In what feels like a blink of an eye, the NFL regular season has passed, and it’s time for some playoff football! The 2024-2025 NFL playoffs feature some interesting matchups, and I’ll be glued to the television (and my couch) watching the NFL games this weekend. 

Of course, to go along with that, we’ll have some NFL DFS Wild Card Round lineups built and ready to win! Per usual, I have you covered at the wide receiver spot, as I’ll be highlighting my favorite wide receivers for your Wild Card Round NFL DFS lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings! 

 

 

 

From the top priced receivers to the value wide receivers, and everything in between, we got your Wild Card Round daily fantasy football lineups covered! Take these insights and numbers and check out some NFL player props for the NFL playoffs this weekend as well, as some of the insights in this article can help uncover some advantageous lines for you to exploit.

Lastly, be sure to check back through the week leading up to Sunday, as we’ll make updates to the NFL DFS WR Coach based on injury reports, practice statuses, and more!

Without further ado, let’s jump into the NFL DFS Wild Card Round WR Coach for FanDuel and DraftKings, here exclusively at Fantasy Alarm!

NFL DFS Wild Card Round WR Coach For Fanduel & DraftKings Fantasy

The regular season is in the rearview mirror and we are full steam ahead into the NFL playoffs! While some matchups may seem a bit boring at first glance, we also have some really fun games from a fantasy perspective. As I mentioned above, be sure to check back as the week goes on, because there are some guys that could be added later on in the week depending on practice availability (looking at you Philadelphia and Washington). 

Of course, we could have a Mike Evans vs. Marshon Lattimore showdown, assuming Lattimore is actually able to play, but that’s one of the practice reports we’ll be watching. My favorite play of the week comes in the Monday Night game, and coincidentally, my fade of the week also comes from that game!

Guys like Evans, Terry McLaurin and the Eagles’ pass catchers are on my radar as we continue to dive into the slate and see what practice availability looks like.

Alas, keep on reading for some insights as to the particular receivers I like this week at all different price tiers!

 

 

 

NFL Wild Card Round Wide Receivers

Once we started getting an idea of the playoff picture, there were a few trends that I was ready to exploit on Wild Card weekend, with the main ones being: Slot WRs against Houston, perimeter receivers against Buffalo, WRs who can beat Baltimore’s man coverage, and hoping for a good offensive team to draw Minnesota.

Other quick notes on the slate:

  • WAS-TB is the only game with a total of at least 50 points, and LAC-HOU is the lowest projected total at 42.5
  • DEN-BUF has a total of 47 with Buffalo as touchdown-plus favorites, but as you’ll read in the article, I think this could be the highest scoring game the whole weekend.
  • We will be watching the Philadelphia injury report like a hawk (eagle?)!

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Top Tier Picks For Wild Card Round

Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $6,800 | FanDuel: $7,500

McConkey is going to have the best matchup on the field for the Chargers in this game. Derek Stingley has barely gone into the slot all year long, and Houston tried Kamari Lassiter in the slot briefly, but it seems like they are content to leave Stingley and Lassiter on the perimeter. 

That bodes well for McConkey’s outlook, because that means out of the slot, McConkey could see Myles Bryant, Eric Murray, maybe Jeff Okudah, or some less than stellar CB/S in coverage. Despite being a rookie, McConkey was one of the most productive slot receivers all season long, and against man coverage, he racked up a 26.8 percent target share, 2.98 yards per route run, and 0.61 fantasy points per route run, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite. 

Quentin Johnson will see the strength of the Houston secondary on the outside, while McConkey gets to attack the weaker area.

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings - DraftKings: $8,100 | FanDuel: $9,200

When these two teams met in Week 8, it was the Justin Jefferson show, as he caught eight of nine targets, and was responsible for 115 of Sam Darnold’s 240 yards on the day. Jefferson gets a good matchup against Ahkello Witherspoon, and teams have gone after him in recent weeks. 

Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Witherspoon is tied for the second-most targets in coverage over the final four weeks of the season, and only three corners allowed more yards than him in that span! Jordan Addison will be highly involved as well, as he’s been very productive against Cover 3 the last couple of weeks, and the Rams love that coverage scheme.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans - DraftKings: $7,800 | FanDuel: $8,600

The quarterback is obviously the most important piece of any offense, but you can make a strong argument that Nico Collins is nearly as important to this Houston offense as C.J. Stroud is. 

