Fantasy Billboard: Giddy Up! and Whoa Down! Wild Card Weekend
Sometimes Fantasy Football championships come down to dumb luck. A case in point; I met Chris at my friend Jeff’s birthday party. Chris is not a big NFL fan. Rumor has it he wasn’t sure whether the Jets team colors were green or yellow. Regardless, his buddies convinced him to join their league. That was a big mistake. Chris drafts from the hip, preferring players with cool names like Amon-Ra St. Brown. With his laissez-faire attitude, he’s won his league three out of nine years. Lucky indeed. As we keep Fantasy Football going during the NFL playoffs, now is the best time to enlist the aid of FantasyGuru.com. Get a Daily News special 30% off by entering the code NEW30 for instant savings. Let’s look at our Giddy Ups! and Whoa Downs! for Wild Card Weekend.
GIDDY UP!
Josh Allen, QB — The Bills will continue to rally around Damar Hamlin. Josh had 1,131 passing yards and 10 TDs against the Fins in his last four games. He is hitting his stride again after a mild mid-season lull. Josh should be the QB1 this week.
Joe Burrow, QB — Stealthy Bengal tigers crouch in tall grass before leaping out to devour their prey. Burrow left the field hungry in Baltimore, but back home in the Cincy jungle on Sunday night, he will be ready to pounce. Last year in two games Burrow had over 900 yards and seven TDs against the Ravens.
Christian McCaffery, RB — CMC is Superman and Seattle has no kryptonite. The question is not “if” CMC will score. The question is can Seattle keep him under 30 Fantasy points?
Saquon Barkley, RB — Brian Daboll won five Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach. He knows what it takes to succeed in the postseason. I expect him to let a rested Barkley carry the load, giving Daniel Jones plenty of play-action opportunities and keeping the vaunted Vikings offense off the field.
Christian Kirk, WR — Kirk surprisingly finished the season as the 12th highest-scoring Fantasy WR. Facing the Chargers in Week 3, he had a 6/72/1 stat line for 19.2 points. That’s a winning DFS total.
Tyreek Hill, WR — The last time the Bills saw Hill in the playoffs, he was tearing through their secondary for a 64-yard TD. They’ve kept him in check twice this year (102 total yards with one TD), but Hill is an elite player in big games.
George Kittle, TE — Fun facts: 25% of all your bones are in your feet. Ketchup was invented as a cure for indigestion. Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender. Snails can sleep for three years. The Seahawks can’t cover tight ends.
WHOA DOWN!
Geno Smith, QB — After his Week 1 game, a victorious Geno trademarked his quote, “They wrote me off. I ain’t write back though.” After he plays the 49ers this week, we can safely write him off again.
Lamar Jackson, QB — Battling a strained PCL, now is not the time to roll the dice on Jackson. If he is active, he will be slow to take off running from the pocket. Relying on his arm and without his rushing stats, Jackson is not a safe play in Cincy this week.
Devin Singletary, RB — Singletary has been hit or miss, and the Bills might be shifting more work to James Cook. After losing a fumble inside the red zone against the Pats, Singletary was sent to the bench, getting one carry the rest of the second half.
Leonard Fournette, RB — Fournette has one decent outing since Week 6, and that was against the lowly Cardinals. He’s averaged 3.5 yards per carry his last four games, and Rachaad White is eating into his playing time. He’s on my bench.
D.K. Metcalf, WR — I dislike the match-up for Metcalf, but I’m more concerned he goes ballistic and gets himself thrown out of the game. If the Seahawks fall behind quickly, a frustrated Metcalf will become a loose cannon, uncontrollable by coaches or teammates on the field.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR — There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Deebo Samuel. Now that Deebo is back, Aiyuk will return to his afterthought status.
Mike Gesicki, TE — Don’t try to catch lightning in a bottle. Gesicki has no power against Buffalo, totaling a shocking 11 yards in two games this year.
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