NFL DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Wild Card Weekend Sunday Baller

NFL DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Wild Card Weekend Sunday Baller

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.

Wild card weekend continues Sunday with the three-game main slate. The Dolphins and Bills kick off the action at 1:00 p.m. EST, followed by Giants-Vikings and Ravens-Bengals. Yahoo will be running DFS contests every day that playoff football is on, including Saturday, Sunday and Monday on wild card weekend.

Sunday's biggest NFL DFS contest on Yahoo is the NFL $100K Wild Card Sunday Baller. This contest pays out a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000 to the top 1,470 entries, including a grand prize of $25,000 to first place. Each entry is $12, with a maximum of 9,800 total entries and 150 per participant. The Saturday Baller will still run if it doesn't fill, potentially providing you with enhanced odds of winning, also known as overlay. 

Playing in guaranteed prize pool (GPP) contests is about chasing upside, while lineups geared towards head-to-head, 50/50 or double-up formats should prioritize high floors. The players you want to target for these different contest types aren't mutually exclusive, but winning a GPP tournament usually requires finding a hidden gem or going against the grain in a spot or two, while building a solid base of the same chalk plays you would use anywhere. Against-the-grain plays typically consist of big-name players in tough matchups or boom-or-bust types with uncertain roles.

Keep in mind that Yahoo DFS contests use 0.5 PPR scoring rather than full PPR, which lowers the comparative value of wide receivers and running backs (in that order) while especially affecting high-volume pass-catchers. Your NFL $100K Wild Card Sunday Baller lineup for the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs will consist of one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and one D/ST unit. Suggested plays include stars at the quarterback and running back positions and some value options at wide receiver.

QUARTERBACK

Josh Allen, BUF vs. MIA ($40): Allen should be worth paying up for given his dual-threat ability and favorable matchup. Buffalo's offense is likely to spend the majority of the game on the field against a Dolphins team that's starting third-string QB Skylar Thompson. Miami's defense struggled to defend the pass in the regular season, allowing the fifth-most yards through the air (4,529) and a 27:8 TD:INT. Meanwhile, Allen threw 35 touchdowns and ran in seven more while topping 24 fantasy points in 10 of 16 games.

Honorable Mentions

Joe Burrow, CIN vs. BAL ($35); Daniel Jones, NYG at MIN ($32); Kirk Cousins, MIN vs. NYG ($27)

RUNNING BACK

Saquon Barkley, NYG at MIN ($32): When these two teams met in Week 16, Barkley produced 133 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in a performance that included season highs in targets (10) and catches (eight). If the Giants are stuck playing catch-up again, the team's most explosive playmaker will get the ball through the air. Should New York race out to an early lead, Barkley will get plenty of carries after finishing fourth in the league with 1,312 rushing yards. The Vikings allowed 388.7 scrimmage yards per game this season, so Barkley should manage to churn out plenty of significant gains as both a runner and pass catcher in what's projected to be Sunday's highest-scoring game (over/under: 48.0 points).

Joe Mixon, CIN vs. BAL ($24): The Ravens actually did a nice job against Joe Burrow this season, limiting him to 217 and 215 passing yards in their two meetings, but Mixon picked up the slack with 156 scrimmage yards and a touchdown across those two matchups. The running back caught 17 passes over Cincinnati's last three games, so he should play a prominent role regardless of game flow, much like Barkley. During last year's run to the Super Bowl, Mixon churned out over 70 scrimmage yards in all four of Cincinnati's playoff games.

Honorable Mentions

Jeff Wilson, MIA at BUF ($23); J.K. Dobbins, BAL at CIN ($18); James Cook, BUF vs. MIA ($16)

WIDE RECEIVER

Jaylen Waddle, MIA at BUF ($23): Even with Thompson under center, Waddle's a nice value, as Miami will almost certainly try to put the ball into the hands of Waddle and Tyreek Hill as much as possible with screens, short passes and creative plays. Waddle posted 1,356 receiving yards in the regular season, which was seventh most in the NFL. He's far easier to fit under the salary cap than other elite receivers that require a commitment over $30.

Tee Higgins, CIN vs. BAL ($17): Higgins is similar to Waddle in that he's an elite No. 2 option available at a significant discount. He struggled against the Ravens last week, but Higgins had 458 yards and four touchdowns over his previous five games, so there's little reason to think he won't bounce back. Coming off his second consecutive 1,000-yard regular season, Higgins could well wind up being the best value at any position in this slate against a Baltimore secondary that allowed the fifth-most yards to wide receivers this season.

K.J. Osborn, MIN vs. NYG ($16): Whether you use him alongside Justin Jefferson in a Vikings stack or as a standalone option, Osborn has major upside relative to his valuation. The 25-year-old wide receiver seems to have broken out late in his third NFL season, eclipsing Adam Thielen as the No. 2 option behind Jefferson while racking up 350 yards and two touchdowns on 33 targets over the final four weeks. Osborn's only quiet game in that stretch came against the Giants, but with New York likely to focus on taking away Jefferson as much as possible, Osborn will have plenty of opportunities to exploit single coverage.

Honorable Mentions

Stefon Diggs, BUF vs. MIA ($33); Ja'Marr Chase, CIN vs. BAL ($31); Isaiah Hodgins, NYG at MIN ($20)

TIGHT END

Mark Andrews, BAL at CIN ($21): The Ravens are unfortunately expected to remain without Lamar Jackson (knee), but Andrews is still a viable fantasy option. Baltimore will undoubtedly draw up a run-heavy offensive game plan for this one as usual, but when the Ravens turn to the air, most of those looks will likely go to their star tight end. Both Andrews and quarterback Tyler Huntley sat out the regular-season finale against the Bengals, but in the last game that they played together, Huntley completed all nine of his throws to Andrews for 100 yards compared to five completions for 30 yards on 12 attempts to all other targets.

Honorable Mentions

T.J. Hockenson, MIN vs. NYG ($23); Dawson Knox, BUF vs. MIA ($19); Hayden Hurst, CIN vs. BAL ($12)

DEFENSE

Cincinnati Bengals vs. BAL ($10): The Bills are likely to lead all D/ST units in scoring Sunday, but the difference in valuation between Buffalo and Cincinnati is significant; would you rather have Josh Allen and the Bengals or Daniel Jones and the Bills? The Bengals will face a Huntley-led Ravens offense that scored 17 or fewer points in each of its last six games, so this is hardly an intimidating matchup.

Honorable Mentions:

Buffalo Bills vs. MIA ($18); Baltimore Ravens at CIN ($16); Minnesota Vikings vs. NYG ($13)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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