When in doubt, throw it to Nico, and the other receivers on this team for this game are Diontae Johnson, who literally just got there within the last two weeks, Dalton Schultz, the underwhelming and “whatever the opposite of dynamic is” tight end, and the 82-year-old Robert Woods. 

Collins is going to get fed the rock early and often, and things set up nicely for Collins, as he’s posted a 22.6 percent target share and 3.45 yards per route run against Cover 3 and Cover 4, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite, two looks the Chargers have run nearly half of the time over the last six weeks. If Houston wins this game, it’s because the Stroud-to-Collins connection couldn’t be slowed down, and there’s no question that given the current state of the Houston passing attack, Collins is the only one Stroud vehemently trusts.

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Wild Card Round

George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $6,300 | FanDuel: $6,900

Did Pickens suck in Week 18? Yes. Did you and I have as many catches as him in Week 18? Yes. However, he’s the best option the Steelers have against man coverage, and Russell Wilson has no choice but to continue going back to Pickens. 

Pickens has posted 2.94 yards per route run and 18.6 yards per reception against man coverage this season, per PFF, and he should see a good bit of Brandon Stephens in this game, PFF’s 95th ranked corner (out of 116). Pickens caught eight of 12 targets for 89 yards against Baltimore back in Week 11, and he’ll need to produce again if Pittsburgh has any shot in this game.

Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills - DraftKings: $5,300 | FanDuel: $6,100

Typically, we like Shakir against defenses that play a ton of zone coverage, as he’s been more productive against zone than man. However, the matchup out of the slot against Ja’Quan McMillian is too good to ignore. 

Not only did McMillian allow the 6th-most yards and tied for the third most receptions in slot coverage over the last four weeks of the season, per PFF, but the Denver defense as a whole ranked in the bottom 10 of the NFL in yards per game and yards per target over expectation to the slot over the last six weeks, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite.

While the production of late has been modest, Shakir has at least six targets in 10 straight games, and he won’t see much of Pat Surtain in this game that should feature a lot of points. I wouldn’t be overly surprised if this was the highest scoring game of Wild Card Weekend.

Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos - DraftKings: $6,600 | FanDuel: $7,100

I mentioned it with Shakir, but it wouldn’t shock me if this was the highest scoring game on Wild Card Weekend, and if that’s the case, Sutton will be instrumental to Denver’s success through the air. Buffalo struggled down the stretch with perimeter receivers, and Sutton is an alpha on the outside.

Furthermore, from Week 10 on, Sutton has been an animal against Cover 3 schemes – which Buffalo loves to deploy – to the tune of a 69 percent air yards share, 25.3 percent target share, 2.33 yards per route run, and 35.3 percent first read rate, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite. Those are GAUDY numbers! I love the matchup for him in this game, and ownership might be a bit lower on Sutton as everyone might chase the recent emergence of Marvin Mims. Speaking of…

ADDED: DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $5,700 | FanDuel: $7,400

With Jalen Hurts good to go and Smith off the injury report himself, I'm loving the matchup for Smith in this one. Green Bay played zone coverage at the highest clip in the NFL over the last six weeks of the season, and per PFF, Smith caught 85.7 percent of his targets against zone coverage with 2.21 yards per route run. Against both Cover 2 and over 3 this season, Smith had the same fantasy points per route run (0.42) as teammate A.J. Brown, and his numbers in terms of target share and first read rate were right on par with Brown, per Fantasy Points' Data Suite. I like the outlook for Philly through the air in this one, and Smith is incredibly affordable over on DraftKings.

 

 

 

NFL Wild Card Round DFS WR Value Picks

Marvin Mims, Denver Broncos - DraftKings: $5,100 | FanDuel: $5,900

We will chase that emergence, too! His role in the offense is growing, and he adds some juice to this Denver pass attack. Over the final seven weeks of the season, he scored six total touchdowns, and had at least four receptions in all but one of those games.

Sure, his 5.3 average depth of target against zone coverage over the final six weeks isn’t exactly overwhelming, he turned that low aDOT into 16.7 yards per reception, 3.54 yards per route run, and a 91.7 percent reception percentage (probably the least surprising number), per PFF. Denver is going to need to keep up with Buffalo’s high-octane offense, and Mims is electric with the ball in his hands.

