The NFL regular season may be over, but that doesn’t mean fantasy football has to stop. There are a number of variations of playoff fantasy leagues, but today, we are going to focus on one-and-done formats with our top start ’em picks for the Divisional Round.
What Are One-and-Done Fantasy Leagues?
Before we get to the picks, here is a very quick primer on one-and-done playoff fantasy football leagues.
Most leagues require a starting lineup similar to this: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex. Each week, every manager in your league has the full player pool available to choose from.
But there’s a catch.
Once you use a player, you can’t use him again. That’s where the strategy comes in. You need to construct the highest-scoring lineup while making sure you still have options for subsequent rounds.
Below, you will find our recommended picks for the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. These are not going to simply be the best players at each position. Each player is carefully selected to maximize scoring potential throughout the entirety of the postseason.
Top Start ‘Em Picks for the Divisional Round
Players used last week: Jayden Daniels, Joe Mixon, Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, Nico Collins, Pat Freiermuth, Josh Jacobs, and Courtland Sutton.
I will give you my lineup for this week assuming you have the same players unavailable. Then, I will provide additional choices based on the entire player pool being available.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
My approach to this year’s format has been to gamble that someone takes down the Kansas City Chiefs. By not taking Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson this week, I am guaranteeing I will miss out on using at least one of them.
This is also a bit of a gamble since I don’t have Daniels available. If the Washington Commanders upset the Detroit Lions, I will be forced to take an AFC quarterback and run the risk of not having one available for the Super Bowl.
If I go with Jared Goff this week, that guarantees I’ll be able to use Jalen Hurts or Matthew Stafford next week. However, the goal isn’t just to have players available — it’s to score the most points.
I’m severely capping my upside if I try and save all of Allen, Jackson, and Hurts for the Super Bowl. Plus, I run the risk of being able to use none of them. Against a Los Angeles Rams defense that allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, this is the spot to use Hurts.
Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens
I do think the Baltimore Ravens win this game, which may make it strange that I’m burning Derrick Henry here. But consider the remaining potential matchups. The most likely outcomes if Baltimore wins are Ravens at Chiefs and then Ravens vs. either the Philadelphia Eagles or Lions. None of those matchups are favorable for running backs.
Now, to be fair, Henry is built different and may not care. But we need to try and maximize scoring. Henry against a run-funnel Buffalo Bills defense that allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to running backs this season is the time to use the king.
Worst case, if the Ravens end up in the Super Bowl against not the Lions, we’ll have to go with Justice Hill. I can assure you other managers in your pool will end up with far worse options.
Austin Ekeler, RB, Washington Commanders
This is the tough part of these challenges — balancing scoring points now against saving players for later. I know I already said I think Baltimore wins, but if they don’t, I would like to have James Cook available for next week.
This matchup is a tough one for Cook, making me fine with potentially missing out on using him entirely. I’m not sure he’s a far superior option to Austin Ekeler this week, and I’m far more confident in this being the end of the road for the Commanders.
Game script should favor passing in this one, which means more Ekeler and less Brian Robinson Jr. This is easily my least confident choice, though. Feel free to swap to Cook if that makes you feel better.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
If you used Terry McLaurin last week, you got a great performance from him. We probably won’t do much better than seven catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. But nevertheless, we have him for this week.
As 8.5-point underdogs, the Commanders are likely to lose this game. The Lions are a pass-funnel defense, allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers.
We should see high volume from Daniels, and McLaurin is his clear top target. Hopefully, we get a big performance in a losing effort.
Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills
It didn’t go well for Buffalo the first time the Bills and Ravens met, scoring just 10 points in a 35-10 blowout loss. This time around, things should be much closer.
Baltimore’s defense has been better over the second half of the season, but they still allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers.
Khalil Shakir is Buffalo’s clear WR1 and is Allen’s safety blanket and top target. He managed a respectable 4-62 line in their first meeting, which, again, was not competitive.
In a game where the Bills should lean pass heavy, Shakir could be in line for significant volume. Even if the Bills win, I’m comfortable using Shakir now.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
I was very torn on this selection. It’s pretty clear that Cooper Kupp’s time as a top receiver has come to an end. The distance between him and Puka Nacua has become immeasurable.
There is no 1a/1b — Nacua is the 1, and Kupp is a very distant 2.
Over his last four games, Kupp has failed to exceed 29 receiving yards. There’s a very real chance this is a completely wasted pick, but the problem I find myself running into is, what’s the alternative?
The Rams are not drawing dead against the Eagles, but they are likely to lose. We need three WRs every week, and I would prefer to not burn any Eagles or Lions yet.
On the AFC side of things, there aren’t many strong options. Given the likelihood that the Chiefs win and my gamble of the Bills or Ravens taking them out, I want to save Kansas City for next week.
Where else do we turn?
You could consider Rashod Bateman here, but I don’t like the negative correlation with Henry. It caps upside. Unfortunately, that brings us to having to roll the dice on the Rams going pass heavy against an Eagles defense that is good against the pass but great against the run.
Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders
Going with three Commanders is not how I wanted to do things.
Since we only need one tight end, there are a ton of options this week. You can really go in any direction and not be drawing dead in either of the next two rounds. The problem is figuring out the best one.
How much do we like Travis Kelce against the Houston Texans? He probably won’t be needed much. Plus, I’d love to use him against the Ravens next week.
Dalton Kincaid is available, but I genuinely prefer Zach Ertz. Mark Andrews is an option, but he had zero catches against Buffalo in their first meeting.
I do think Dallas Goedert is a reasonable alternative. No matter what, you’re guaranteed to have Ertz or Sam LaPorta in the next round, and then you can go AFC TE in the Super Bowl.
The reason I’m sticking with Ertz is I expect much more passing volume from the Commanders than the Eagles, and I’d like to be able to have Goedert on the table next week, saving LaPorta, hopefully, for the Super Bowl.
Additional Choices
If you didn’t use the same players I did, the ideal WR trio this week would be McLaurin, Nacua, and Collins. At RB, I don’t love Mixon this week, but he’s a better option than Ekeler.
If you want to save Henry and have Williams available, that’s fine, as well. However, the matchup against Philadelphia is far better for the pass catchers.