The main focus of nearly every article for Week 18 is going to be intent. Which teams intend to play their starters for the entirety of the game and which intend to rest them? While everyone will speculate — even if we hear news, I would not take it to be definitive unless players are actually inactive — there is some opportunity to take risks. As long as you are aware of the possibility that a player could completely derail your lineup, I would be open to most situations of using someone that is largely overlooked because of misread intentions.
Sporfolio’s NFL Daily Fantasy Sports game-by-game analysis columns are driven by expected game flow. Based on a combination of our Week 18 NFL picks against the spread and our expectations for a given game, we project the actions necessary to make these picks come to fruition. We aim to pinpoint players integral to our predicted game flow for each game of the week. We also include high-scoring and low-scoring matchups that can be used for either DFS plays or over-under picks in our DFS Overview column.
Please Note: Our ‘Must-Owns’ are either players around which we are building our entire roster or the top target we want, not considering salary restraints. Which means that some ‘must-owns’ will not make it into our final lineups.
Luke May is our resident NFL DFS expert, and Mario Mergola operates Sporfolio as our expert for NFL Picks Against the Spread.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: In what has largely been a mess of a season for the Buccaneers, last week’s comeback victory secured them the NFC South title and has locked them into the fourth seed in the NFC. Knowing that, I cannot expect the Buccaneers to be playing their top players very much — if at all — in this game. The matchup for Tampa Bay is good, so if you happen to land on the players Tampa Bay will lean on this week, it is not impossible to get some good value. Atlanta has known where they stood for a few weeks now, so there should be no expected change to their game plan. Their offense will continue running through Tyler Allgeier, Cordarelle Patterson, and Drake London. All three have upside, but with the Falcons offensive season being as limited as it is, sprinkle these players in lightly.
Targets: Rachaad White, Russell Gage, Tyler Allgeier, Cordarelle Patterson, and Drake London
Fades: Tom Brady
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense delivered in a big way last week, but it was largely through wide receiver Mike Evans simply dominating. Evans is capable of doing that again — he has been one of the most consistent players in the league for years — but it is asking a lot for consecutive weeks with monster performances. More importantly, I am taking the approach that Tampa Bay is not going to play its starters for the full game, which actually means that I am out on everyone from the Buccaneers. There isn’t any definitive news confirming this, but I’m not taking a chance with a team that clinched the playoffs last week and is now an underdog to the six-win Atlanta Falcons. I may cautiously use some players from Atlanta, but I don’t see myself investing too heavily in offense from this game.
Targets: Desmond Ridder, Cordarrelle Patterson, Travis Allgeier, and Drake London
Fades: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Must-Owns: None
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: Based on everything that has happened over the past week between the terrible Damar Hamlin injury, to the possible AFC Championship scenarios, it would be very fair to wonder how much this one football game really means to the Buffalo Bills. On one hand, they come out and play extremely inspired football, but I simply don’t know what to expect. The positive for me as a DFS player, is on a weekly basis, I really only ever trust Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs from this offense, so I don’t mind sticking with those two players amidst the uncertainty. This is a win-and-in situation for the New England Patriots, but the Bills have had their number in recent matchups. There are so many different ways this game could play out, but either way, there are a select few players on each team that I am going to trust in what I am expecting to be a relatively low scoring game.
Targets: Rhamondre Stevenson, Jakobi Meyers, Hunter Henry, Josh Allen, and Stefon Diggs
Fades: None
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: There is no other storyline to start this blurb other than the situation from last week involving Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Thankfully, we have received some news about Hamlin that appears to be positive, and that should lift some of the weight off the collective hearts of Bills players. Still, there will be a sense of “Buffalo wants to win for Hamlin” and, while I definitely agree with that approach, the matchup against the New England Patriots gives me some pause. New England played horribly in its last game against Buffalo but still help the team to only 24 points. I don’t see either offense surging on Sunday.
Targets: Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Jenry, Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and both defenses
Fades: None, but I can’t justify too many options from this game.
Must-Owns: None
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: Last week was yet another reminder of why I refuse to buy into the Minnesota Vikings as a true Super Bowl contender. The outcome of this week likely doesn’t impact the Vikings playoff seeding in any meaningful way, so I find it unlikely to expect their key offensive players to play the entirety of this game. That makes things a little tricky as the Bears defense has been one of the most vulnerable groups all season long so the Vikings should be able to put up plenty of points this week. I will likely focus on the second-tier members of the Vikings offense this week in a very favorable matchup. The matchup is aided by a likely great game script as the Vikings defense gets to face off against a Nathan Peterman led Bears offense. Even without their starters all game, Minnesota should win this game comfortably.