He’s fourth in the NFL over the final six weeks of the season on designed reads (think screens), per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite, and they’ll continue to look to get him the ball this way, especially when you see that Buffalo has allowed the second-most yards and eighth-highest first down per route run (0.161) on screen passes in 2024.

Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,400

The unfortunate injury to Christian Watson opens the door for Wicks to play in a more regular role for Green Bay the rest of the way. He’s played in seven games this year where he’s handled at least 60 percent of the offensive snaps, and in all seven games he’s received at least five targets.

Philadelphia boasts some strong corners, so it’s not the easiest matchup, but of the teams’ healthy WRs, Wicks has been the most productive against Philly’s most played schemes (Cover 4 and Cover 6). Over the last five games of the season (sans Week 18), Wicks posted 4.00 yards per route run and a 29.4 percent target share against Cover 4 and Cover 6, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite.

From Weeks 12-17, against zone coverage in general, he was second on the team in receptions and yards, trailing only tight end Tucker Kraft.

Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Bucs - DraftKings: $5,200 | FanDuel: $6,400

If Marshon Lattimore is able to go, one would assume he’d line up against Mike Evans, paving the way for McMillan to see the likes of Mike Sainristil, and maybe some Benjamin St-Juste as well. McMillan continues to produce, and he’s scored in five straight games.

He has seven total touchdowns during this impressive run, not to mention 3.64 yards per route run and a 121.5 passer rating when targeted versus man coverage, per PFF. For the record, Washington played man coverage at the fourth-highest clip over the final six weeks of the season, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $6,000

UPDATE: Flowers is going to miss this contest, so we are firing up Bateman with confidence!

If Zay Flowers is good to go, we’ll be adding him in here, but don’t sleep on Rashod Bateman in this matchup. Sure, he only had one catch a few weeks back against Pittsburgh, but that reception did go for a touchdown!

Pittsburgh is playing a ton of man coverage of late, but they have been shredded on the perimeter, ranking inside the bottom-10 in the NFL in yards per route run and yards per target over expectation on the outside over the last six weeks of the season, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite.

He’ll see Joey Porter and Donte Jackson for most of the afternoon, and over the final four weeks of the season, these two allowed a 107.7 and 158.3 passer rating when targeted respectively, per PFF.

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Fades For Wild Card Round

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams - DraftKings: $6,400 | FanDuel: $7,000

You’ll read a bit more about why I prefer Puka Nacua to Kupp below, but ultimately, the numbers between the two can’t be questioned. Whether it’s age or health, Kupp just isn’t as spry as he once was, and the torch has been passed over to Puka Nacua as THE pass catcher in this offense. 

Kupp has been held to 30 or fewer receiving yards in four of his last five games of the season, and since Nacua returned from injury in Week 8, Kupp is averaging just 4.9 receptions and 56.3 yards per game. Minnesota’s defensive scheme favors Nacua more than Kupp, so if paying up for one of the Rams receivers, Nacua is the play, not Kupp.

 

 

 

NFL Wild Card Round WR Play Of The Week

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams - DraftKings: $7,600 | FanDuel: $8,700

Cooper Kupp is awesome, and is a Rams legend, but the torch has been passed. Puka is THE guy in the passing attack now. Furthermore, against man coverage, Kupp’s numbers pale in comparison to Nacua’s. From Weeks 13-17 against man coverage, look at the disparity between the two:

  • Nacua: 45.9% target share, 4.09 Y/RR, 50 percent first read rate, 0.95 FP/RR
  • Kupp: 18.9% target share, 1.86 Y/RR, 18.8% first read rate, 0.32 FP/RR

Nacua had 106 yards on seven receptions back in Week 8 against the Vikings, which was his first game back from injury, and Minnesota is vulnerable to receivers on the perimeter.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Wild Card WR Projections

Check out the NFL DFS Wild Card Round projections table below to help build your NFL DFS Wild Card Round lineups. 

Be sure to also check out not just the DFS WR Coach, but the rest of our NFL DFS Coaches, Watch List and NFL DFS Playbook as you build those winning daily fantasy football lineups for the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs.