The Fantasy Football Report for the Divisional Round

We’re heading into the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, and eight teams remain standing. While fantasy football isn’t quite the same during the playoffs as it is in the regular season, there’s still plenty of opportunity to play in DFS contests and one-and-done leagues. Regardless of which format you’re in, we have you covered here at FTN.

Like we do every week in the Report, we’re breaking down every game from all fantasy angles below.

Cincinnati @ Tennessee Getting the first-round bye allowed the Titans to give Derrick Henry an extra week of rest, setting up his return for this contest. As of this writing, he has yet to be officially activated from injured reserve, but that seems to be a forgone conclusion. Henry figures to slide right back into his massive workload and gets a plus matchup in the process. Cincinnati allowed 4.33 yards per carry to opposing backs in the regular season and will have their hands full with Henry. If you don’t think Tennessee makes the Super Bowl, it’s a great week to use Henry in one-and-dones.

We also have a workhorse on the other side of this one with Joe Mixon averaging 20.9 touches per game in the regular season. Mixon was right at that average last week with 21 touches against the Raiders. Though not effective on the ground, he did post four catches on five targets. Over his last three, Mixon has a healthy 17 catches. Unfortunately, he runs into a bear of a matchup here. Tennessee was the league’s stingiest defense for opposing running backs with backfields averaging just 3.78 yards per carry against the Titans. While the efficiency may not be there for Mixon in this one, his heavy projected volume keeps him in play for fantasy purposes.

PrizePicks Play : Joe Mixon over 16.5 receiving yards

San Francisco @ Green Bay With six straight games of 20-plus carries, Elijah Mitchell is in the driver’s seat for another big workload. The rookie was a key part of San Francisco’s Wild Card win over the Cowboys with 27 carries for 96 yards and a score. Green Bay finished the regular season as the fifth-worst fantasy matchup for running backs, but the Packers did allow a healthy 4.32 yards per carry to the position. Mitchell is appealing in one-and-done formats if you think the Packers can hold serve at home.

Unlike the 49ers, the Packers have leaned heavily on a time share in their backfield with both Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon splitting the load. The duo inched closer to a50-50 split in the regular season with Jones averaging 14.9 touches per game and Dillon finishing at 13. Expect a similar distribution this weekend, which puts a cap on both of their fantasy ceilings.

PrizePicks Play : AJ Dillon over 38.5 rushing yards

LA Rams @ Tampa Bay Remarkable. Cam Akers getting back on the field is impressive enough on his own, but for him to play as well as he did last week is truly amazing. He’s going to pose a problem for this Tampa defense. The Bucs are stout up the middle with Vita Vea cemented as one of the league’s best interior linemen. As such, they match up extremely well against Sony Michel , who is more of a traditional between-the-tackles runner. However, Akers’ burst and dynamic ability will create problems for this unit. Akers is very interesting in one-and-done, especially if you don’t think the Rams advance.

Like the Titans, the Bucs are set to get their workhorse back with Leonard Fournette set to return. A season ago, Fournette nearly left the Bucs in the middle the season, but he went on to be a pivotal part of their playoff run. Expect it to be business as usual with Fournette dominating the touches. While the Rams defense might instill fear as a matchup, they’re actually mid-pack for running backs this year. Tampa was much tougher on quarterbacks where they allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to the position. The other thing to watch out for on the Tampa side is Mike Evans ’ matchup. With the Bucs extremely short-handed at wideout, Evans is all but guaranteed to see a shadow from Jalen Ramsey . That puts a major damper on his outlook.

PrizePicks Play : Odell Beckham over 42.5 receiving yards

Buffalo @ Kansas City For fantasy football purposes, this one is our Super Bowl. We have two of the league’s most explosive offenses squaring off and the fantasy points should come in bunches. On the Kansas City side, we saw Jerick McKinnon surprise everyone with a massive performance in the Wild Card Round. Shout out to the “RBs don’t matter” crowd. Of course, that was without Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the lineup. Edwards-Helaire should be back this week, which puts us in a very murky spot for fantasy purposes. It’s best to avoid this backfield in your one-and-dones, especially if you think Kansas City advances.

As for Buffalo, Josh Allen was extremely effective in the Wild Card Round. While the overall season numbers paint this as a favorable matchup for Allen, it’s important to keep in mind how well the Chiefs’ secondary played down the stretch. This one actually shapes up much better for Devin Singletary . The Bills have fed Singletary at least 17 touches in each of his last five games with 20-plus touches in three of those contests. The Chiefs run defense has been porous in 2021 with opposing backfields racking up a hefty 4.65 yards per carry on Kansas City

PrizePicks Play : Patrick Mahomes over 271.5 passing yards

The Fantasy Football Report for the Divisional Round

Cincinnati @ Tennessee

This feature is only available to FTN Fantasy Premium Members Only

Rankings