The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR DeVonta Smith.
Is DeVonta Smith Playing vs. the Rams?
Smith was not listed on the injury report this week. Barring any last-minute setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Eagles’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit DeVonta Smith in the Divisional Round?
I like a lot of secondary receivers this weekend. I’m talking myself into John Metchie III in Houston, will be overexposed to Jameson Williams in Detroit, and think there are some interesting angles to take in the Ravens/Bills game.
DeVonta Smith isn’t on that list.
He is coming off his lowest target rate since Week 10 (fourth-lowest of the season) and wasn’t a focal point from the jump (one target on 15 first-half routes). I could overlook a low-usage game (though, six games without a single red-zone look are concerning), but I can’t shake the “How?” behind the low target count.
Last week against the Packers, Smith earned one look on 10 pressured Jalen Hurts dropbacks (three on 13 non-pressured dropbacks), struggles that very much line up with what we saw for four months during the regular season:
- When pressured: 11.8% target route
- When not: 30% target rate
The Rams are going to need to ugly this game up and create chaos. They entered their playoff opener against the Vikings with a similar desire, and it resulted in them creating pressure on 48% of Sam Darnold dropbacks, their highest rate of the season.
They’ve excelled at creating pressure when they decide to focus on that (their four highest-pressure games this season came against the Vikings and 49ers, matchups that they clearly identified as advantageous spots), and that is what I’m projecting to be the plan as a significant underdog.
It’s A.J. Brown or nothing for me through the air for the Eagles, but it’ll be more Saquon Barkley than anything.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Divisional Round Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
DeVonta Smith’s Fantasy Points Projection in the Divisional Round
As of Saturday, Smith is projected to score 9 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.2 receptions for 42.1 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
DeVonta Smith’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 9:15 AM ET on Saturday, January 18. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Divisional Round Superflex Rankings.
Divisional Round WR PPR Rankings
1) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. WAS)
2) Puka Nacua | LAR (at PHI)
3) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. LAR)
4) Nico Collins | HOU (at KC)
5) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at DET)
6) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. WAS)
7) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. BAL)
8) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. HOU)
9) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. LAR)
10) Cooper Kupp | LAR (at PHI)
11) Rashod Bateman | BAL (at BUF)
12) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. HOU)
13) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. HOU)
14) Keon Coleman | BUF (vs. BAL)
15) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. BAL)
16) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at DET)
17) John Metchie III | HOU (at KC)
18) Dyami Brown | WAS (at DET)
19) Curtis Samuel | BUF (vs. BAL)
20) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (at PHI)
21) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. WAS)
22) Nelson Agholor | BAL (at BUF)
23) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. BAL)
24) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. HOU)
25) Zay Flowers | BAL (at BUF)
26) Diontae Johnson | HOU (at KC)
27) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. LAR)
28) Tylan Wallace | BAL (at BUF)
29) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at KC)
30) Robert Woods | HOU (at KC)
31) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at DET)
32) Tutu Atwell | LAR (at PHI)
33) Justin Watson | KC (vs. HOU)
34) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at DET)
35) Anthony Miller | BAL (at BUF)
36) Jordan Whittington | LAR (at PHI)
37) Kalif Raymond | DET (vs. WAS)
38) Devontez Walker | BAL (at BUF)
39) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. LAR)
40) Xavier Smith | LAR (at PHI)
41) Allen Robinson II | DET (vs. WAS)
