It's week 19 of the NFL season AKA The Divisional Round. I've put together some Fanduel optimal lineups, top picks and value plays which will hopefully win us some cash. Obviously I draw from my own opinions to create lineups but it's hard to ignore solid analysis to fine tune your picks. Mike Clay at PFF did a nice match-up piece you should read here. I like how Mike looks at the coverage's and gives us his best guess at how it will pan out.
Every GPP lineup needs some value picks to score a TD in order to reach the upper tier of scorers. In this weeks divisional round there are only a few value picks I trust enough to use in my optimal lineup such as: Shane Vereen, Cole Beasley and Doug Baldwin. Vereen's usage has been sporadic to say the least and picking him as the feature back this week is probably the wrong call but, and this is a big but, if he touches the ball 15 times and scores you've done very well with this pick. Since the Baltimore Ravens feature a stout run defense it makes me believe they'll use Vereen on more snaps as the Patriot attack Baltimore via the air. Beasly is more of a PPR guy but he has had a couple big games this year and we're all expecting a shoot out in Green Bay. Baldwin is a lock for at least 4 catches and 50 yards but we're banking on one of those catches to be a touchdown to pay off this contrarian play.
The Optimal Lineup
- There's a couple things to keep in mind when creating the optimal lineup for GPP (or even 50/50) games on Fanduel. Especially when using a tool, such as our Fanduel optimal lineup tool.
- Play with the lineups, try multiple combinations and check the players status to insure he is injury free.
- Build several lineups with the top QB's like Rodgers and Brady. Then create a couple lineups with Flacco and Wilson. Those cheap QB's can really make the rest of your picks "pop" and if they do well you're on your way to winning some cash.
- Our optimal lineup tool will give you some "risky" picks, limit those risky plays to no more than 1 or maybe 2 picks. You don't want to be banking on more than 2 players to have a career game.
GPP Stacks I like this week:
- Romo & Dez - After Dez burned us last week I like him here.
- Brady and LaFell - Edelman hasn't played in what? 4 weeks? He's higher priced and has the same ceiling as LaFell.
- Flacco and T. Smith - The elder Steve Smith is projected to be on Revis island.
- Peyton and Thomas (the TE) - Crazy pick here! But in week 1 this pair scored a super sized amount of Fanduel points, it could happen again and is could be contrarian based on the Denver ground game and TE usage in recent weeks.
Here's the optimal lineup I created with our optimal lineup tool. Locking in Peyton and Thomas then building from there. I had to remove a couple crazy picks as you see in the "removed players list" but overall it didn't take long to generate a lineup I like this week. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below.
Fanduel Optimal Lineup For the 2015 Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs
You really think Peyton Manning and Julius Thomas are going to produce the same stats they did in week 1? I know you want to make some contrarian plays but I think you’re expecting a lot here.
For GGP I do like Peyton and Thomas a lot, but keep in mind I’ll use this lineup alongside multiple other entries. Also, this lineup is all about being contrarian. To answer your question about Peyton and Thomas matching their production level from week 1, yes there is a chance to at least coming close. Keep in mind that both Manning and Thomas are rested thanks to the bye. In the event that Indy gets a lead Manning will have to throw the ball and Indy’s DB core is solid, which should leave Julius as a viable option just like in week 1.