wildcard Saturday.

RB Jonathan Taylor is the best RB on the board for this slate.  The Bills have been vulnerable under head coach Sean McDermott against opposing running games, often deploying a funnel defence that gives up some production on the ground – but that does a good job against opposing passing games.  Granted, with the points they have been putting on the board themselves, they haven’t been as stout, largely due to game flow – however, the attractive spot for opposing RB’s against the Bills remains in play.  Taylor is the most expensive RB on the board, but looks to be well worth it.  He comes into this one clearly the lead dog in the backfield for Indy, fresh off of a 30-253-2 line in Week 17.  If you think that this game is going to be a shoot-out – or if you think the Colts will be forced to abandon the run, RB Nyheim Hines is an interesting option for this slate.  He caught 6 balls a week ago, and if the Colts do fall behind big in this one, he could be an interesting pivot or compliment to Taylor in line-ups.

As for the rest of the Colts, WR TY Hilton is an attractive mid-priced option.  He misses the cut for the Cruncher List narrowly – but he has established himself as the favourite target for QB Philip Rivers over the second half of the season and while his production hasn’t been great – he is priced very reasonably.  WR Zach Pascal is worth consideration as a punt at WR on DK, especially if you want a cheap passing game option to run back with an Allen-Diggs-Bills WR stack.

The Cruncher List

• RB Jonathan Taylor

Good Plays

• RB Nyheim Hines
• WR TY Hilton
• WR Zach Pascal (DK)

Buffalo – Projected total: 28.75 points

QB Josh Allen	DK: $7,500	FD: $9,000
RB Zach Moss	DK: $4,600	FD: $5,500
RB Devin Singletary	DK: $4,300	FD: $5,300
WR Stefon Diggs	DK: $7,700	FD: $8,700
WR Cole Beasley – Q/Isaiah Mckenzie	DK: $5,300/$3,300	FD: $6,000/$4,900
WR John Brown	DK: $4,700	FD: $5,700
TE Dawson Knox	DK: $3,200	FD: $4,900

The Bills check in with the highest projected total on the board, which shouldn’t be too surprising given the level of production that we have seen from QB Josh Allen all season long.  They put up a 50 spot against the top rated Miami defence in Week 17, in a game where Miami was playing for their playoff lives, while the Bills only played Allen for roughly a half.  The Colts should put up a better fight than Miami did a week ago – however, Allen is still the best play on the board for this slate at the QB position, and the same can be said about Diggs at WR.  Both are elite options and I expect them both to be very popular in terms of ownership levels.

Keep an eye on the status of WR Cole Beasley.  If he suits up, he’s an elite option and will round out what will be a popular 3-man stack.  If he sits, WR Isaiah Mckenzie should see plenty of run again this week and he’d be in play as a punt with upside at the WR position.  He scored 3 TD’s against Miami a week ago, which included a PR for a TD.  While I wouldn’t expect a repeat of that effort – rostering him does open up a lot from a salary standpoint.  WR John Brown will be the lowest owned option and makes for an interesting contrarian pivot off of Diggs and Beasley if you wanted to go that route.

I don’t have too much interest in the running game or Dawson Knox here.  On a three game slate, they are all worth including in your player pool – but I don’t particularly love the spot for any of them, though Knox could make for an interesting pair with Allen and Diggs in a 3-man stack.

The Cruncher List

• QB Josh Allen
• WR Stefon Diggs
• WR Cole Beasley (DK – if playing)
• WR Isaiah Mackenzie (DK – if Beasley out)

Good Plays

• WR Cole Beasley (FD – if playing)
• TE Dawson Knox
• Bills DST

LA Rams @ Seattle (-3), Projected Total: 42 points

LA Rams – Projected total: 19.5 points

QB – TBD
RB Cam Akers	DK: $5,100	FD: $6,100
WR Robert Woods	DK: $6,200	FD: $6,700
WR Cooper Kupp	DK: $6,000	FD: $6,400
TE Tyler Higbee	DK: $3,400	FD: $5,400

Seattle’s defence has very quietly been playing very strong football of late – and they have had to as Seattle’s offence has not been firing on all cylinders like they were out of the gate for the 2020 season.  As a result, this game not shockingly checks in with a 42 point over/under, and with uncertainty at the QB position this week with Jared Goff’s status up in the air – I honestly don’t have much interest at all in this one.  Now – I won’t be alone, I am sure that exposures here in large field GPP’s will be the lowest for skilled position players when compared with the other two games – which could create an interesting game theory angle…but I wouldn’t go nuts with exposure here regardless.

If Goff does suit up, Woods and Kupp are both interesting and worth modest exposure at their price points.

Regardless on if Goff or Wolford are under center – I do think that TE Tyler Higbee is a solid option at TE on DK for $3,400.

RB Cam Akers looked far from 100% a week ago and even though the price point is attractive on him, I have no problem fading him this week.  Seattle has been tougher on opposing RB’s when compared to passing attacks (though as noted above, the secondary has been playing much better) – and I do prefer other RB’s on the board this week when compared with Akers, who rushed 21 times for 34 yards a week ago.

The Cruncher List

• Rams DST

Good Plays

• TE Tyler Higbee (DK)
• WR Robert Woods (if Goff plays)
• WR Cooper Kupp (if Goff plays)

Seattle – Projected total: 22.5 points

QB Russell Wilson	DK: $6,600	FD: $7,400
RB Chris Carson	DK: $5,900	FD: $7,000
WR DK Metcalf	DK: $6,700	FD: $6,900
WR Tyler Lockett	DK: $6,900	FD: $6,800
TE Jacob Hollister	DK: $2,700	FD: $4,700

Going up against the best defence in the league – this one isn’t a great spot for the fantasy options for Seattle.  In games that the Rams and Seahawks split, Seattle was held to 36 points over the two games, and no one had great fantasy days for Seattle.  If you wanted to build a contrarian stack with upside, Wilson-Metcalf-Lockett or Wilson-rotating Metcalf & Lockett-Carson is the way to do it in my opinion for 3 stacking options for Seattle.  If I had to pick only one WR in this one, it would be Lockett, though I do think for single entry, you could strongly consider just fading this game altogether while maybe sprinkling in one of the defences.

