The NFL regular season has come to an end, and the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs is not short on storylines, great matchups, and plenty of DFS appeal! There are various slates across the board for the weekend, so I’m giving you some of my favorite wide receivers for the NFL games this weekend! 

Sunday should feature a couple of shootouts, particularly in Dallas and Detroit, whereas the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns showdown on Saturday is very, very interesting from a DFS perspective. By taking a look at projected game and team totals, as well as our Wild Card round player projections, we’ll get a good look at how we can best optimize the wide receiver position in our NFL DFS lineups. 

From superstar receivers to top NFL DFS stacks, the NFL DFS WR Coach will have multiple plays at various pricing tiers to help construct your lineups. Without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s DFS WR Coach, highlighting the top wide receivers to help build your NFL DFS lineups this weekend.

Be sure to check out the rest of the NFL DFS Coaches and DFS Watch List throughout the week!

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NFL DFS WR Top Picks for Wild Card Weekend

Saturday Slate

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

It’s going to be cold in Kansas City, but Hill has played in it before. We just need to hope Tua Tagovailoa will be ready for the elements! Hill has gone four straight games without eclipsing 100 yards, and he has just one touchdown over his last four games. His lone playoff game with the Dolphins saw him receive 15 targets, and for his career, he’s averaged over 82 receiving yards per game in the postseason. 

Big-time players put up big numbers in big games, and I’m expecting that from Hill this week. We’ll keep an eye on the weather as the week goes on to ensure everything is okay there closer to kickoff! Cedrick Wilson was an intriguing option, but with Jaylen Waddle logging limited practices all week, Waddle should return as the WR2 for this team.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans

We saw it in Week 18 against the Colts, but Houston is banged up at receiver, and C.J. Stroud clearly trusts Collins the most. He caught all nine of his targets for 195 yards and one touchdown. After Collins, Schultz had seven targets, and Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie combined for just six targets and two receptions in that game. 

Cleveland should focus extra attention and force someone other than Collins to beat them, but Houston will ensure Collins is involved because quite frankly, he has to be. It’s a tough matchup, but I’m not doubting C.J. Stroud at home. Also, in nine home games this year, Collins has scored seven touchdowns while averaging 100.7 yards per game.

Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

DeMeco Ryans has not been a fan of shadowing receivers, though with how Steven Nelson is banged up, it might be best for Ryans and the Houston defense to have Derek Stingley shadow Cooper. If we get any inkling that that will happen, I may knock Cooper down a bit, but if Houston doesn’t commit to doing it, it’s wheels up for Cooper in this matchup. Remember, a few weeks ago, in Houston, Cooper caught 11 of 15 targets for 265 yards and two touchdowns. After a week of rest, Cooper should be healthy and good to go against a Texans defense that has allowed the 10th-most receiving yards to wideouts over the final four weeks of the season.

Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

Rice practiced in full on Tuesday, so as long as there are no setbacks during the week, he should be a full go in the Wild Card round for Kansas City. Over the last four weeks of the regular season, Miami allowed the seventh-most receiving yards and seventh-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, and Rice moves all around the offensive formation. He’ll see some Jalen Ramsey when lined up out wide, but the slot snaps against Kader Kohou and Co. will be very valuable. Over the final four weeks of the season, Kohou allowed a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted, which consisted of seven targets (1 TD). Rice is the safest of the Kansas City receivers this week, though keep on reading to find the boom-or-bust play if you’re looking to differentiate from the more “chalky” picks.

Robert Woods, Houston Texans

I’m not confident that Noah Brown will play this week again, but Woods was testing out his hip before the game against the Colts, so I think he has a far better chance to play. If that’s the case, Woods will be the WR2 for Houston in this game, and he’ll operate primarily out of the slot. Nico Collins is quite expensive in DFS this week, and rightfully so, making Woods a more affordable option if you need exposure to the Houston Texans.

UPDATE: Brown did get one limited practice in, but his status is still cloudy. Until we get closer to game time, still prefer Woods to Brown.

Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns

Moore wasn’t as productive in the first game against the Texans this year, as he caught just two of four targets for 19 yards. However, I love his matchup out of the slot going up against Desmond King. Over the final four weeks of the season, King has allowed just under 90 percent of his targets (15/17) to be caught, albeit for under nine yards per reception. 

