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Divisional Round DraftKings Picks: Best lineup stacks for playoff NFL DFS tournaments, cash games

The NFL playoffs are in full swing, and the divisional round brings a much better week for daily fantasy football contests as opposed last weekend, which was a little weak to be honest. All four games this week offer good team stacking options from both sides (yes, even the Jags), as well as some intriguing game stacks for NFL DFS contest.

The highest game total of the week belongs the Titans-Patriots (47 points), with the Pats being huge 13-point favorites. The Saints-Vikings game also features a high total of 46.5 points and, despite how well the Vikings defense has played this season, offers possibly the best game stack of the slate. The Jaguars-Steelers and Falcons-Eagles games have lower totals, with both currently sitting at 41 points. However, there are some excellent values to be found in those games, as well as some non-traditional stacks that can be utilized to make your lineup stand out in large field tournaments.

By now you know stacking is a key strategy in all daily fantasy sports. The industry-leading DFS tools from RotoQL can give you a big edge over the field when searching for a week's top stacks. With floor and ceiling projections, in addition to correlation, value ratings, and Vegas lines, RotoQL helps take the guesswork out of identifying the top plays.

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Playoff NFL DFS Strategy: Top DraftKings stacks for divisional round


*Screenshots are from RotoQL stacking tool.

RB Leonard Fournette and Jaguars D/ST, Jaguars @ Steelers

Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell projects to be the highest owned player of the slate, but I love the idea of going to the other side of the ball and playing Fournette. It’s no secret that Fournette has worn down as the season has gone on, but this is a perfect chance to get a player with nearly as much upside as Bell for a fraction of the ownership and a nice price discount. He shredded the Steelers in their first matchup earlier this season, and the Steelers rushing defense has looked frankly awful since the loss of LB Ryan Shazier. You better believe that the Jags are going to try to hide Blake Bortles as much as possible in this game, and that should lead to 20-25 carries for Fournette.

I’m going to be looking to pair Fournette with the Jags D/ST as much as possible for many of the same reasons. They will be likely lower owned and at a nice discount over the Steelers and Falcons D/STs, but they are overall a much superior unit than both of those teams. The Jags defense absolutely destroyed Ben Roethlisberger in the first matchup, and while they certainly won’t have that same kind of field day this time around, they will look to be aggressive and get after Roethlisberger with pressure.

QB Tom Brady and WR Brandin Cooks, Patriots vs. Titans

I’ve preached attacking the Titans secondary all season long, and with this being the last decently sized slate of the year, I’m going back to the well one final time. Last week, Tyreek Hill was having an early field day against the Titans, and if it wasn't for a few drops and Andy Reid, he could have had a full-on eruption game. Cooks is basically Tyreek 2.0 but has a better QB in Brady. I expect the Patriots to take at least three or four shots deep down the field to Cooks and to not make the same mistake that the Chiefs made and keep their foot on the gas offensively all game long.

I know Brady hasn't been an elite fantasy producer over the second half of the season, but this is the playoffs and you have to think that Brady brings his A-game coming off the bye week. I have no problem throwing in Rob Gronkowski, Rex Burkhead and/or Dion Lewis to make this a full-on Patriots onslaught stack.

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RB Le’Veon Bell and WR Antonio Bell, Steelers vs. Jaguars

As much as I like the Jags D/ST, it’s going to be hard to ignore the Steelers killer B’s. In terms of trying to be contrarian in roster construction, stacking Bell and Brown without Roethlisberger makes a lot of sense. Bell is going to be extremely popular but with good reason. He should see around 30 touches in this game and has the ability to take advantage of Jags front seven. The wild card here is Brown and his ailing calf. However, all reports out of Pittsburgh suggest that Brown is a full go in practice and has no limitations.

On paper, this matchup is incredibly difficult, but I don't see any matchup as difficult for Brown. He went for 157 yards on 10 receptions against the Jags in their first game when Roethlisberger looked horrendous. This game absolutely won’t have that same type of game script, but that isn’t to say that Brown won’t receive his typical 12-15 targets. I project that Brown will be lower owned than Julio Jones, Adam Thielen, and Michael Thomas which makes him my favorite overall play of the week at his lowest price point ($8,100) in over two years.

QB Case Keenum, RB Jerick McKinnon, and WR Adam Thielen, Vikings vs. Saints

For the onslaught stack of the week, we’re going to go with the Vikings stack of Keenum-McKinnon-Thielen. Keenum has been a fantasy stud this season, as he has consistently outperformed his price while almost always being low owned. I don’t think we’ll see low ownership this week, but $6,100 is too cheap for a guy with 28-plus point upside in a great matchup against the Saints, who rank 21st against quarterbacks.

The first guy I want to pair with Keenum is McKinnon, who, like Keenum, is an excellent value at $4,900. The Saints really struggle to defend pass catching running backs and McKinnon is next in line to exploit the Saints just like Christian McCaffrey did last week. The most difficult decision of any Vikings stack is going to be which wide receiver to include. I’m going to give a slight edge to Thielen over Stefon Diggs, who has a touchdown in three straight games. Thielen had one of his best games of the season against the Saints all the way back in Week 1, going for 157 yards on nine receptions. What draws me most to Thielen is he will avoid Saints CB Marshon Lattimore a majority of the time, as he will do a lot of his work out of the slot.

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