On a typical regular season week, we will occasionally put a comment in one of our articles about approaching the two-game Primetime slate in a different way than we build for the main slate. That is essentially the case for this column, where there are only so many options that can be used to fill up the rosters. As always, salary will play a role, but popularity needs to be considered more heavily for Sunday than in a regular season day of games.
Based on our expected Conference Championship DFS game flow analysis published earlier, we can carry our thoughts into actual lineup positions. The long list of players that fit the requirements set forth by the projected flow of the game was cut dramatically by the requirements set forth by salaries.
Below are Sporfolio’s DFS Conference Championship Round Plays:
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes – We all know the keys talking points heading into this AFC Championship rematch: Patrick Mahomes is injured, the Bengals are on a massive win streak, and Joe Burrow owns the Chiefs. There is obvious validity to parts of those narratives, but we are talking about Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs here — if we have an opportunity to go against the grain with the best quarterback in the NFL, we are going to take advantage. With a full week to take care of his ankle and figure out how to best be prepared to play through it, the ankle is not a concern. The Bengals’ defense has been good, especially of late, but they do rank 24th in the league in passing yards allowed per game and 18th in net yards per attempt so the Chiefs and their number one ranked offense in net yards per passing attempt should be just fine.
Brock Purdy – Of the four starting quarterbacks on Sunday, the one that is clearly out-of-place — and carries the lowest salary on DraftKings — is Brock Purdy. That’s one of the main reasons why we should consider using him in our fantasy lineups. If Purdy can approximate the other three players’ production, then the saving was worthwhile, as it allows for an upgrade elsewhere. Even if he can’t deliver to that level, Purdy still allows for leverage over other DFS players, where the expectation that the San Francisco 49ers will run the ball is going to drive people away from the quarterback. There’s a chance that he still delivers even if the running backs are involved.