With one week of postseason action in the books, the NFL playoffs have been trimmed down from 14 teams to eight. That means 75 percent of the teams in the league have officially ‘gone fishing.’ However, fans of eliminated teams will still have something to root for in the Divisional Round — all you need to do is enter a DFS lineup on DraftKings, FanDuel or SuperDraft.
Even better, we’re here to help you along the way. The Sporting News, as it has all season long, has a fresh batch of DFS sleepers and value plays lined up. The main objective: shine a light on the best cost-efficient players throughout this weekend’s player pool, so you can get the most bang for your daily fantasy buck.
For years now, this column has compiled undervalued gems each and every week on DraftKings, FanDuel and now SuperDraft. Anyone can spot the elite DFS stars — it’s the sleepers and value picks that separate lineups from the crowd and make you some real money.
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Here’s some of our big hits from the wild-card weekend slate, including each player’s DraftKings price and final DK score:
| Pos. | Player | Game | DK price | Pts. |
| QB | Justin Herbert | Chargers at Texans | $6,000 | 15.7 |
| RB | James Cook | Bills vs. Broncos | $6,700 | 18.0 |
| RB | Bucky Irving | Buccaneers vs. Commanders | $7,000 | 16.3 |
| WR | Courtland Sutton | Broncos at Bills | $6,300 | 12.5 |
| WR | Khalil Shakir | Bills vs. Patriots | $5,900 | 12.1 |
| WR | Rashod Bateman | Ravens vs. Steelers | $5,000 | 10.4 |
| TE | T.J. Hockenson | Vikings at Rams | $4,200 | 17.4 |
| TE | Dallas Goedert | Eagles vs. Packers | $3,900 | 14.7 |
| TE | Tucker Kraft | Packers at Eagles | $3,700 | 8.6 |
| DST | Philadelphia | Eagles vs. Packers | $3,300 | 14.0 |
That’s not exactly a murderer’s row of smash hits, but it’s pretty good considering the overall scope of last weekend’s player pool. We particularly crushed it at RB, TE and D/ST, and sometimes in playoff DFS contests, all you need is dominance at three positions.
We’re back in the saddle again and ready to serve up the best DFS sleepers and value picks of the divisional round. We’ll highlight the most affordable high-value options at each position, as well as their listed cost or scoring boost on each DFS site.
Best NFL DFS sleepers for divisional round: Quarterback
C.J. Stroud, Texans at Chiefs (DK: $5,000 | FD: $ | SD: 1.45x)
We get it — the Chiefs D is pretty dang good. But C.J. Stroud has been pretty dang good, too. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year has now led the Texans to two straight divisional titles and two straight divisional-round games. He’s not going to suddenly implode against big-bad Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Stroud just faced Kansas City at Arrowhead back in Week 16, and he put up over 18 DK points. Honestly, for $5,000, we’re over-the-moon elated if we get another Stroud performance with 267 total yards and two TDs. So, sign us up, and let’s go Texans.
Other QBs whose Divisional Round values exceed their price tags:
- Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs vs. Texans (DK: $6,000 | FD: $7,700 | SD: 1.3x)
- Jared Goff, Lions vs. Commanders (DK: $6,300 | FD: $8,000 | SD: 1.25x)
MORE NFL: Playoff power rankings | Picks against the spread | Moneyline picks
Best NFL DFS sleepers for divisional round: Running back
James Cook, Bills vs. Ravens (DK: $6,700 | FD: $7,400 | SD: 1.2x)
Full disclosure: there aren’t many lineups we’ve created for this round that don’t involve Derrick Henry (DK price: $8,000). But, just for the sake of finding a lower-priced value pick, we’re going with Cook again.
When the going gets tough, Mr. Cook starts cooking. The third-year back ran for 120 yards against the Broncos last weekend, while extending his touchdown streak to five games.
The Ravens D is good, but so was Denver’s. This is a solid price, especially considering Sean McDermott doesn’t want Josh Allen getting killed by Baltimore’s front-seven this weekend.