I will say this – even though I don’t think I’ll be using much of him, the price point on RB Chris Carson is attractive.  He should be in line for 15-20 touches, and to be able to roster a clear-cut bell cow back for a team favoured for sub $6k on DK and for $7k on FD on a 3-game slate is an attractive spot in MME formats.  I’d expect Pete Carrol to keep the reigns somewhat on Wilson and the passing game in this one, which could lead to Carson being a nice option at a weak position for today’s slate.

The Cruncher List

• Seattle DST

Good Plays

• RB Chris Carson
• WR Tyler Lockett

Tampa Bay (-8) @ Washington, Projected Total: 44.5 points

Tampa Bay – Projected total: 26.25 points

QB Tom Brady	DK: $6,900	FD: $8,000
RB Ronald Jones	DK: $5,500	FD: $6,700
WR Chris Godwin	DK: $7,000	FD: $7,800
WR Mike Evans – Q	DK: $6,500	FD: $7,600
WR Antonio Brown	DK: $6,100	FD: $6,500
TE Rob Gronkowski	DK: $3,900	FD: $6,000

The Bucs roll into the playoffs with arguably the hottest offence in the game, putting 91 points on the board and clearing the 30 point mark in three straight.  Granted, they were playing Atlanta twice and the Lions – but nonetheless, it was impressive.  Well – with a trip to Washington, they are in for a much tougher test – but they still check in with the second highest projected total on the board, and I do think that while you won’t see low ownership levels here, they will be significantly lower owned than the Bills passing game for instance.

Brady is the second best QB on the board this week.  He’s been outstanding of late and we all know his playoff pedigree at this point.  Historically, he has struggled against teams that can get pressure with solely their front 4, and Washington does have the ability to do that – so it may not all be sunshine and rainbows in this one for the Bucs – but either way, I think he’s an elite pivot off of Allen (though plenty of risk going that route in my opinion).

Apparently WR Mike Evans is going to try and play.  I don’t see him being overly effective and my preferred way to play the Bucs passing attack would be Godwin (if you can afford to fit him in) and/or Antonio Brown.  I think both are elite options either way, even in what is a pretty tough match-up.  If Evans is limited or does sit, that just removes another mouth to feed and Godwin and Brown should cook.

RB Ronald Jones is also an elite play here.  I’m expecting him to see near bell-cow usage in the playoffs for the Bucs, though Fournette will undoubtably frustrate DFS players playing more snaps than he probably should.  He looked crisp on a clean 12-78-1 line a week ago after missing a couple weeks with Covid, and I like his chances of having a productive week on Saturday night.

The Cruncher List

• RB Ronald Jones
• WR Chris Godwin
• WR Antonio Brown

Good Plays

• QB Tom Brady
• TE Rob Gronkowski
• Bucs DST

Washington – Projected total: 18.25 points

QB Alex Smith	DK: $5,100	FD: $6,500
RB Antonio Gibson	DK: $5,700	FD: $6,200
RB JD McKissic	DK: $4,800	FD: $5,400
WR Terry McLaurin	DK: $6,300	FD: $7,100
WR Cam Sims	DK: $3,900	FD: $4,900
TE Logan Thomas	DK: $4,900	FD: $6,400

Washington has the lowest projected total for Saturday’s games – not shocking as they go up against a tough Bucs defence and come into this one hobbled.  QB Alex Smith, RB Antonio Gibson and WR Terry McLaurin all come into this one at less than 100%…Gibson and McLaurin in particular did not look near their usual selves in Week 17’s win over Philly, and the same could be said about Smith, though he’s not nearly as relevant for DFS purposes, so I kind of glossed over him.  As a result, I honestly don’t really have any interest in Gibson or McLaurin.  I think they are interesting fades as their names alone will probably garner 15-25% ownership levels for both.  But, you’ve gotta make calls/stands somewhere, and for me – this pair and Cam Akers are two spots where I am willing to just remove some options from the board.

That isn’t to say that I have no interest in Washington, however.  I do think there are some intriguing value options – RB JD McKissic, WR Cam Sims, and then a pay up at TE for the slate with Logan Thomas.  McKissic shook off an early game injury a week ago to haul in 5 of 8 targets, and if Washington is playing from behind like many expect, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get double digit targets in this one.  He’s an elite value play on DK, and worth including in your player pool on FD – though I wouldn’t go nuts with exposure there.  TE Logan Thomas is the best TE play on the board – though I don’t think you necessarily have to pay up here today.  He has hit double digit DKP in 6 straight, and has seen 40 targets over the past 4 weeks.  I expect him to see 8-10+ looks in this one again and he’s an elite option for me.  Finally, WR Cam Sims is worth considering as a punt with upside.  He is dirt cheap and has seen 22 targets over the past 3 weeks.  I wouldn’t go nuts here with exposure, but for 10-15% of line-ups you can get a significant over-weight position on where I think his ownership levels will be, and I like him better than most punts on the board for the 3-game slate on Saturday.

The Cruncher List

• RB JD McKissic (DK)
• TE Logan Thomas

Good Plays

• RB JD McKissic (FD)
• WR Cam Sims

Good luck this week, and I’ll be back with another article that will go up on Sunday morning breaking down the 3-game slate for NFL Wildcard Weekend on Sunday!