Targets: K.J. Osborn, Vikings Defense, and David Montgomery
Fades: Dalvin Cook
Must-Owns: Alexander Mattison
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The lead storyline for the game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears is the absence of Bears quarterback Justin Fields. At first glance, that has an obvious negative impact on Chicago’s playmakers. But, if we really consider how Fields has been used — both in the game and for DFS purposes — his best asset is his rushing ability. That means that the offense generally funnels through him, and his pass-catchers don’t reap the rewards. There’s sneaky upside with Chicago’s offense now that it might be a little more balanced — and with a matchup against the second-worst defense in the league — so I can justify a calculated risk here. The other side of the matchup might even be more of a challenge to solve, where the Vikings are in the ideal position to rest players. They have a high seeding in the NFC, but can’t actually secure a first-round bye. I don’t expect a full game from Minnesota’s starters.
Targets: Alexander Mattison, K.J. Osborn, David Montgomery, and both defenses
Fades: Regular starters from Minnesota
Must-Owns: None
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The playoff seeding and further implications of the Bengals not playing their game against the Bills is significant in many ways. While there are many, many scenarios to discuss, the main point that comes from all of it is that both teams likely come into this game expecting to play their top players throughout this game. The difficulty I am having is that should the game get out of hand — which is entirely possible given the continued absence of Lamar Jackson — each team may choose to start limiting the play time of their top players. That is giving me some hesitation, and when you combine that with my typical feeling of how AFC North games tend to play out, I am weary about overloading on this game. I will be comfortable with some ownership, primarily from the Bengals, but tempering my expectations all around.
Targets: J.K. Dobbins, Mark Andrews, Samaje Perine, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins
Fades: Tyler Huntley
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: As I wrote in the blurb about the Bills, there is no way to mention the Cincinnati Bengals without touching on the events of last Monday night. The Bengals’ players, fans, and organization — as well as the city of Cincinnati — showed some of the best qualities of the human spirit and deserve tremendous praise for their actions and efforts. With this week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens taking place in Cincinnati, I do expect an added level of emotion — and there might even be a bigger opportunity for wide receiver Tee Higgins to shine as he personally looks to move forward from last week’s incident. The problem for the Bengals is that Baltimore has developed a stout defense that has now taken over as the team’s main path to victories. Unlike many of the other games this week, I don’t expect either team to rest players, but it is another matchup with less fantasy appeal than I would like.
Targets: J.K. Dobbins, Mark Andrews, Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, and Ja’Marr Chase
Fades: None
Must-Owns: Tee Higgins
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: In the NFL’s final week of the regular season, things are specifically scheduled and set up to create as much drama as possible. In the conventional sense, this game has no drama at all as these are arguably the two worst teams in football at the moment. Despite that, there is some form of drama as the Texans stand a chance to play themselves right out of the number one overall draft pick with a victory. That will likely be the only thing that anyone is focused on in this game as it is otherwise meaningless and likely filled with a lot of poor offensive play from both teams. It is not impossible we see some DFS relevance appear, but it is likely not worth chasing outside of possibly Zack Moss who has a great matchup and has been seeing consistently strong usage recently.
Targets: Royce Freeman, Texans Defense, Zack Moss, and Colts Defense
Fades: All other offensive players
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: I wrote about it last week with two different teams, but we can’t ignore matchups that appear to be ugly at first glance. There is nothing on-the-line for either the Houston Texans or Indianapolis Colts — technically, Houston could lose the first pick in next year’s Draft but, as I have written, it may not matter if the team still plans to draft a quarterback — but there is pride at stake. Both head coaches are looking to prove that they deserve a longer future, and it might lead to a more productive outing from each side. I wouldn’t go overboard because we can’t fully trust that either team will stick with its playmakers and not try to experiment for the future, but there is definitely value to be found on both rosters.
Targets: Royce Freeman, Rex Burkhead, Brandin Cooks, Zack Moss, and Michael Pittman, Jr.
Fades: All quarterbacks — I can’t trust that we will see the same one throughout the full game
Must-Owns: None
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The Dolphins are not technically eliminated from the playoff hunt, but they need a victory plus outside help, and they have to win in the absence of Tua Tagovailoa which they have not been able to do all season. The Jets are hardly an unbeatable team at the moment, especially when you look at the nine total points they have scored over the last two games, but their defense should be able to largely control the Skyler Thompson led offense of the Dolphins. As I have said all season, I am willing to take shots on Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle no matter who is under center, but the overall effectiveness of this offense should not be counted on this week. This game is likely being overlooked largely in the DFS world, and while that is definitely valid, the high-end talent is capable of shining through no matter how ugly the majority of this game winds up being.
