It’s playoff time, and with Draftstars only offering up daily contests, we’ve decided to go with the Monday slate of 3 games to dissect. Unfortunately, there’s two games in this slate that are affected by quarterback injuries, with Tua Tagovailoa already ruled out for the Dolphins, and Lamar Jackson recently being ruled out by the Ravens. Nevertheless, it’s still playoff football, with everything on the line for these teams.

Draftstars once again is your place to play in the NFL Playoffs, with a $10,000 slate for Sunday and Monday mornings, with a first prize of $971. There’s also plenty of contests for the Monday Night Football blockbuster between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so get on over to Draftstars and get involved.
 

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Quarterback

Josh Allen - $19,810

Allen is expensive, but he’s worth it. With Tagovailoa out, the Bills are currently listed as 13.5-point favourites at home, with a team total listed at 27.5. The betting markets see a big Bills win, and I’ve got to agree. Added to this, Allen has slayed the Dolphins since joining the league, and more recently has enjoyed fantasy scores of 29.7 and 38.9 against the Dolphins in the 2 earlier meetings this season. In an away loss early in the season, Allen threw for 400 yards and 2 touchdowns, whilst also rushing for 47 yards. He backed that up the week before Christmas, as the Bills exacted revenge over the Dolphins 32-29. Allen threw for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns, whilst rushing for 77 yards, in a tremendous showing. QB1 in this slate.

Daniel Jones - $13,930

The boom or bust option for this slate, Daniel Jones finished the season on fire, putting an exclamation point on his best ever regular season. Jones finished with scores of 24.8 (@ Vikings) and 36.5 (vs Colts) this season, and appeared to have been building some real chemistry with his group of receivers. In the Giants’ week 17 loss at Minnesota, Jones threw for 334 yards and a touchdown, whilst rushing for 34 yards. If he can manage 2+ touchdowns and similar yards, could be a real solid contributor to your team, whilst saving close to $6,000 on Josh Allen.


Running Back

Saquon Barkley - $17,420

Barkley came on strong towards the back end of the season, managing scores of 15+ in 4 of his last 6 games. In the previous meeting between these two teams, Barkley had 27.3 points on the back of 84 yards rushing, 49 yards receiving, and 1 rushing touchdown. The Vikings have struggled to stop the run this season, ranking 23rd in points per game allowed to opposing running backs, whilst ranking 19th in rush defence DVOA. I fully expect a high scoring game in this one, and Daniel Jones to look to Saquon plenty in the passing game.

Devin Singletary - $9,330

This is a bit of a shot at the game state, as Singletary is not your usual fantasy stud. Given the massive spread in this game, it’s clear the Bills are expected to win by margin. Given this, there is a great chance that the Bills will run the ball often in the second half to run down the clock, and to save their quarterback from being injured. Enter Singletary, who is the lead back for the Bills. He’s relatively cheap, but realistically needs at least one touchdown to be worth selecting in your team.

J.K. Dobbins - $9,150

The Ravens are going to try and win this game through defence, and running the football. The issue with the selection of Dobbins in this slate, is there is a non-zero chance the Bengals get out to a quick lead, meaning the Ravens are going to have to throw the ball. If they can stay within a score for the majority of this game, I expect Dobbins to get plenty of opportunities. Since returning from injury, Dobbins has been solid if not spectacular. He’s averaged 100 yards from scrimmage per game, however, only has one touchdown. Like Singletary, Dobbins needs to get into the endzone for this selection to pay dividends.


 

Wide Receivers

Justin Jefferson - $19,870

After two slow weeks for Jefferson, it’s time for him to turn it around. 3 weeks ago, Jefferson had a huge performance against the Giants, bringing in 12 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown. The Giants have been solid throughout the year against wide receivers, ranking 12h in fantasy points allowed per game to opposition wide receivers. They are, however, a below average pass defence in general, ranking 22nd in DVOA for passing defence. As mentioned previously, this game is totalled high, and I expect plenty of offense from both teams. Cousins will look to his number 1 man, and a 100+ yard multi-touchdown performance is a chance for Jefferson.

Stefon Diggs - $17,430

Diggs has struggled a little against the Dolphins this season, but I can see his form continuing from his impressive performance last week against the Patriots. Diggs had 7 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots, and the partnership between Diggs and Allen is starting to heat up. Miami rank 25th in pass defence DVOA, with star cornerback Xavien Howard having a terrible season in coverage. He will be tasked with stopping Diggs, and I don’t see it happening. In a Bills blowout, I expect 80+ yards and a touchdown from Diggs.

Isaiah Hodgins - $7,750

A cheaper option here, one that is needed with the big outlay on players like Josh Allen and Justin Jefferson. Hodgins has come from nowhere to be a genuine option for Daniel Jones and the Giants this season. Hodgins hasn’t scored below 6 for six straight weeks, with 4 scores above 14 and a high of 23. A nice high floor for your WR3, who also has good score potential. In the Giants’ earlier matchup with the Vikings, Hodgins went for 89 yards on 8 receptions, with a touchdown. Whilst I don’t expect that sort of production, a score of 12+ is likely, and will put your team in decent shape at this price.

 

Tight End

T.J. Hockenson - $9,850

The Giants have not been good against opposing tight ends this season, and Hockenson let them know all about it in their earlier matchup. Hockenson had 13 catches for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns, for a mammoth score of 38.9. This is exactly why the Vikings brought Hockenson into the squad, and I expect him to be targeted heavily again in this wild card matchup. Hockenson has the most targets by any tight end this season, and he should get you a solid TE score through sheer volume. With a touchdown or 2, Hockenson could win you money on his own.

 

D/ST

Cincinnati Bengals - $6,900

This is a little bit of a play on two things that are more related to the Ravens than the Bengals. There is still a chance that Anthony Brown starts at quarterback for the Ravens. If that’s the case, multiple turnovers are likely for the Bengals defence, as are sacks. Even if it is Tyler Huntley, multiple turnovers are not out of the question. Secondly, there’s a decent chance the Ravens are playing from behind for a good part of this game. This could lead to more passing from Brown and/or Huntley, which leads to a higher chance of turnovers. Last week, the Bengals D/ST unit scored 19 points. I’m not saying this is going to happen again, but they should score well and have multiple ways to score in this matchup.

 

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