This article is part of our Fanball Fantasy Football series.
Whether you're looking to build off the momentum of a fantasy championship or trying to make up for a lost season, Fanball allows owners to keep playing through the postseason with DFS contests. The four wild-card games spanning both Saturday and Sunday are encompassed in this week's slate. The Fanball format calls for a QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, FLEX WR/TE, FLEX RB/WR/TE, D/ST lineup with a $55,000 salary cap. The players below can fit into lineups regardless of strategy, as they all offer strong value relative to price.
QUARTERBACK
Marcus Mariota, TEN at KC ($6,600): Of the eight teams in action this weekend, none was worse at defending the pass than the Chiefs, who ranked fourth from the bottom with 247.0 passing yards allowed per game. Mariota's coming off an extremely underwhelming season, but that could be a blessing in disguise because his price has sunk to an affordable $6,600. With a healthy stable of receiving weapons available and his team entering as eight-point underdogs, the mobile quarterback should see no shortage of passing opportunities in this favorable matchup.
Cam Newton, CAR at NO ($7,600): Speaking of road underdogs with mobile quarterbacks, Newton will need to be at his best to pull off an upset of the NFC South rival Saints. He failed to do so at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Week 13 despite throwing for two scores without an interception and adding more than 50 yards on the ground, but Newton will have a chance at redemption. Given his ability to propel fantasy owners to victory without sharing the glory with receivers thanks to his rushing prowess and the tendency to care less about taking big hits in this high-leverage, playoff situation, Newton could pay off big time for those willing to pay up for him.
RUNNING BACK
Leonard Fournette, JAC vs. BUF ($8,400): Quarterback Blake Bortles was hot to finish the season, but Fournette is still the engine behind Jacksonville's offense. The workhorse running back is better set up than anyone to thrive in this slate, as Jacksonville's dominant defense is likely to shut down a subpar Bills offense that could get even worse if LeSean McCoy can't play through an ankle injury. With the Jaguars likely to play from ahead, Fournette should get all the opportunities he can handle against the playoffs' worst run defense, which ranked 29th with 124.6 yards allowed per game.
Derrick Henry, TEN at KC ($7,800): With DeMarco Murray (knee) already ruled out, Henry's workload should allow him to easily outperform his valuation as this slate's eighth-most expensive running back. He burned the stifling Jacksonville defense with a 66-yard touchdown reception in the season finale and should find consistent success against a generous Kansas City front that allowed the eighth-most rushing yards per game (118.1).
Tevin Coleman, ATL at LAR ($5,600): Owners looking to exploit a Rams defense that finished narrowly ahead of the Bills against the run with 122.4 yards allowed per game likely will look to Devonta Freeman ($7,600), but choosing Coleman over him makes a lot of sense. Coleman comes $2,000 cheaper and has often eclipsed Freeman's production when he gets the hot hand. Additionally, the cheaper back knows how to step his game up for the postseason with a touchdown in every career playoff appearance.
WIDE RECEIVER
Corey Davis, TEN at KC ($4,900): Kansas City's struggles in the secondary have been well documented, and Davis has the physical tools to exploit them. The fifth overall pick is coming off an underwhelming, injury-plagued rookie campaign, but he did record a career-high 91 receiving yards on six catches against the Rams in Week 16 and looks to be getting more comfortable at the highest level. Don't be surprised to see him break out under the bright lights of the postseason.
Keelan Cole, JAC vs. BUF ($6,100): Cole was phenomenal over the final five weeks of the season, with 23 catches for 475 yards and three touchdowns. The explosive slot receiver should stay heavily involved regardless of Jacksonville's approach offensively, as he can make chain-moving catches in tight spaces to run clock or blow the game open by running away from defenders for big plays.
Robert Woods, LAR vs. ATL ($6,900): Woods' season stats don't look terribly impressive because of a mediocre start and a shoulder injury, but he was tremendous recently with 29 catches 400 yards and five touchdowns in his past five games, as well as 44 catches for 595 yards in the last eight. There's no question Woods is quarterback Jared Goff's favorite target, and Los Angeles' aerial attack likely will be relied upon heavily to counter the high-powered Atlanta offense. Those who have followed the Rams all season know this offense is about much more than just Todd Gurley.
TIGHT END
Travis Kelce, KC vs. TEN ($8,100): Travis Kelce is worth paying up for. The standout tight end is quarterback Alex Smith's favorite target and Kansas City likely find itself passing a lot against a Titans defense that ranks fourth against the run and just 25th defending the pass. Tennessee allowed 53.3 yards per game and five touchdowns to tight ends this season despite not facing a single receiver near Kelce's caliber at the position.
Austin Hooper, ATL at LAR ($4,000): Hooper makes for a decent flier at tight end, as the Rams struggled to keep the position from finding paydirt in the regular season with eight touchdowns allowed, which was seventh most in the league. With other middling tight ends facing tough matchups, using Hooper here is a prudent play for those who refuse to spend big on Kelce.
DEFENSE
Jacksonville Jaguars, JAC vs. BUF ($3,900): Defenses are always more bunched up than other positions price-wise, so it's a sensible move to pay the marginal few hundred dollars for an elite option. The choice seldom gets much more obvious than this, as Jacksonville's coming off a dominant season in which it allowed the second-fewest points per game (16.8) while recording the second-most sacks (55), second-most interceptions (21) and fourth-most fumble recoveries (12). In this home playoff game, the Jaguars get to face a Bills team that scored the 11th-fewest points (18.9). On top of that, Buffalo's best offensive player (McCoy) likely will be out or limited.
Buffalo Bills, BUF at JAC ($3,200): While their postseason drought is over, the Bills still haven't won a playoff game since 1995. If that were to change this weekend, chances are the victory would come courtesy of a Jacksonville offensive implosion. If you don't pick the Jaguars defense, it's probably because you're rooting for the Bills, so you may as well go all-in against Bortles in his first playoff appearance by picking a unit that ranked sixth with 18 interceptions.
