daily fantasy sports articles

Only three games remain in the 2022-23 NFL season, with Monday's slate pitting the top teams from the AFC and NFC, with the winners to square off on in two weeks time for Super Bowl LVII.

We kick things off in the NFC, as the #1 seed Philadelphia Eagles host the #2 seed San Francisco 49ers, for a place in the big dance. Then, to complete the Super Bowl line-up, the #3 seed Cincinnati Bengals head to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the #1 seed, Kansas City Chiefs. Two fascinating matchups, and there’s no way we can be disappointed with the Super Bowl line-up.

Draftstars once again is your place to play in the NFL Playoffs, with a $10,000 guaranteed slate for Monday! Here's our fantasy NFL tips and strategies for a big day of NFL action!

Quarterback

Joe Burrow - $14,470

With only 4 quarterbacks to choose from in this slate, it narrows the choices quite a lot. Whilst it’s hard to make a case for Brock Purdy, it’s very easy to make a case for the other 3 quarterbacks. With Hurts and Mahomes both costing upwards of $18,000, Joe Burrow is the pick here. Burrow has been here before, and has a great history against the Chiefs. The Chiefs defence has been torched by opposing quarterbacks all season, ranking 31st in the NFL against opposing quarterbacks. Whilst I’m not convinced the Bengals can once again get it done against the Chiefs, I like the Bengals putting on points, and love the close to $4,000 saving over the other two premium options.

Runnings Backs

Christian McCaffrey - $14,900

McCaffrey was used sparingly last week, with Elijah Mitchell being given the lions share of the carries, with McCaffrey suffering from a calf complaint. This week, it’s Mitchell who is questionable, and with a Super Bowl appearance on the line, I see Shanahan using his mid-season recruit to his full capacity. The Eagles are exactly middle of the pack when it comes to slowing down opposing running backs in fantasy, whilst also ranking 21st in rushing DVOA. Kyle Shanahan will bank on his defence winning this game for him and keeping it close, giving McCaffrey more touches and more chances at points.

Isiah Pachecho - $9,480

With Patrick Mahomes potentially compromised in this game, the running game of Pacheco becomes more important. There were thoughts last week that the experience of Jerrick McKinnon would see Pacheco get less carries, but he put that theory to bed early, running right through the Jaguars defence for 95 punishing yards. The Bengals run defence is solid, with D.J. Reader as one of the best run stuffers in the game, but if Pacheco can bounce it to the outside there are yards to be made. If he gets going early, expect Pacheco to push towards 100 yards on the ground. Then we just pray for a touchdown.

Wide Receivers

Ja’Marr Chase - $15,780

Chase is the number 1 receiver left in the playoffs, and definitely has claims to being the top receiver in the league. He and Joe Burrow are in sync with one another, and despite a solid pass defence for the Chiefs, they can only hope to slow Chase, they won’t shut him down all together. In his past 7 games, Chase has a low score of 13.9 (low floor), and a high of 31.5 (high ceiling). He and Burrow love the big occasion, and stacking the pair is a great idea. As stated above, even if the Bengals can’t get the win, I believe this pair can still score you a solid haul of points.

DeVonta Smith - $14,120

Despite having the best overall defence in the NFL, the 49ers have been housed by opposing wide receivers this season in fantasy. They currently rank 27th in the NFL against opposing wide receivers, and if Jalen Hurts is able to get enough time to hit his receivers, expect one of A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith to torch this secondary. With Brown having some injury concerns, I like Smith in this situation. Like Chase, Smith has been a picture of consistency at the back end of the season, with a low score of 13.7, and a high of 34.3 over his past 7 games.

Kadarius Toney - $6,000

Didn’t quite live up to the billing last week, however still managed to score 10 points. I like Toney again this week, with his snap count continuing to climb and his usage rate doing the same. With the injury to Mahomes, the Chiefs are going to be scheming things up for him to get the ball out quickly, and Toney should be a huge beneficiary of this. With a floor of around 10 without a touchdown, if Toney gets his chances in the redzone, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see multiple touchdowns for the ex-Giant. At $6,000, he’s a must have.

Tight End

George Kittle - $10,040

Whilst the obvious choice here is Travis Kelce, the $4,000 in savings for Kittle and the injury concerns over both Kelce and Mahomes scare me off the Chiefs’ tight end. The Eagles are known to have a terrific front 4 on defence, and a formidable secondary, but they are also well known to spend little to know money on the linebacking core. With Purdy no doubt feeling the pressure against the number 1 team in the NFL at getting to the quarterback, expect Purdy to look to Kittle throughout this contest as his safety valve. There’s plenty of weapons on this 49ers offense, and Kittle is as big time as any, and despite not having the consistency of a Kelce, his ceiling is just as high.

D/ST

San Francisco 49ers - $4,630

I understand the thought that the 49ers have to take on the vaunted Eagles’ offense, but I still don’t quite understand the fact the 49ers are the cheapest option this week. They have the highest average of points for the D/ST position for the season of all 4 teams in this slate, and have one score under 7 in the past 10 weeks. They get to the quarterback and they can cause turnovers. I see this matchup being tight, and low scoring, and with the 49ers a $1,700 discount on the Eagles, I like the 49ers in this spot.

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