Sunday is the only day that will consist of three NFL playoff games during the entire playoffs, so this is our last chance to play in same-day tournaments with plenty of viable options. Our Sunday-only FanDuel lineup will obviously have a good number of studs, but in GPP tournaments, we’re going to have to place some bets to differentiate ourselves. The Eagles, Buccaneers, 49ers, Cowboys, Chiefs and Steelers have plenty of daily fantasy football favorites, but it’s going to be the hidden sleepers that set us apart. Get our top stud and sleeper picks below.
Before we get into this week’s lineups, here are the basic rules for FanDuel contests. Punctuation is pretty standard, and the only notable settings are and .
Wid Card FanDuel Picks Only For Sunday: NFL DFS Lineup Tips For First Round Of Playoffs
Saturday’s main roster, $ 60,000 budget, no more than four players on one team
Dual threat QBs are more valuable in FanDuel since there are no 300-yard passing bonuses, and Hurts is cheaper than Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Tom Brady, so it’s a no-brainer here. With Hurts, you don’t have to force the stacks as he can hit his ceiling without his receivers hitting him. He has as high a ceiling as the aforementioned quarterbacks and doesn’t have to have a stellar passing game to rack up more than 25 FD points. In fact, he averaged more FD points than Dak Prescott and is just one point behind Mahomes and Brady. Take the savings here.
RB Darrel Williams, Chiefs vs. Steelers ($ 6,600)
Williams has 20-plus FD performances on his 2021 resume, and with Clyde Edwards-Helaire (shoulder) surely under 100 percent, Williams should have a healthy workload against the 27th-ranked defense in FD points allowed to RB. We’re playing Williams a lot at his price, as his property should be low and his ceiling far exceeds his cost.
Fournette (hamstring) will be ready to go, and it’s time for the second part of the Lenny Playoff. In the three games leading up to his injury in Week 15, he averaged just over 26 FD points per game, and we’ve seen for years how valuable Tom Brady’s primary pass-catching RB can be. Especially with Chris Godwin (ACL) and Antonio Brown out of the way, Fournette could be even more involved in the passing game. This season, Fournette trailed only Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler with 54 touches in the red zone, and we hope he gets those valuable carries once again.
Lamb has been awfully quiet the past four games, averaging just 7.1 FD points per game. That said, we can either fade it or take it and hopefully avoid some chalk. We’re happy to chase his roof at a reasonable price against a struggling Niners secondary. The roof game could come at any moment.
Aiyuk is CeeDee Lamb’s natural counterplay, and with Dallas’ defense allowing the eighth-most points from FD to WR during the regular season, Aiyuk could feast if this game turns into a display of back-and-forth passing. return. He’s racked up at least 11 FD points in four of his last six games, but we know his ceiling is higher, and at this price, we’re willing to go after him.
This pick leaves us with a lot of salary left over, so while we might go for something more “safe” here, we’re taking McCloud to differentiate our lineup. How often is a guy who has averaged nine goals in his last three games priced at $4,900? McCloud is very much an afterthought alongside Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson, but he’s capable of commanding a lot of targets. He’s played at least 63 percent of the Steelers’ offensive snaps in each of the last three games, and we know Ben Roethlisberger will get closer to 50 pass attempts in this one. Hopefully, McCloud will be on the receiving end of some cheap catches and a touchdown.
We’ll take Goedert as our only stack with Jalen Hurts, and since Goedert doesn’t provide the “safe floor” many DFS players will be looking for, he shouldn’t be on a board with Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Pat Freiermuth, George Kittle and Dalton. Schultz. In fact, he could be the least owned of that group and has a similar ceiling if things work out in his favor. A touchdown or two is all a tight end needs to be TE1 on a three-game slate.
Many DFS players are unwilling to play two TEs, but the strategy is viable and we’re happy to implement it. If Gronk had a “WR” tag next to his name, we wouldn’t think anything of it. He can produce the same volume of receptions, yards and touchdowns as any of the best pass receivers in football, and since the Eagles are the friendliest matchup for the TEs, it’s a great play. It will be chalky, but again, the two TE lineup will give us an advantage.
The Steelers’ offense is as simple as it gets, and we know the well-documented rise of Kansas City’s defense. In Week 16, these teams met and Pittsburgh needed a garbage-time TD to score 10 points. Big Ben was limited to 159 yards, a touchdown and an interception. We expect similar results in the final game of Roethlisberger’s career.