Targets: Ty Johnson, Garrett Wilson, Jets Defense, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle
Fades: Joe Flacco
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The New York Jets put together a dud last week and were promptly eliminated from the playoffs while the Miami Dolphins continued their second-half collapse with their fifth consecutive loss. The pressure is now squarely on the shoulders of the Dolphins, as they need to win and get some help if they want to keep their season alive. Unfortunately for Miami, it is down to third-string rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson. I love ‘contrarian’ plays, but I personally can’t justify this one. Thompson was the quarterback who played almost the entire game in the first matchup with the Jets and heaved 33 passes for a paltry 166 yards. Certainly, he has grown since that point — and he still has the two top-notch wide receiving weapons with him — but this is a tough spot for him. The Jets’ offense has some potential as it looks to rebound from a lifeless performance in its own ‘must-win’ game last week, but quarterback Mike White is now out and I can’t ask Joe Flacco or Chris Streveler to do much.
Targets: Zonovan Knight, Garrett Wilson, Jets defense, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle
Fades: Everyone else from Miami
Must-Owns: None
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: With all of the poor play, and the endless jockeying for position, it almost feels wrong that this game doesn’t have any impact on the NFC South title, but such is life. Despite there being no playoff implications to this game, that does not make it a useless game in the world of DFS — in fact, the opposite could be true. With nothing to lose and tons of evaluation needed to determine who should be part of the future, these offenses should be willing to lay it all on the field this week and take as many chances as they see fit. Putting significant stock into meaningless games is sometimes dangerous, but being able to load up on a game with low overall ownership, high upside, and lots of affordable salaries is a strategy worth taking a shot on.
Targets: Sam Darnold, D’Onta Foreman, DJ Moore, Andy Dalton, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed
Fades: Both Defenses
Must-Owns: None, but I will be investing in this game heavily
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: I have written about how proud I am of Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold a bunch of times, but there’s only so much that he can do at this point. He has the potential to deliver some nice outings — and it helps when is team’s rushing attack is thriving — but it’s unlikely that he will lead a DFS lineup to a tournament win. That task gets even harder against a New Orleans Saints team that expected to be better this year and has now won three consecutive games following its bye week. Even though this matchup doesn’t necessarily have a risk of a random change in player personnel, there is little to like on the offensive side of the ball.
Targets: Andy Dalton, Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, Saints defense, D’Onta Foreman, and DJ Moore
Fades: None
Must-Owns: None
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: It feels impossible, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are alive in the AFC playoff picture as we head into Week 18. They need help on top of a victory, but neither the Patriots or Dolphins losing is an impossible outcome, so a win this week gives them a good chance of absolutely stealing a playoff berth. Given the significance of this game, and the generally consistently poor play by the Browns, the Steelers should feel very good about their chances to win. The downside for this seemingly predictable game is that the final score is almost guaranteed to be somewhere around 17-13 which limits the fantasy upside for both teams. The Browns defense has struggled to stop the run all season, and the Steelers defense has fared far better against the run than the pass, so those are the angles to attack, but don’t expect and slate-breaking scoring from this matchup.
Targets: Amari Cooper, David Njoku, Najee Harris, Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, and Steelers Defense
Fades: Nick Chubb
Must-Owns: None, but Najee Harris is close
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The same storyline surrounding the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers individually has been intact for weeks. That is, the Browns are desperately trying to prove that their aggressive acquisition of quarterback Deshaun Watson was worth it while the Steelers are trying to avoid the first losing season of head coach Mike Tomlin’s career. It has now grown to be bigger than just Tomlin, however, as the Steelers are still alive in the playoff race and could find themselves in the postseason yet again. Between the continued struggles of Cleveland’s offense and the undeniable value of Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh’s road to a victory would look almost identical to the past few: limiting opponents, running the ball well, and a few key plays from rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Targets: Kenny Pickett, George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Steelers defense, Nick Chubb, Amari Cooper, and David Njoku
Fades: Deshaun Watson
Must-Owns: Najee Harris
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: With back-to-back losses, the Eagles are suddenly one game away from potentially slipping all the way to the 5th seed in the NFC. Luckily for the Eagles, the Giants have secured the 6th seed in the NFC and have nothing to gain from this week. Offensively, the Giants don’t have a ton of players likely worth sitting, but I’d bet we see very little of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. Without those two, the already average Giants offense has very little chance of being successful. Whether Jalen Hurts is active or not, the Eagles likely walk all over whichever Giants players step on the field this week as they do their best to lock up the top seed that they have held all year long.
