NFL DFS Wild Card Round D/ST Coach: Rams, Texans

The NFL regular season is in the books, and we turn our attention to the remaining teams as we kick off the Wild Card portion of the NFL playoffs. We’ll have six games across three days, and when you account for the college football playoff semifinals, we’re getting win-or-go-home football for five straight days.

We have 12 teams in action this week, so the player pool is certainly consolidated. But this slate is perfect for NFL DFS contests, and if you monitor your NFL DFS lineups diligently as the slate plays out and make appropriate adjustments, you can gain an edge and dominate the contests on DraftKings and FanDuel. Here is the latest NFL DFS Wild Card Round D/ST Coach!

NFL DFS Wild Card Round D/ST Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

With only 12 teams to choose from this week, it certainly feels like one of those weeks where you pay up or punt this position altogether. Similar to most slates, this is, and always will be, the last piece of the puzzle for your NFL DFS lineups. If you need salary relief on a six-game slate, then you find it at the D/ST position.

For example, if you have the Houston Texans D/ST in your lineup after the Saturday matchups but prior to the Sunday games, you can simply pivot to the Chargers or Panthers to open up salary and upgrade at another position to maybe get exposure to any of the skill position players on Sunday.

There’s really only one game on this slate that projects to be a shootout, and that’s the Bills/Jaguars game. And there’s only one game where the implied game total is below 40 points, and that’s the Monday Night Football game featuring the Texans and Steelers. Fortunately, all six games are outside this week, so no matchup has the edge of playing in a controlled environment. Be flexible and willing to try and adjust your lineups as the weekend plays out. Here are the top defenses and special teams for the NFL DFS Wild Card Round D/ST Coach!

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks for the Wild Card Round

Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $4,900

The Rams are a rare defensive unit that has a good pass rush without even trying. Per Sam Hoppen, they ranked second-to-last in blitz rate (18.2%), but they were top 10 in sack rate (7.1%), and they were top three in both pressure rate (36.8%) and non-blitz pressure rate (37.4%).

Bryce Young had an okay year for the Carolina Panthers. He barely threw for over 3,000 yards, and he finished with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. But aside from two or three big games, he mostly struggled to get to 200 passing yards every week, so he’s probably the worst of the 14 playoff quarterbacks.

The Rams are also looking for some revenge. They didn’t close out the season with great momentum, going 3-3 over their last six games. These two teams played each other in Week 13 in Carolina, and the Panthers got the win. But the Rams are also sizable 10.5-point favorites, giving the Panthers an implied team total of just 18 points.

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Pick for the Wild Card Round

New England Patriots – DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $4,800

The New England Patriots will get some steam simply because everyone is aware of how bad the offensive line is for Los Angeles. They ranked 31^st in pressure rate allowed (37.9%) and dead last in pass block win rate (54%). Justin Herbert sat out the Week 18 finale in Denver, which was definitely a wise decision because in the other 16 games he appeared in, he was sacked 54 times and pressured much more. And because of the increased pressure, he ended up throwing 13 interceptions on the year.

The Patriots might be the best matchup for this Chargers offense. New England doesn’t have the best pass rush of the 14 playoff teams, and they were pretty thin at linebacker entering the playoffs. But I still can’t get past how badly this offensive line looked, that maybe even a defense like the Patriots will be able to give this group fits with this game in Foxborough. If they have Harold Landry and Robert Spillane (both limited in practice on Wednesday) available for this matchup, then I feel better about this D/ST for our NFL DFS lineups.

NFL Wild Card Round DFS D/ST Value Picks

Los Angeles Chargers – DraftKings: $2,200 | FanDuel: $3,400

In six games since L.A.’s Bye week, this defense is allowing just 16 points per game and 283.6 yards per game with 16 sacks and 11 defensive takeaways. This matchup isn’t great, but it’s not like the Bolts are at a complete disadvantage.

This game is on Sunday, and it’s a lot of travel for Los Angeles. However, this one is on Sunday Night Football, so the whole “body clock” narrative won’t play a huge role. And while Drake Maye led all quarterbacks in EPA/Play (0.31), success rate (55.1%), and completion percentage over expected (10.8%), according to Sam Hoppen, the offensive line needs some work in the offseason because Drake Maye was sacked 47 times this year.

It’s not ideal that the Patriots have an implied team total of 25 points, but the Chargers are severely cheap, and this is a punt if you absolutely need it. And if you absolutely need to play the Panthers D/ST in a build where they’re the only group you can afford, then press your luck and hope for six to eight fantasy points!

NFL DFS D/ST Fade for the Wild Card Round

Buffalo Bills – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $3,800

The Buffalo Bills have to go on the road for Sunday’s game. Despite being slight favorites (-1.5), you can’t feel great about utilizing this D/ST for NFL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel this weekend. The Jacksonville Jaguars have a legitimate chance to win, and they have an implied team total of 25 points, and the game's implied total is the highest on the slate.

On the season, the Jaguars are averaging 27.9 points per game, and that inflates to 32.7 points per game over their last three games. Plus, the Bills had a bottom-five run defense in the NFL, so Jacksonville can just hammer it on the ground with Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten.

The Bills are tough to throw on, but they’re prone to getting caught up in shootouts, as five offenses have put up 30+ points on this defense. As the fourth-most expensive D/ST on DraftKings, it’s tough to play this group when there are cheaper options with higher upside.

NFL DFS Wild Card Round D/ST Play of the Week

Houston Texans – DraftKings: $3,300 | FanDuel: $4,600

The Texans are no strangers to being the NFL DFS D/ST Play of the Week. And that holds true as we kick off the playoffs with six total games this weekend. This matchup on Monday Night Football features the lowest implied total of all six games, and the Texans are favored by a field goal.

We’re going to hear all about the Steelers' record at home on Monday Night Football, but perhaps simply making the playoffs this year by winning the AFC North will be as good as it gets for Pittsburgh. They’re going up against a buzzsaw in the Houston Texans for the NFL DFS Wild Card Round D/ST Coach.

The Texans just have a very frustrating defense. They’re the ultimate disruptors, the pass rush is very active, they can stop the run, and they force multiple turnovers. Aaron Rodgers ranks last among the playoff starting quarterbacks in average depth of target (6.1), and he’s bottom eight in success rate (43.2%) and completion percentage over expected (0.0%). The Texans probably should have been a little more expensive on DraftKings, but they’re easy to fit into builds for this week’s contests.