Yahoo Daily Fantasy: Conference Championship NFL DFS Projections & Value Plays

Awesemo has a ton of great daily fantasy football tools and NFL DFS strategy to tackle all the large contests for NFL Conference Championship week in NFL DFS. This article will provide some first impressions of the upcoming slate, including some of the top matchups and value plays. It will discuss salaries and who sticks out at various tiers for Yahoo daily fantasy NFL picks this week.

NFL Conference Championship week has two games taking place this Sunday. For DFS purposes, we will cover the two-game slate on Yahoo which has the biggest contests on their site this week.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy: Conference Championship NFL DFS Preview

QB Patrick Mahomes — $40

Patrick Mahomes is coming off a game for the ages. The former MVP completed over 75% of his passes last week and threw for four touchdowns against a Bills defense that was coming off a monster end of the season run. This week he gets a Bengals team who does not have near the same amount of star power on defense and ceded over 8.8 yards per pass attempt last week to Tennessee. The Bengals are not likely to get a bundle of mistakes from Mahomes in this spot (that they got from Ryan Tannehill last week). Mahomes is rated out as the top projected quarterback for this week by over 5 points and should be the preferred pay-up target.

QB Matthew Stafford — $31

If you are going elsewhere than the Chiefs starter on this slate, the Rams Matthew Stafford likely makes for the next best logical option. Stafford has played well in two straight playoff games and was also able to light up a decent defense last week in Tampa, completing over 73% of his passes for well over 300 yards. Stafford has been a big play machine all season as he led the league in yards per pass attempt. He ranks out this week with the second-best projection at quarterback, making him also the best value option there as he has just the third highest salary on Yahoo.

RB Cam Akers — $21

The theme at running back is, is anyone trustworthy? Cam Akers looked like he was on his way to a larger workload and perhaps a big fantasy game down the stretch against the Buccaneers, but he ended the second half in terrible fashion with a lost fumble (his second on the day). Akers still rates out very highly in this spot though and leads the projections at running back this week. This is a spot to trust the workload (27 touches for Akers last week) and the fact the Rams have a 25-point implied team total, the second biggest on the slate. Akers will likely be a polarizing fantasy figure, but his workload should lead the slate.

RB Jerick McKinnon — $18

The Chiefs backfield is a juicy target given that they enter this week with a 30.50 implied team total. The issue is not matchup related, though; it is figuring out which running back to target. Both Jerick McKinnon and Clyde Edwards-Helaire saw over seven touches last week although it was McKinnon who outshone Edwards-Helaire in the passing game, running a route on over 70% of the Chiefs drop-backs. Ultimately, both Chiefs backs are potential targets this week, and a two Chiefs running back roster could be very unique for big field GPPs. However, it is McKinnon who grades out as the superior play with a 2.0+ point advantage in the projections over his backfield mate.

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WR Cooper Kupp — $40

There are not enough superlatives for what Cooper Kupp has accomplished this year. He has gone over 100 yards receiving in six of his last eight games and averaged over 25 fantasy points per game this year, to lead the league in that category. The 49ers secondary allowed Kupp to corral 11 of 13 catches against them in their first meeting for 122 yards and the only question is whether they can stop him from breaking off huge chunks or touchdowns in this spot. Kupp again leads the Awesemo projections by more than 3 points this week at wide receiver and should be your anchor again this week.

WR Tee Higgins — $26

The Bengals wide receiver crew should have a very positive game script this week with the Bengals projected as the biggest underdogs on the slate at +7 points as of writing. Tee Higgins has a salary that is $10 cheaper than Ja’Marr Chase’s, but Higgins’ point projection has him within 2 of Chase. Fading Chase is a huge risk given what he can accomplish on just a few targets, but Higgins has upside in his own and is facing a Chiefs defense that allowed Gabriel Davis to post a record-breaking performance. Higgins has 90-plus yards in four of his last seven starts and should be your preferred pay down target at wide receiver this week.

TE Travis Kelce — $32

The Chiefs Travis Kelce has really come on down the stretch. Kelce has grabbed six touchdowns in his last five games of the year and has also gone over 90 yards in three of his last five games as well. The connection rate with Patrick Mahomes is what is most encouraging as he is converted 78% of his targets over the last five games into catches. The Bengals are a sweet matchup for Kelce as they allowed the fourth most receptions to his position this year. He is the highest rated player at his position in the projections and may not even push for the largest rostership at tight end on the slate.

TE George Kittle — $22

One interesting roster decision this week on Yahoo will be at tight end where the 49ers George Kittle is significantly cheaper than Travis Kelce. Kittle ranks behind Kelce in the Awesemo projections but it is not by that much and Kittle does rank out with the best value score. If Deebo Samuel were to miss this game or just be limited, Kittle could push for 10-plus targets in this game and it is worth remembering than when Samuel sat out in Week 13 Kittle went for nine catches and 181 yards. He is likely the only non-Kelce option worth considering this week.

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