FanDuel NFL DFS Picks: Divisional Round Saturday Main Slate

The two games in the Divisional Round with the biggest spreads will take place on Saturday, making for an interesting main slate in NFL DFS on FanDuel. The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs will kick things off at 4:30 p.m. ET while the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions will face each other in what is expected to be a high-scoring affair at 8 p.m. ET.

Using our NFL DFS projections as a guide, let's take a look at some of the best daily fantasy football plays at each position -- accounting for salary -- on the Divisional Round Saturday main slate.

Slate Overview

Here is a snapshot of each team's outlook, including opponent, implied team total, over/under, and spread based on the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Quarterbacks

Jayden Daniels, Commanders

FanDuel Salary: $8,500
Matchup: at DET

Saturday's Commanders-Lions matchup has the highest total of the weekend by a decent margin, so I'm not going to overthink it and prioritize the two QBs from that contest. Besides Jayden Daniels producing 22-plus FanDuel points (FDPs) in six of his last seven starts, Detroit's defense is allowing the 6th-most rushing TDs, 3rd-most yards per carry, and 10th-most rushing yards over expected per attempt to QBs as they play man coverage at the highest rate (47.7%) in the NFL, per NextGenStats.

Jared Goff, Lions

FanDuel Salary: $8,000
Matchup:

While Jared Goff doesn't possess the rushing upside that Daniels does, he partly makes up for it with efficiency through the air as he's tallied 28-plus FDPs in three of his last four outings. Not only do the Lions have the highest implied total (32.5) by any team this season, but the Commanders are 24th in schedule-adjusted pass defense following their win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.

Running Backs

Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions

FanDuel Salary: $9,200
Matchup: vs. WAS

Even though it's worth noting that David Montgomery has fully practiced this week (and is only $4,000 on the Saturday main slate) it remains to be seen what his usage looks like in his first action since Week 15 after he suffered what was originally believed to be a season-ending knee injury. While I'd be willing to take a flier on Montgomery at that salary if Dan Campbell states that he'll handle his usual workload, Jahmyr Gibbs -- who has notched 25-plus FDPs in four consecutive games -- should thrive against a Washington defense that is permitting the fourth-most yards per carry (4.9) and ranked 28th in defensive rushing success rate (43.1%) to RBs.

Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $5,700
Matchup: vs. HOU

After sustaining a rib injury in Week 17 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, Isiah Pacheco has practiced in full this week, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't lead the Chiefs in carries on Saturday against the Texans. Despite Houston coughing up the third-fewest FDPs per game to RBs (16.2), Kansas City is heavily favored at home, and Pacheco is clearly the more explosive back than Kareem Hunt in this offense.

Austin Ekeler, Commanders

FanDuel Salary: $5,500
Matchup: at DET

With the Commanders needing to keep pace with the Lions' high-octane offense, Austin Ekeler is a worthy stacking candidate with Jayden Daniels as our projections have the veteran RB recording the most receptions (3.4) and receiving yards (31.6) among RBs on the Saturday slate. In addition to Ekeler's expected receiving output, Detroit's defense is giving up the fifth-most FDPs per target (1.43) and highest catch rate over expected (+9.7%) to RBs.

Wide Receivers

Nico Collins, Texans

FanDuel Salary: $8,500
Matchup: at KC

The Los Angeles Chargers -- who were fifth in schedule-adjusted pass defense -- knew they had to center their attention on stopping Nico Collins in the Wild Card Round, but he still managed to catch 7 of his 8 targets for 122 yards and a score en route to 24.7 FDPs despite the Texans lacking other pass-catching options. Collins should be busy again versus the Chiefs on Saturday as Kansas City's defense is ceding the 11th-most receiving TDs (19) and 14th-highest catch rate over expected (+1.0%) to the WR position.

Terry McLaurin, Commanders

FanDuel Salary: $7,600
Matchup: at DET

As mentioned above, the Lions deploy man coverage at the highest rate, and Terry McLaurin leads the Commanders in target rate (23.7%), receptions (27), receiving yards (301), and receiving TDs (7) against man coverage this season, via PFF. On top of that, Detroit surrenders the highest target rate (22.9%), second-most yards per route run (1.78), and second-most FDPs per game (30.5) to WRs.

Jameson Williams, Lions

FanDuel Salary: $6,700
Matchup: vs. WAS

While I also like Amon-Ra St. Brown in the Commanders-Lions showdown, I really like the big-play upside from Jameson Williams in this contest. Across the 15 games he was active in this season, Williams registered the second-highest target share (18.9%), third-most yards per route run (2.19), second-most downfield targets (targets of 10-plus yards) per game (3.1) on the highest average depth of target (11.3 yards) among Detroit's skill players.

Xavier Worthy, Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $6,400
Matchup: vs. HOU

There's an argument to be made that any of KC's wideouts could excel versus Houston, but it was rookie Xavier Worthy who was emerging as a legitimate No. 1 option for Patrick Mahomes down the stretch. In the final three weeks of the regular season (excluding Week 18 where Kansas City sat their starters), Worthy paced the Chiefs in target share (26.5%), red-zone target share (38.1%), end-zone target share (37.5%), receptions per game (7.0), and receiving yards per game (63.3).

Tight Ends

Travis Kelce, Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $6,500
Matchup: vs. HOU

Travis Kelce also concluded the regular season on a high note for the Chiefs, posting 18.4 FDPs in Week 17 against the Steelers as he hauled in 8 of his 11 targets for 84 yards and a TD. Even though Kelce tallied the fewest receiving yards of his career since his rookie season in 2013 (when he appeared in only one game), the All-Pro TE has accrued 71-plus receiving yards in 13 straight playoff appearances while totaling 13 TDs during that span, as well.

Sam LaPorta, Lions

FanDuel Salary: $5,900
Matchup: vs. WAS

Throughout the final five weeks of the regular season, the Lions seemingly made a concerted effort to get Sam LaPorta more involved as he sported the second-highest target share (20.5%), second-most receptions per game (5.8), and third-most receiving yards per game (67.0) in Detroit's offense in that sample. Our projections currently have LaPorta finishing with more FDPs (10.8) than Kelce (9.4).

Dalton Schultz, Texans

FanDuel Salary: $5,300
Matchup: at KC

The TEs on the Texans got a bit banged up in their win over the Chargers in the Wild Card Round, with Cade Stover being placed on injured reserve and Dalton Schultz sustaining a shoulder injury. Nothing suggests that Schultz won't be available on Saturday, and the Chiefs are coughing up the highest target rate (22.0%), most yards per route run (1.93), and sixth-most FDPs per game (11.9) to TEs.

Defenses

Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $4,500
Matchup: vs. HOU

Along with C.J. Stroud being sacked 55 times and owning an 8.3% sack rate, the Texans have the lowest implied total (16.5) of the slate. If Kansas City can secure an early lead and force Stroud to drop back for the majority of the contest, things could get pretty ugly for Houston in a hostile environment.

Houston Texans

FanDuel Salary: $3,800
Matchup: at KC

On the other hand, one of the only ways I see the Texans making this a ball game versus the Chiefs is if their defense performs like it did in the Wild Card Round. Houston's defense was flying around against Los Angeles, tallying four sacks, four INTs, a defensive TD, and only 12 points allowed en route to 24 FDPs.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.