The final week of the NFL season has arrived and on the menu for Saturday is two crucial matchups. First, the Buccaneers are hosting the Panthers. If the Panthers win this matchup, they are the NFC South champions and will make the playoffs. If the Buccaneers win, they will also need the Saints to defeat the Falcons on Sunday to earn a playoff berth. For the second matchup on Saturday, the 49ers are hosting the Seahawks and the winner of this matchup will be the No. 1 seed in the NFC and earn a first-round bye for the playoffs.
DraftKings is offering some huge DFS contests for Saturday’s NFL action and below are three of my favorite targets for this two-game slate.
TE, George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks, $6,000
Kittle missed last week’s win over the Bears with a sprained ankle, but he is back at practice this week and expected to play in Saturday’s pivotal matchup vs. the Seahawks. Despite spraining his ankle vs. the Colts two weeks ago and logging only 62% of the snaps, Kittle went off for 27.5 FPTS in that contest. Brock Purdy and Kittle hooked up often in that tilt and Kittle has benefited greatly with Purdy healthy again.
In the six games Kittle has played with Purdy at quarterback this season, Kittle is amassing 18.7 FPTS per game and an elite 0.37 FPTS per snap. In these contests together, Purdy is targeting Kittle on 27% of his routes and the tight end is averaging a stellar 2.93 yards per route run. For comparison, with Purdy inactive this season, Kittle is seeing a target on 17% of his routes and he is averaging 1.41 yards per route run.
As you can see, Purdy being under center is a huge deal for Kittle and this is a strong matchup for him, as the Seahawks’ main weakness on defense is stopping tight ends. Seattle is giving up the fifth-most catches (100) and fifth-most yards to the position this season (1,051), and Kittle shouldn’t disappoint in this spot.
RB, Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks, $8,800
McCaffrey is a must-play for this two-game slate. After only playing in four games last season, McCaffrey has yet to miss a game this season and he has reminded everyone that he is one of the greatest fantasy football assets of the last decade, leading the NFL with 26.1 FPTS per game. In his 16 games this season, McCaffrey has scored over 20 FPTS 12 times and he has topped 30 FPTS five times.
McCaffrey’s role is incredible, with him averaging 18.9 carries per game and leading the league with 70 red-zone carries. In the passing game, he is handling a 23.3% target share and he has seen 24 red-zone targets, both of which are easily high marks at the running back position.
The Seahawks are giving up the fewest yards per rush this season (3.7), but they are allowing the most receptions (90) and sixth-most receiving yards to running backs (601). McCaffrey scored 23.2 FPTS vs. Seattle in Week 1 and he has a strong chance to outdo himself with an even larger output with so much at stake Saturday.
WR, Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $5,800
McMillan only caught one of his four targets last week vs. the Seahawks (1.5 FPTS), but the rookie should get back on track in a big way vs. the Buccaneers. Panthers head coach Dave Canales expressed to the media following that loss to Seattle that he needs to get McMillan the ball more and just two weeks ago when Carolina faced Tampa Bay, the receiver caught six of his 10 targets for 73 yards and a touchdown (17.3 FPTS), which is the fifth time this season he has scored 15+ FPTS.
McMillan is leading the Panthers with a 25.8% target share this season, including 20 targets over 20 yards and 14 red-zone targets, and this Buccaneers defense he is facing is giving up the sixth-most yards per pass this season (7.1).
McMillan seeing double-digit targets in this playoff-like environment is likely and he is the best receiver value on the slate at this sub-$6,000 salary.
