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 RB Saquon Barkley.
Is Saquon Barkley Playing vs. the Rams?
Barkley was only listed on the injury report this week for rest. Barring any setbacks, he is set 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 Saquon Barkley in the Divisional Round?
The Saquon Barkley conversation isn’t about his volume or his ability to produce. Those are given. He has as many streaks with 25+ carries and multiple catches as all other NFL running backs this season (two) and would have ranked seventh in the NFL in rushing yards if you only gave him his production in the second half of the season.
The counting numbers are safe, and the fantasy upside is at an elite level — he has multiple red-zone touches in 12 straight games. For me, this is an either/or debate with Derrick Henry.
You are, of course, not obligated to roster either in DFS. Or you could roster both if you want to get really creative, but I expect the vast majority of managers to be faced with this decision and don’t think we need to overcomplicate it.
It’s Barkley.
The matchup is better (the Rams rank 22nd in EPA against the run while the Bills rank second) and the projected game state is more favorable. Those are nice tiebreaker stats to look at, but there is one metric that I’m buying, and it does not require a fancy database to track.
Time of possession. Simply put, I’m more confident that the Eagles can stay on the field than I am the Ravens.
Time of possession, 2024 :
- Eagles: 32:16 (first)
- Ravens: 31:25 (fifth)
- Bills: 30:30 (12th)
- Rams: 29:11 (24th)
The Rams have been the eighth-worst third-down offense and allow the fifth-most yards per carry before contact. In my opinion, there are more ways for the Eagles to stay on the field than for the Ravens, and that moves things in Barkley’s direction. When stacking up ceiling cases for these two, if we are assuming similar volume, Philadelphia’s bellcow has three of the top-four per-touch games of 2024.
Spending Sunday night sweating a Henry fade is not going to be an enjoyable 3-4 hours, but that’s the way I’m playing it when it comes to the pricey RBs.
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.
Saquon Barkley’s Fantasy Points Projection in the Divisional Round
As of Saturday, Barkley is projected to score 26.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 26.7 rushing attempts for 122 yards and 0.8 touchdowns. It also includes 4.7 receptions for 31.1 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.
Saquon Barkley’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 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. LAR)
2) Derrick Henry | BAL (at BUF)
3) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. WAS)
4) Kyren Williams | LAR (at PHI)
5) James Cook | BUF (vs. BAL)
6) Joe Mixon | HOU (at KC)
7) David Montgomery | DET (vs. WAS)
8) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DET)
9) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at DET)
10) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. HOU)
11) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. HOU)
12) Justice Hill | BAL (at BUF)
13) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. BAL)
14) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. LAR)
15) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. HOU)
16) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. WAS)
17) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at KC)
18) Ronnie Rivers | LAR (at PHI)
19) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at BUF)
20) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at KC)
21) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DET)
22) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at BUF)
23) Carson Steele | KC (vs. HOU)
24) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (vs. BAL)
25) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. WAS)
