The 2020 regular NFL season is over, but we are still here with some DraftKings selections for the Divisional Round.
Throughout the season, I have been providing players that I feel you should be including in your lineups, with some rationale and this week is no different! So, let’s dig into whom I am thinking of slotting in my lineups!
Lamar Jackson ($7,600)
Finally, Jackson and Baltimore have that no playoff win monkey off their back and roll into Buffalo in the Divisional Round in tip-top form!
Jackson’s 28.78 DK point performance in Wildcard Weekend mostly came from his excellence in the ground game rather than the passing game. His 136 rushing yard and rushing touchdown performance made up for the sub-200 passing yard performance, which did not come with a passing touchdown in the win.
A similar game script for the Baltimore offense could be on the cards here against Buffalo, with the AFC East team allowing 122 rushing yards per game, ranking 20th in the league. This is in addition to Buffalo allowing 167 rushing yards against Indianapolis last week.
Baker Mayfield ($5,300)
I certainly did not expect Baker and Cleveland to be in the Divisional round, but here we are, and the Cleveland quarterback looks a great option this week!
The likelihood of Kansas City, Cleveland’s opponents being ahead for the majority of this game seems likely despite their week off thanks to a bye from the first round. However, this is a positive for Mayfield as the opposing QB. Passing the ball over rushing will become the focus the further the game goes along, so more opportunities for Mayfield to score points.
Furthermore, leading into the season, Kansas City were a weak team against the QB. The AFC’s No.1 seed ranked 26th in points per game (23.4 per game) and 25th in points allowed per game in the red zone to QBs (14.4 per game).
CONSIDER: Patrick Mahomes ($8,000), Josh Allen ($7,400) and Aaron Rodgers ($6,900)
AVOID: Jared Goff ($5,200)
Nick Chubb ($6,600)
Chubb has been one of the more consistent running back options in the league since his return in Week 10, achieving double-digit DK points finishes every week, with the 20+ point mark on many occasion.
Last week in Pittsburgh was one of those occasions, with the Cleveland running back finishing on 24.5 DK points. Chubb’s use in the passing game has been a revelation towards the end of the regular season and this continued last week with his 69 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air. Hunt’s inability to be effective outside of the red zone bodes well for this to continue this week and the potential increased pass game script in Kansas City is in full flow.
As far as matchups go, Kansas City offers one of the more challenging matchups left for Chubb, restricting opponents to 90 or fewer rushing yards in 5 of its’ final 7 regular-season games. However, talent trumps situation in most cases, and Chubb is one of those talents.
Cam Akers ($5,700)
Well, the play of Akers certainly paid off last week. The Los Angeles back 28.5 DK point performance was what we expected, especially with Seattle’s notable weakness transition from the passing game to the running game.
Green Bay, Los Angeles opponents this weekend you could say had the same weaknesses for Green Bay. However, towards the end of the season, they managed to tighten up against the position, ranking 6th. How much was positive game-script to do with this? It is hard to tell.
Akers’ increased role in the passing game now that Henderson has been placed on the Injured Reserve until the NFC Championship game is not hard to tell. His explosiveness in that part of his game has seen the rookie 46 and 52 yards respectively in the last two games, and the same could happen here with Green Bay allowing 47.8 receiving yards to running backs this season, the second-most in the league.
Like last week, many people will play Akers, but his points production may come through different avenues than they initially thought.
Devin Singletary ($4,500)
With these playoff slates, it is rare to get ‘free squares’ made available, but Singletary has become an anomaly to this rule this week.
With Zack Moss out for the remainder of the playoffs, Singletary will see most of the work out of the backfield. Plenty of times in the past, this season and the previous we have seen Singletary make good use of his opportunities.
Baltimore as a defense has been poor against the run recently also. Despite their shutting down of Derrick Henry last week, the unit has given up 76 rushing yards and 47.4 receiving yards per game from Weeks 12-16.
The ceiling for Singletary is not super high, but you do not need it to be at his price.
CONSIDER: Alvin Kamara ($7,900), JK Dobbins ($6,000) and Leonard Fournette ($4,900)
AVOID: Aaron Jones ($6,800), Clyde Edwards-Helaire ($5,500) and Le’Veon Bell ($5,100)
Michael Thomas ($6,700)
Thomas’ 17.8% target share from last week (per @BestBallUK) may deter some people from Thomas, but elite talents like Thomas are rarely available at this price tag. There is every chance that the New Orleans wide receiver sees an increased target share in a game where Tampa Bay provides a much tougher test than the Chicago team previous.
Chris Godwin ($6,100)
Is Godwin the primary receiver? Or the secondary? To be honest, it doesn’t really matter too much the way this offense is playing. Tampa have really found success on offense by relying on Brady’s arm, and Godwin has been a big part of that. In the previous two games against New Orleans this season, Godwin has totalled 9 receptions for 120 yards, which isn’t good. What is positive, however, is that he has scored 5 TDs in the past four games.
Cole Beasley ($4,900)
Beasley is a great option to pivot to in order to save some budget. In the matchup against the Colts, Beasley caught all seven targets for 57 yards. Beasley is Allen’s second target in this offense with over 100 targets in the regular season. You normally can’t find that usage at this price point, grab him!
CONSIDER: Davante Adams ($8,600), Tyreek Hill ($8,000), Stefon Diggs ($7,300), Jarvis Landry ($5,600), Antonio Brown ($5,400), Demarcus Robinson ($4,300) and Mecole Hardman ($3,900)
AVOID: LAR receivers and Mike Evans ($6,400)
Travis Kelce ($7,800)
Kelce is about a sure-fire of a play as you will get this week.
A double-digit target share has been the norm since Week 13 for the Kansas City tight end, along with 20+ DK point performances, which is incredible for such a volatile position this season.
Then you look at the matchup this week against Cleveland. A team who have been poor against his position all season, ranking 24th for points allowed per game at 14.6. If you want to narrow this down to Weeks 12-16, the 14.8 points per game allowance does not make for much better reading.
If you can afford to spare the salary, Kelce should be a lock in your lineups.
Austin Hooper ($3,800)
On the opposite end of this matchup, Hooper once again looks a great play this week.
In all the absentees that Cleveland has had over the last month, Hooper has been one of this offence’s more permanent features. His rewards have been handsome, seeing 4 back-to-back double-digit DK points finish with touchdowns in 3 of those and 10+ targets in half of those.
In what is to be a game where Cleveland may have to pass the ball a lot with how high-powered Kansas City’s offense is, Hooper is bound to get targets once again, therefore having a great chance of returning value.
CONSIDER: Mark Andrews ($5,000), Robert Tonyan ($4,200), Jared Cook ($4,000) and Dawson Knox ($3,100)
Green Bay ($3,900)
With Goff under centre for Los Angeles, I like Green Bay to assert their dominance in this matchup off of their bye.
Goff as a quarterback, even without the injury he is currently dealing with has a poor record in the cold. This is empathised by his “34.5 passer rating, 47.2% completion rate, zero touchdowns, five interceptions and an average of 190.5 passing yards” (flurrysports, 2020) in 30 or under degree weather, which is expected at Lambeau come kickoff.
They may the most expensive defense on the slate, but there is a reason you are paying this price, and you should feel more than comfortable doing so this week.
CONSIDER: Baltimore ($2,800) and Cleveland ($2,300)
AVOID: New Orleans ($3,300) and Los Angeles ($2,600)
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the Divisional Round of the NFL 2020 season! Who have we missed out? You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Keep your eyes out for our Showdown slate coverage!
Image Credit: John David Mercer – USA TODAY Sports