Austin Ekeler, Commanders at Lions (DK: $5,100 | FD: $5,500 | SD: 1.6x)
Besides the continually-amazing clutch factor of one Jayden Daniels, the one other thing that stuck out to me in Washington’s game-winning drive against the Bucs last weekend was Ekeler. The veteran back made some key late-game grabs and runs, and we’re not so sure D.C. advances without him.
We’re also not so sure Brian Robinson Jr. is good enough to warrant heavy usage against the Lions. Since Week 16, the second-year bruising back has averaged under 2.9 yards per carry. He also hasn’t found the end zone since Week 13. If anyone in this Commanders backfield does damage in Motown, it’s gonna be Ek.
Other strong RB values in the divisional round:
- Kyren Williams, Rams at Eagles (DK: $6,900 | FD: $7,700 | SD: 1.15x)
- Justice Hill, Ravens at Bills (DK: $4,800 | FD: $5,400 | SD: 1.65x)
Best NFL DFS sleepers for divisional round: Wide receiver
Terry McLaurin, Commanders at Lions (DK: $6,300 | FD: $7,600 | SD: 1.15x)
TMC and Daniels have a fantastic rapport, and the Lions have given up the second-most DK points to the wide receiver position this season. You have to throw to stay in games against Detroit, and Daniels has to throw to McLaurin for Washington to have any chance at an upset.
We know this dude’s floor — he has averaged 17 DK points per game since the start of the 2024 season. We also know his ceiling, as he hit the range of 26-27 points in back-to-back weeks just last month. He has also caught 15 balls for 151 yards and two TDs the past two weeks. This feels like a no-brainer — we run with TMC.
Khalil Shakir, Bills vs. Ravens (DK: $5,000 | FD: $6,100 | SD: 1.35x)
The Bills blew the doors off the Broncos last weekend, so Shakir didn’t need to do much. But, when he got targeted, he did everything he could. All said, the stud young wideout caught 6-of-6 targets for 61 yards.
The usage has to go up against the Ravens, who sit lightyears ahead of Denver in terms of overall talent. This could be the shootout of the year, so we’re buying a fair share of stock in Buffalo’s best pass-catcher.
Other strong WR values in the Divisional Round:
- Rashod Bateman, Ravens at Bills (DK: $4,900 | FD: $6,200 | SD: 1.35x)
- Xavier Worthy, Chiefs vs. Texans (DK: $5,200 | FD: $6,300 | SD: 1.3x)
- DeAndre Hopkins, Chiefs vs. Texans (DK: $4,700 | FD: $5,800 | SD: 1.45x)
- Olamide Zacchaeus, Commanders at Lions (DK: $4,300 | FD: $5,400 | SD: 1.55x)
MORE: Learn about the SuperDraft Jackpot | How to play DFS
Best NFL DFS sleepers for Divisional Round: Tight end
Dallas Goedert, Eagles vs. Rams (DK: $3,900 | FD: $ | SD: 1.3x)
Goedert returned from injury two weeks ago and caught 4-of-6 targets for 55 yards. He then put up 14.7 DK points on a 47-yard, 1-touchdown performance in the wild-card round against the Packers.
How can we not stay with this guy? The Rams have also surrendered the second-most DK points to the TE position this season. Goedert’s an easy value with four tight ends more pricy than him going into the divisional round.
More TEs worth a look in the Divisional Round:
- Dalton Kincaid, Bills vs. Ravens (DK: $3,700 | FD: $6,100 | SD: 1.4x)
- Tyler Higbee, Rams at Eagles (DK: $3,400 | FD: $5,200 | SD: 1.5x)
Best NFL DFS sleepers for Divisional Round: D/ST
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Rams (DK: $3,400 | FD: $4,700)
Forget about scraping the barrel at D/ST in the playoffs — give us an elite unit, and we’ll save money elsewhere. The Eagles are the best defense in the postseason, and we’re getting them at a cheaper price point than the Chiefs ($3,600).
It’s a no-brainer, especially when you consider that the Rams have been traveling all over the place and probably have severe cases of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion at this point. Cooper Kupp also looks like a shell of his formerly-dominant self. Grab the Eagles. If you play them, turnovers will come.
