DFS NFL Playoffs Round 3 Pivot Plays 2017

By Armando Marsal
Armando Marsal The NFL playoffs have begun and while season-long leagues are now behind us for the most part, DFS is still going. If you have read my Pivot Plays series all year long, first of all thank you, and secondly you will notice this week’s edition being a little different. Being that there are only two games, ownership tends to be a bit tricky this week and there can be multiple chalky players at each position. That said, there are still players who tend to go overlooked on these short slates and while they will not be sub 10 percent owned in most cases, they will have a lower ownership than they should be on a slate like this. These are the players I will be focusing on in this article and while they may come with risk, they also provide you with a chance to move up the rankings at a much quicker pace if they produce quality numbers. Let’s jump right into it and go over some pivot plays for this week.

Quarterback


Nick Foles $4,800 vs. Minnesota Vikings


There are only four quarterbacks to choose from this week and ownership should be spread out behind Tom Brady who I anticipate to be the highest owned. That said, Foles could be the one that receives the least amount of love and although this is far from great as the Vikings, his low price tag allows room for error. Despite not doing much last week, Foles did attempt 30 passes and completed 76.7 percent of them. He has not thrown a touchdown in either of his last two games and has scored fewer than 10 fantasy points in each of his last three games, so there is definitely a low floor here, but if you are trying to differentiate at the quarterback position, Foles would likely draw the least ownership of all quarterbacks this week. With that said, I will likely find other positions to differentiate in.

Running Backs


Jerick McKinnon $5,100 at Philadelphia Eagles


McKinnon was targeted four times last week and has displayed the ability to catch passes out of the backfield which is something that the Vikings running backs may need to do on Sunday against a stout Eagles run defense. Philadelphia allowed the second fewest fantasy points per game to running backs during the regular season, while yielding the fewest rushing yards to the positon. However, they did surrender 91 receptions for 653 yards and five touchdowns. The Vikings are road favorites this week, which also bodes well for McKinnon. I am expecting the running backs in the New England and Jacksonville game to be far more popular than the ones in this game, which is why I could see McKinnon being less owned than he should be on a slate like the one at hand, making him a nice pivot play at his position.

Wide Receivers


Alshon Jeffery $4,600 vs. Minnesota Vikings


Jeffery caught 4-of-5 targets for 61 yards last week in a tough matchup and draws another one this week. While those type of numbers are not eye-popping, this price tag is very appealing. It is just too cheap for a receiver of Jeffery’s caliber and one that should see a decent amount of targets this week. The Vikings were one of the best run defenses in the league and are also road favorites here, so the Eagles could elect to pass a bit more than they may want to which can create some extra target opportunities. Jeffery may not have the ceiling he did when Carson Wentz was under center, but he still possesses enough upside to blow this price tag out of the water on a good day. In tournaments, I would not mind taking a shot on him considering his potential low ownership.

Tight Ends


Kyle Rudolph $4,500 at Philadelphia Eagles


After Rob Gronkowski, most of the remaining ownership will likely be spread between Zach Ertz and Rudolph. Of the two, I will take the discount and roll with Rudolph who was targeted eight times last week. This is far from an elite matchup, but the Eagles did give up nearly five receptions per game to tight ends, with a 66 percent catch rate and five touchdowns. Prior to weeks 16 and 17, Rudolph scored five touchdowns in four games, so there is certainly nice upside here at a reasonable price. Even if you want to roster Gronkowski, you can differentiate by rostering two tight ends and Rudolph being one of those. He has a solid role on this offense and that should not change this weekend.

Good luck to all this week. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on the Twitter machine: @Armando_Marsal