Regardless, the veteran corner has allowed the seventh-most receiving yards in slot coverage during the aforementioned span, per Pro Football Focus, and despite Houston’s struggles last week, I expect the Cleveland passing attack to fare better than the ground attack this week. Moore may not have the highest ceiling, but he’s an affordable option who finds himself in a good matchup.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kansas City Chiefs

Here’s the boom-or-bust receiver to take. Miami is susceptible to the deep ball, especially when the receiver is lined up on the perimeter. MVS lives on the outside, and this Miami defense is battered and bruised to say the least. Again, they are susceptible to the deep ball, and we just need one long touchdown from MVS and we are good as gold! He’s done next to nothing for the better half of the season, but he did find the end zone twice in three postseason games last year with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. He played at least 70 percent of the snaps in Weeks 16 and 17, so he should be out there a lot against Miami. Fingers crossed here and hope for the best because that’s all you can do with MVS in DFS.

Sunday Slate

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

It does not matter how much Lamb costs in DFS this week, you are playing him. The game is in Dallas, the game total is north of 50 points, and Lamb is as good as it gets. He’s scored a touchdown in nine straight games, and over his last six games, here are his per game averages: 12.8 targets, 9.5 receptions, 113.8 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. Lamb is as good as it gets out of the slot, and he draws a very, very friendly matchup against Keisean Nixon out of the slot. There’s nothing more to be said here. Get Lamb into your lineup at all costs.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

Over the last four weeks of the season, the Rams allowed the third-most fantasy points per game to receivers! Now, the Rams have to deal with one of the league’s best, and St. Brown has 100+ in three of his last four games. He’s also scored in four of six and in seven of his last nine! This game is being played in Detroit, and St. Brown is averaging 14.23 yards per reception and 105.7 yards per game at home in 2023. 

If you can’t afford St. Brown but need a Lion in your lineup, Jameson Williams is your guy. He practice all week, and the Rams are susceptible to the deep ball. Well, guess who has enough juice to get behind the secondary with relative ease? Williams is really intriguing.

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

Brian Branch has been a guy I’ve liked to go at in slot coverage over the course of the year, and I think you can definitely look to Cooper Kupp, because in theory, coming off a week of rest, this is the healthiest he should be in quite some time. However, the Lions’ perimeter corners have been shredded down the stretch. Overall, no team has allowed more fantasy points to receivers over the last four weeks than the Lions, and this Los Angeles Rams passing attack is no joke. Nacua is going to decimate this secondary on the perimeter, and his fantastic rookie season continues. He’s very affordable on DraftKings and FanDuel, and I’m calling 7+ receptions and 100+ yards for Nacua in this one.

Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers

This game could see a lot of points. In an ideal scenario, Green Bay can run the ball successfully against Dallas’ defense, control the game, and not let things get out of hand with Dallas scoring left and right. However, this game could be a shootout, and Dallas is elite at home. For the entire 2023 season, Dallas’ Jourdan Lewis allowed the third-most receiving yards in slot coverage, not to mention four touchdowns and a 115.0 passer rating when targeted, per Pro Football Focus. Reed has been a fantasy points machine this year, and in his rookie campaign, he scored 10 touchdowns in 16 games! Reed is very affordable for a WR1 of a team in a game with a 50+ point total.

Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers

We’ll need to see what things look like for Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, but only one of them has to miss for Wicks to see an expanded role. Listen, as good as DaRon Bland has been this year with the interceptions, he is very susceptible to a double-move, or even as simple as losing his receiver because his eyes got lost in the backfield. He allowed 14.4 yards per reception this year, which ranks fourth amongst corners who have been targeted at least 80 times this year, per Pro Football Focus. Keep an eye on the statuses of Doubs and Watson, as Wicks would become a massive no-brainer, plug-and-play receiver if one or both were to miss this game.

UPDATE: Watson is active, but can the Packers afford to keep Wicks off the field? Also, hamstrings are tricky, so while Watson is active, there could still be some questions.

Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills

We need to keep an eye out for the status of Gabe Davis, but even if he plays, that PCL sprain has to limit him in some manner. I really like Shakir to step up as the WR2 for the Bills in this game, and he was great against Miami last week, catching all six targets for 105 yards! He’s always a threat for a big play, and albeit a somewhat small sample, he’s averaging 15.8 yards per reception for his entire career! The Steelers were slightly below average in terms of covering the slot receiver over the final six weeks of the season. Weather in this game is a major concern, however, so hopefully things get better the closer we get to Sunday.

Update: The weather is going to stink here, so that's my biggest issue with him this week. Gabe Davis is out, meaning Shakir is the WR2 for Josh Allen.

Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams

This game has the highest game total on the board, and in the last five games he played with Matthew Stafford, he averaged 6.8 targets per game and scored in four of those games! Robinson has been borderline allergic to the slot this year with the Rams, so he’ll be out wide, helping Puka Nacua terrorize Cameron Sutton and Kindle Vildor, who have surrendered a 129.6 and 135.4 passer rating when targeted respectively. I’m all aboard stacking this game, and Robinson is an affordable way to do that.