We flip the NFL DFS page over to Week 18. This isn’t like most weeks where you can just play anyone without having to worry about playoff implications. Week 18 is all about playoff implications as teams with nothing to play for may take it easy on their guys or simply not play them at all. You really want to target players that are on teams that have must-win games.  Who do I like that fits that mold and why? Let’s dive into the top plays, values, and fades for NFL DFS action on DraftKings and FanDuel for the final week of the regular season! 

 

 

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Saturday-Sunday Main Slate

NFL DFS RB Top Plays

Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers

Ekeler has had a monster season with 881 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 103 receptions for 686 yards and five more scores. In total, you’re looking at a guy with over 100 receptions, 1500 total yards, and 18 touchdowns; which has led to him leading all backs in PPG scoring. The Chargers have already locked in their playoff spot, which is a bit scary, but they do still have seeding to fight for and will still want to win this game. The Broncos have been a good matchup for running backs this season, so hopefully, Ekeler can still perform well even if he gets a couple of fewer touches than normal. 

NFL DFS RB Mid-Tier Plays

Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

Walker has picked up a ton of work over the last two games with 28 touches in Week 16 followed up by 24 touches in Week 17. He has rushed for north of 100 yards in back-to-back games and scored over 15 DK points in both despite not finding the end zone in either. On top of the recent success, and more importantly, the Seahawks are one of the teams fighting for a playoff spot and have a must-win game this week against the Rams, so there is no reason to believe that Walker won’t have another hefty workload in this one. 

Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams

Akers has been performing very late of late and has a great matchup on tap against the Seahawks this week that ranks as a top-three spot for running backs this season. The only scary part is that the Rams season is over and they could just kind of split the work up this week, but Akers hasn’t been overused this season by any means, so I don’t really see it being an issue here. I see him getting at least 15 carries in this game and he has been finding the end zone at a very high rate lately with six touchdowns in his past five games. His price tag is still very reasonable too. 

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

Harris has been playing pretty well with at least 14.6 fantasy points in his last three games. He has been getting a lot of work too with at least 22 touches in each of the past three games. The Steelers are unlikely to make the playoffs, but they do have a shot and this is a must-win game for them, so you can expect no limitations to Harris’ workload this week. The Browns rank as a good matchup for running backs this season and this should be a fairly competitive game, meaning there won’t be a reason for Harris to have any less of a workload due to game flow. 

NFL DFS RB Value Plays

Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills

Moss isn’t producing a whole lot of fantasy points so far, but it’s clear he is the Colts lead back right now as he has 51 carries (17 per game) over his last three games and has topped 60+ rushing yards in all three. The biggest issue is that he has just one reception in that timeframe and has not found the end zone at all, so his floor is pretty low. However, he gets the number one matchup in the league for running backs this season this week as the Colts will take on the Texans. He should run right through this defense and if he can find the end zone, he will be a great value play at this price tag. 

NFL DFS RB Fades

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

I will keep this short because he may not even play, but if he does suit up, I would not play Barkley in any format as I don’t see him getting a large enough workload to pay off this price tag. The Giants have nothing to play for as they are already locked into their playoff spot, so this game is meaningless. 

Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings

Similar to Barkley in many ways and I will also keep this short. The Vikings will want a fresh Cook as they head into playoffs and even if he does play, I think we will see more of Alexander Mattison than we will see of Cook. Even in an appealing matchup like Chicago, I would not play Cook this week in DFS. 

Other Potential Options Based on Injury Updates and Resting Starters

Matt Breida, New York Giants

Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings

Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens

Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

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