Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games – Wild Card Playoffs

By Ha Kung Wong  Daily Fantasy Football

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

I hope you followed my advice last week for your cash games, because if you did, you won money.  But hey, I don’t judge, I’m giving you all another chance in the Wild Card Playoffs!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games.  They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

• For Fan Duel try to target at least 2 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
• For Draft Kings, try to target at least 2.5 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
• For Yahoo! Daily Fantasy, try to target at least 0.6-0.7 fantasy points per $1 spent.

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games.  Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games for Wild Card weekend, along with they’re prices on Fan Duel (“FD”), Draft Kings (“DK”) and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy (“Y!”).

Quarterback

Playoff weekends are tough since there are only 8 starting QBs, and there aren’t many options for value.  But there are two in particular that I think have the best potential to meet and exceed value.

Ben Roethlisberger vs. CIN (FD: $8400 / DK: $7200 / Y!: $34)

• He’s had at least 300 passing yards in 6 of his last 8, and he had at least 3 TDs in 4 of those games.  No DeAngelo Williams means the game is entirely on Ben’s shoulders.  The Steelers have had the 3rd most passing yard per game of any team (271.9) and the Bengals have allowed the 13th most passing yards per game in the NFL this year (248.5).  I don’t see how Ben doesn’t put up big points in this one. 

Kirk Cousins vs. GB (FD: $8000 / DK: $5900 / Y!: $32)

• Cousins is arguably the hottest QB entering the Wild Card weekend.  Jordan Reed and DeSean Jackson have opened up his game, which has resulted in the 11th most passing yards per game in the NFL (255.9).  But the Packers are allowing the 6th least passing yards per game (227.6).  Honestly, I don’t think it matters.  He threw 3 TDs in just over a quarter in Week 17.  He’s had multiple TDs in 7 of his last 10 games.  He’s a particularly good deal on Draft Kings.

Running Back

There really aren’t any surefire RB picks for this week, so I like going for value here.

Marshawn Lynch vs. MIN (FD: $7800 / DK: $6500 / Y!: $28)

• HC Pete Carroll says Lynch is “ready to rock”.  OC Darrell Bevell says there’s no reason Marshawn Lynch can’t have 20-25 carries on Sunday.  Lynch has been practicing in full, so perhaps there’s some truth to what the Seahawks are selling.  His price is depressed due to his injury absence and there aren’t any elite RB options to take in light of Adrian Peterson’s injury, so he might be one of the better “value” plays at RB. [UPDATE: DO NOT roster Lynch. He has been suddenly downgraded to OUT after a set back on Friday.  This makes Christine Michael interesting for DFS.]

Alfred Blue vs. KC (FD: $5700 / DK: $4200 / Y!: $14)

• He’s had 56 carries for 254 total yards in his last 3 games.  That’s a little over 4.5 yards per carry.  The Chiefs have allowed the 8th least rushing yards per game this year (98.2), but the Texans may need to grind this out if they want to win, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Blue picks up 16-20 touches.  There’s always a chance that Chris Polk steal touches, or the Texans go into catch up mode and just throw the ball a ton, but there’s certainly potential for the price.

Alfred Morris vs. GB (FD: $5500 / DK: $3700 / Y!: $16)

• Matt Jones looks to be iffy at best with a hip injury, and Morris had 100 yards on 19 carries against the Cowboys in Week 17 when Jones was on the shelf.  The Packers allowed the 12th most rushing yards per game this season (119.1), so if Jones does sit, perhaps this could be a good day for Morris.  He’s basically a steal on Draft Kings.

Wide Receivers

Unlike the other positions, there are numerous options at WR.  But I’d tried to fit in at least one of Antonio Brown, Deandre Hopkins and AJ Green.

Antonio Brown vs. CIN (FD: $9500 / DK: $9600 / Y!: $37)

• Brown is basically matchup proof with Big Ben at the helm.  The also applies in the playoffs.

DeAndre Hopkins vs. KC (FD: $8800 / DK: $8400 / Y!: $36)

• Nuk Hopkins leads the Texans in targets and Hoyer is back.  He’s averaged 12 targets per game over the course of the season, and with little help elsewhere, he’ll get at least that many targets in this game.

AJ Green vs. PIT (FD: $8300 / DK: $7500 / Y!: $35)

• Green absolutely FEASTS on the Steelers defense.  In the previous two meetings this season, he caught 11 for 118 yards and a TD and 6 for 132 yards and a TD respectively.  Even with McCarron at the helm, he caught a TD in his last two games.  I think Cincy will have to play a little catch up and the Steelers have been terrible against the pass, allowing the 3rd most passing yards per game of any team in the NFL (271.9).  Dalton would make him a better option, but he should get his no matter what.

Doug Baldwin vs. MIN (FD: $7300 / DK: $6700 / Y!: $32)

• He’s caught 11 TDs and had 34 receptions in his last 6 games.  The only danger is that the Seahawks get up big and they decide to run the ball and go conservative to kill clock.  But there’s a good chance Baldwin will get his anyway.

Jeremy Maclin vs. HOU (FD: $7200 / DK: $6400 / Y!: $27)

• Over the last 6 games Maclin has had 39 total receptions on 51 total targets for 476 yards and 6 TDs.  I’m going to bet he continues to get looks even against a tough Houston pass defense.

Pierre Garcon vs. GB (FD: $6300 / DK: $4200 / Y!: $18)

• Believe it or not, Garcon has had at least 4 targets in every game this season but one, and he’s had at least 7 targets in 10 games this season.  He’s heavily involved in the Kirk Cousins freight train, has less bust risk than DeSean Jackson, and has a TD in his last three games.  Packers have been solid in defending the pass, but Garcons will get plenty of opportunity to meet value at his low price.

Tight Ends

Jordan Reed vs. GB (FD: $7400 / DK: $6300 / Y!: $25)

• Reed continues to get plenty of targets, and the Redskins will have to keep throwing the ball in light of their less-than-stellar ground game.  He’s clearly Cousins’ favorite target and has a high floor for the price, particularly against the Cowboys.

Tyler Eifert vs. PIT (FD: $6400 / DK: $5000 / Y!: $22)

• Eifert has had his share of injuries, but I think he’s back in full.  The Steelers give up the 7th most fantasy points to opposing TEs, and I suspect the Bengal will be in catch up mode a lot.

Heath Miller vs. CIN (FD: $5600 / DK: $3300 / Y!: $15)

• No DeAngelo Williams means that the Steelers will have to find a different ways to get short yardage.  Miller has been Ben’s check down guy for years, and you can count on him getting at least 3 receptions every week (he’s had at least 3 in each of the last 8 weeks).  He’s a decent pseudo-punt play at TE that has upside based on volume alone.

Defenses

Seahawks vs. MIN (FD: $5100 / DK: $4100 / Y!: $14)

• 1st against the pass and 2nd against the run, the Seahawks defense is a force to be reckoned with.  And with a less than 100% Adrian Peterson?  The Seahawks are probably the best defensive play this week, and a great value on Yahoo.

Chiefs vs. HOU (FD: $5100 / DK: $4000 / Y!: $16)

• No LT Duane Brown means higher potential for sacks.  Plus Justin Houston is back.  Not a bad play if you want to avoid the masses.

Texans vs. KC (FD: $4600 / DK: $3900 / Y!: $15)

• The Texans are a solid defense and have allowed the 3rd least passing yards per game this year.  JJ Watt is on the warpath after being named AFC Defensive Player of the week.  Regardless of who you think will win, the Texans are sure to get a few sacks and perhaps a TO or two.