January 18, 2018

Deeper daily fantasy sleepers for DraftKings and the NFL Conference Championships, Justin Carter finds DFS sleepers for fantasy football owners to target.

And now there are just four teams left in the NFL playoffs. The New England Patriots are there, like many people expected. The Philadelphia Eagles are there too, which many people also expected at times during the regular season until quarterback Carson Wentz went down with a knee injury and was replaced by the Nick Foles, the man who co-owns the record for the most touchdown passes in a single game--and also vanished from the consciousness of NFL fans over the past couple of years.

The Vikings are there after beating the Saints in dramatic fashion, with a shocking last second touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs that no one expected. (Note: As a University of Houston alum, I am very proud of Case Keenum.) And then the Jacksonville Jaguars are making their first appearance in the Conference Finals since 1999 behind quarterback Blake Bortles and a stellar defense that...just gave up 42 points to Pittsburgh? WHAT IS FOOTBALL DOING.

This could be a big week for you on DraftKings as the season winds down. Let's look at deeper DFS targets and DraftKings sleepers for the Conference Finals. These are all players whose DraftKings cost is at or below $5,000, except for the wide receiver position, where I'll be looking at players below $4,000.

Deeper DraftKings DFS Targets for the Conference Finals

QUARTERBACKS

Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars - $5,000 (DraftKings)

There's a temptation to suggest Foles here because he's $200 cheaper, but he plays against a Vikings defense that allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks during the regular season and is coming off a fairly mediocre win against the Falcons. But Bortles? He gets the Patriots, who allowed the seventh-most points during the regular season to the position AND allowed Marcus Mariota to throw for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running the ball four times for 37 yards. Bortles has found his feet during these playoffs, and his arm came alive against the Steelers. It's actually not crazy to imagine the Jaguars in the Super Bowl and Bortles being one of the reasons why.

RUNNING BACKS

James White, New England Patriots - $4,900 (DraftKings)

So you're willing to bet that lightning actually does strike the same place twice? James White found the end zone twice in the Divisional Round against the Titans, finishing with 20.0 fantasy points, his highest mark of the season. It's tough to trust a Patriots running back who isn't named Dion Lewis, but White does have a history of performing in the playoffs--he had three touchdowns in last year's Super Bowl against the Falcons, plus another touchdown during last season's Divisional Round. White is a player who has stepped up in big spots for New England. There's no guarantee he does that again, but I like his chances in a week with a really shallow pool of players to draw from.

T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars - $4,200 (DraftKings)

Yeldon served as the primary backup to Leonard Fournette in the Divisional Round with Chris Ivory inactive. Fournette re-injured his ankle during that game, though he did return in the second half. Yeldon could serve useful this week as a guy who can spell Fournette at times and as a pass catcher--in addition to rushing five times for 20 yards and a score last week, Yeldon caught three passes for 57 yards.

Corey Clement, Philadelphia Eagles - $3,100 (DraftKings)

Clement is another back whose usefulness in the passing game could come in handy. He only carried the ball once against Atlanta and last saw double-digit carries in Week 9 as Jay Ajayi's presence has knocked Clement down his team's rotation, but his five targets against Atlanta and his increased usage as a receiver since Nick Foles became Philadelphia's quarterback gives him a chance to put up decent numbers and, possibly, to find the end zone, though it'll be tough against a Vikings defense that allowed just one receiving touchdown to a running back during the regular season.

Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots - $3,000 (DraftKings)

Maybe the ultimate "hmm, maybe?" guy this week. Bolden scored a touchdown last week for New England as the team used him as a goal line back. If Mike Gillislee (knee) or Rex Burkhead (knee) are able to suit up this week, Bolden becomes much less appealing. But if one or both--and Gillislee in particular--are out, Bolden could once again see snaps down near the end zone.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars - $3,900 (DraftKings)

The rookie vanished against Pittsburgh, catching just one pass for eight yards. But he's got a good match-up this week (New England allowed the sixth-most points to receivers in the regular season), has plenty of talent, and had been developing as a weapon for Jacksonville over the second half of the season. At this point, I trust him more than Keelan Cole or Allen Hurns.

Jarius Wright, Minnesota Vikings - $3,000 (DraftKings)

This one is definitely a "cross your fingers and hope" pick, but Wright did catch three passes for 56 yards against the Saints. If there's a weak spot in the Eagles defense, it's been in how they've done defending wide receivers. Wright is pretty far down Minnesota's pecking order behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, but he's got decent upside (and also those two guys are the two most expensive wide receivers this week and I'm a little scared of the price tag.)

TIGHT ENDS

Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings - $4,500 (DraftKings)

This feels like cheating. Rudolph is a good option and comes at a significant discount over Rob Gronkowski and a decent discount over Zach Ertz, but he's still the third highest tight end salary this week. Let's just skip to the next player.

Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars - $2,500 (DraftKings)

I'm going to be very honest with y'all right now--once you get past Rudolph, you're just throwing darts and hoping something sticks. The Jaguars are not good at using their tight ends, but if you're cutting corners on this position then you want the player with the best chance at finding the end zone. Lewis did that five times this season and New England's defense does the poorest against tight ends of any of the four teams left. It's...bleak, but if you're going to get lucky then this might work out.

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