Targets: Matt Breida, Eagles quarterback, Miles Sanders, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert
Fades: The rest of the Giants offense
Must-Owns: Eagles Defense
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles is one of the clear question marks of the weekend. Truly anything could happen — and that includes a big win by the Giants. If you’re looking to separate from the pack, then take the chance with the usual suspects from both teams in case they play their starts to the end — and I would even lean more on New York’s top options since the Giants might look to move on from a relatively weak end to the season. Obviously, with the exception of injuries, everyone is in-play, and I’m not even considering the actual matchup — there’s enough of a narrative to move others off this game.
Targets: Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Matt Breida — who is likely going to be quite popular — Miles Sanders, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith
Fades: None, but only because I am willing to take a chance with some players that others expect to get benched
Must-Owns: None
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The 49ers survived a scary game last week against Jarrett Stidham and the Raiders, but this week likely won’t see the same scare. The Cardinals — who have struggled basically all season long — are playing without basically every offensive weapon they have at this point. The 49ers may not be looking to play all of their top players for the entirety of this game, especially once the score gets out of hand, but the opportunities should be there to get some value anyway. In what should be a lopsided game, the passing game of the Cardinals may become somewhat appealing based on the sheer volume of passes.
Targets: Marquise Brown, Trey McBride, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and 49ers Defense
Fades: Keaontay Ingram
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The Arizona Cardinals have absolutely no one left to trust and, in a matchup against the league’s third-best defense in yards allowed, there will be almost no DFS players looking in the Cardinals’ direction. If you want to go ‘contrarian,’ then that’s the play. I will do it myself, but only in moderation as I simply don’t expect Arizona to reach the end zone that often. Instead, I’m looking for yards from the skill position players. On the other side of the ball, the San Francisco 49ers present the same risk as many others this week, where they are in position to win a game and rest starters, which would obviously lower the ceiling of the offense.
Targets: Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, 49ers defense, Marquise Brown, Trey McBride
Fades: Mostly everyone else from Arizona
Must-Owns: None
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The Chargers likely don’t have much to play for in this game as a Ravens loss — which I am expecting — during the 1 o’clock games will lock them into the 5th seed in the AFC. With that in mind, I doubt we see much of any playing time from the Chargers starters. A matchup against the Broncos defense is never great, but when it is largely backup players, I can’t expect all that much from the Chargers this week. The Broncos offense finally looked somewhat decent last week in their first game post-Nathaniel Hackett. Now, the big question is are they actually better now, or was that just a boost they got from some new life in the locker room? The reality is it doesn’t matter much as they only have one more game on the season, but with the Chargers likely benching starters, this could be another game for the entire Broncos to feel good about.
Targets: Joshua Kelley, Russell Wilson, Latavius Murray, Chase Edmonds, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Broncos Defense
Fades: Chargers Starters
Must-Owns: None, but I will have lots of Broncos ownership
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: There were initial talks that the Los Angeles Chargers would play their starters throughout their game against the Denver Broncos, but I’m not the only one who thinks this is untrue. Even the odds have have moved to favor Denver, and that’s almost impossible to accept unless Los Angeles plans to pull back some of its top players. For that reason, if you want to take a massive risk — because of the salaries — load up on the main targets from the Chargers. Their popularity is going to be lower than normal and, if they deliver, you would be well-ahead of the pack. Otherwise, I actually find the Broncos’ offense appealing one more time as the team looks to close out a horrible year on a good note.
Targets: Austin Ekeler — if you want to take a big risk at his salary — Joshua Kelley, Russell Wilson, Latavius Murray, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Broncos defense
Fades: Justin Herbert
Must-Owns: None
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: It has been a tale of two seasons for the Seahawks, and their playoff fates are no longer entirely their own. The Seahawks will need to be rooting for the Lions on Sunday Night Football, but before that happens, they need to take care of their own business against the Rams. Beating the Rams may seem like a simple task, but the Seahawks barely survived the John Wolford led Rams back in Week 13. Baker Mayfield is far from elite, but he has been better than Wolford could offer, and is good enough to keep this game interesting. On top of the concerns around the Seahawks, you cannot overlook the value in playing spoiler to a division rival at the end of a lost season. The Rams season has been a lost cause for months now, but knowing they kept their division rivals out of the playoffs would make this offseason feel much sweeter. Do not expect an easy victory for Seattle in this one.
