Wild Card Weekend comes to a close with a great NFC matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams. Due to wildfires in California, the game will be played in Arizona, but the Rams are still officially the home team after winning the NFC West. If you are looking to close out the first weekend of the playoffs with some more fantasy football action, be sure to get your DFS entries ready for Showdown contests like the NFL Showdown $2.25M Monday Night Millionaire [$1M to 1st] (MIN @ LAR). My favorite two options as Captain’s Pick are Puka Nacua ($15,900 as Captain’s Pick) of the Rams or Aaron Jones Sr. ($12,000 as Captain’s Pick) of the Vikings if you want to go with a more balanced build.
The Rams won five straight before losing a meaningless Week 18 game while their starters rested. They finished the season 10-7 and earned the No. 4 seed and will host the No. 5 seed Vikings, who went 14-3 but finished one game behind the Lions in the NFC North.
Here’s a deeper look at why I like these Captain’s Picks and how I’d fill in the rest of the lineup from top to bottom.
Puka Nacua as a Captain’s Pick
No team in the NFL gave up more fantasy points per game to wide receivers than the Vikings. During the regular season, receivers scored 18 touchdowns in 17 games and averaged over 180 receiving yards per game. The Vikings were one of the the best teams in the NFL against the run, and they’ll focus on shutting down Kyren Williams ($10,400), which will mean even more work going Nacua’s way.
Nacua left Week 1 with a knee injury and didn’t return until Week 8 when he came back on Thursday Night Football and faced the Vikings. He had seven catches for 106 yards and 21.1 fantasy points in that return and established himself as the clear go-to option in the passing game while Cooper Kupp ($9,400) struggled in the closing weeks of the season.
Before resting in Week 18, Nacua had at least seven catches in each of his last four games. Even though the passing offense was sputtering, he stayed very involved and productive. In Week 17, for example, he had 10 catches for 129 yards while Matthew Stafford ($9,000) only completed 17 passes for 189 yards overall.
Nacua scored four touchdowns on the season, including two scores in his monster week against the Bills in Week 14. In that game, he produced a season-high 162 receiving yards and 44.8 fantasy points, showing off his high ceiling. Not only does he have a high ceiling, he also has a very high floor with 17 fantasy points or more in seven of his last eight games.
As the go-to option in a passing game that has to get back on track in a favorable matchup, Nacua is poised for a big game regardless of game script on Monday night.
Aaron Jones Sr. as Captain of a balanced lineup
The Vikings’ starting running back is an alternative Captain’s Pick option that has also been very consistent but allows for a more balanced lineup construction. Jones has scored over 10 fantasy points in seven straight games dating back to Week 12 against the Bears when he racked up 23.9 fantasy points with over 100 rushing yards and one of his seven touchdowns on the season.
Jones has been very involved as a receiver out of the backfield with multiple receptions in seven straight games. He matched his season-high with five catches last week against the Lions, and his role as a pass catcher helps him be lower risk and less touchdown-dependent.
Against the Rams in Week 8, Jones had 58 rushing yards on 19 carries and added 32 more yards on two catches. He’ll hope for an even bigger week this week, and he should get a substantial workload. Late in the season, the Vikings tried to save his legs a bit by working in Cam Akers ($4,400) toward the end of the season, but Jones should have a full workload on Monday, especially with Akers now battling an illness.
Lineup Advice
If you build around Nacua, you’ll have to manage your cap space carefully. You can actually build an interesting Vikings stack to go with him if you think the rest of the Rams’ offense struggles. Sam Darnold ($9,600), Justin Jefferson ($11,000) and Jordan Addison ($7,000) can actually all fit if you go cheap with your other roster spots. You can stack with Nacua and Matthew Stafford ($9,000), but then you’ll have to choose between those top Vikings options.
On the other hand, if you build around Jones, you have an average of over $7,500 for your FLEX spots. That leaves either team in play as stackable options. Whether you go to Stafford-Nacua or Darnold-Jefferson, there is still plenty of salary for strong plays without punting any spots.
Value plays
There are several strong value options in this matchup as well, mostly from the Rams side. The one play from the Vikings under $5,000 who deserves a look is Jalen Nailor ($3,600), who has at least three catches in back-to-back weeks with over 50 yards.
Kickers Will Reichard ($5,000) and Joshua Karty ($4,800) also make sense since the game is indoors and both have been productive. Rams’ rookie Karty struggled earlier in the season but hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 12 and is coming off 17 fantasy points in Week 18 when he went 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts, including two from over 50 yards.
On the other side, Tyler Higbee ($3,000) and Jordan Whittington ($2,800) both have lots of upside. Higbee blew out his knee in last year’s Wild Card game and missed most of this season. He returned in Week 16 with a memorable touchdown against the Jets. He only had two catches in Week 17, but he looked much healthier and ready to contribute with five catches for 46 yards, a touchdown and 15.6 fantasy points. Higbee has much more upside than other options around his price point. Whittington is more boom-or-bust than Higbee, but he flashed his upside last week with three catches for a team-high 86 yards and 12.8 fantasy points. Nacua and Kupp rested, but Whittington showed big-play potential that the Rams could try to tap into this week.
Ronnie Rivers ($2,000) is also expected to step up as the team’s top backup running back with Blake Corum (arm) out for the season. If you are punting a slot, the Vikings’ backup tight end Josh Oliver ($1,600) is another play who has a better chance to be involved than the other players under $2,000.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