Targets: Baker Mayfield, Cam Akers, Tyler Higbee, Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker III, and Tyler Lockett
Fades: Seahawks Defense
Must-Owns: DK Metcalf
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The Los Angeles Rams are about to close out a season to forget, but it was also the season that followed a Super Bowl title. It’s hard to think that they are fully disappointed, but I would have to imagine they are looking to avoid embarrassment one last time. I don’t know if we can ask for a massive offensive output, but I am willing to go heaver than usual with players from Los Angeles, especially against one of the league’s defenses. On the other side of the ball, I am going to be a little cautious with a Seattle Seahawks offense that has not reached 350 total yards since Week 13 — albeit, against the Rams — and has scored a total of 46 points over the last three weeks. The regression has hit Seattle, and I’m not sure a rebound will take place on Sunday.
Targets: Baker Mayfield, Cam Akers, Tyler Higbee, Kenneth Walker III, DK Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett
Fades: Geno Smith
Must-Owns: None
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: After a disastrous couple of weeks for Washington, they are now officially eliminated from the playoffs, and they will have their hands full this week. The Commanders are without all three of their top running backs now, and they are putting Sam Howell under center to make his NFL debut. Howell may or may not be the future starting quarterback, but it seems unfair to put high expectations on the rookie against a tough Dallas defense while the Cowboys are also looking to possibly steal the number one seed from the Eagles if they are unable to beat the Giants. I have no concerns rostering Cowboys offensive players as they have scored 24 or more points in every game since Week 7 which is remarkable. The only concern there is if the Eagles are blowing out the Giants, you may see the Cowboys start to take their starters out as they will have nothing left to play for. In that case, you’d see a bump for the Commanders offense especially the passing game as they likely want to see what their rookie quarterback has.
Targets: Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott, CeeDee Lamb, Sam Howell, Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson
Fades: Commanders Running Backs
Must-Owns: None
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The Washington Commanders are all over the place when it comes to their quarterback situation, but the latest news is that rookie Sam Howell will be under center. Between the unknown and the timing of the announcement, Howell’s salary is laughably low. It makes him worth the risk, even if we can’t pair too many players from Washington’s offense with him. Overall, the key to the game hinges on the Commanders’ ability to defend the Dallas Cowboys. They are definitely capable of it and, if they can limit Dallas, then it would severely lower the ceilings for some of the Cowboys’ players, many of whom are likely to be popular on Sunday.
Targets: Sam Howell, Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott, and CeeDee Lamb
Fades: None
Must-Owns: None
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
Luke’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: Last week was the exact outcome that I needed to confirm that the Green Bay Packers are a much different team than we saw at the start of the season. Like I wrote last week about a critical game between the Packers and Vikings, I refuse to live in a world where the Detroit Lions go into Green Bay and beat Aaron Rodgers in January to keep the Packers from the playoffs. The Lions have had a truly admirable season, but their defense is a major liability and their offense may have their hands full against a Packers defense loaded with momentum and confidence after last week’s dominant performance. When these teams met back in Week 9, Aaron Rodgers was at his low point of the season and dealing with the worst of his injury to his throwing hand’s thumb. Rodgers is healthy now — as is the rest of the offense — and the offense has been rolling as the team has scored at least 24 points in all but one game since Week 10. I don’t know if we see another Packers blowout victory, but I can’t do anything other than bet on Aaron Rodgers winning at home to clinch this unlikely playoff berth.
Targets: D’Andre Swift, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Aaron Rodgers, A.J. Dillon, Christian Watson, Allen Lazard, and Romeo Doubs
Fades: Jamaal Williams
Must-Owns: Aaron Jones
Mario’s DFS Take
Storyline/Notes/Thoughts: The final matchup of the regular season is one that has an absolutely obvious play. That is, the Green Bay Packers should be an easy team to target against a Detroit Lions team with the worst defense in the league in yards allowed. I won’t fight it, as I, too, will be aggressive in using players from Green Bay. I will, however, split my lineups to include as many players from the Lions as Packers where, even if the game isn’t a completely offensive showcase, I expect Detroit to match what Green Bay can do for a large majority of the game. The over-under point total sitting below 50, however, is a sign of a potential ‘trap,’ where these teams might be capped in the mid-20’s for scoring. This is another reason why I want a more balanced approach to the game as opposed to asking one side to dominate.
Targets: Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon, Christian Watson, Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs, Robert Tonyan, Packers defense, Jared Goff, D’Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams, and Amon-Ra St. Brown
Fades: None
Must-Owns: None