Best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks on DraftKings & FanDuel (January 13)

Each week of the NFL season, NFL DFS gamers must survey the landscape to find potential building blocks, or the core plays that form the foundation of most lineups. The selections are fewer and the decisions carry more pressure, so let’s see what we can find as the best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday picks on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Stokastic provides a variety of tools for all DFS sports that can help you sort through the large NFL featured slate player pool. These were used when coming up with the recommendations in this article and include, and they are far from limited to such offerings as the NFL DFS Top Stacks tool, player projections, the Boom/Bust tool and the Lineup Generator.

All tools are updated for the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates each week. Additionally, multiple tools are also at your disposal for the sub-slates as well as the primetime “island games” which have turned into one of the most popular DFS offerings on DraftKings and FanDuel. If you’re in the market for more DFS tools, Take a look at the Stokastic Discounts and Coupon Code page as well as the Subscription page to see what packages best suit your needs.

NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel

Best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks and Building Blocks: Quarterbacks

Joe Flacco (Browns-Texans) DraftKings ($6,100, 29.1% ownership), FanDuel ($7,800, 21.8% ownership)

It is still so wild that we are looking at Joe Flacco as the top fantasy field general on Saturday. On Tuesday he will be celebrating his 39th birthday and there is a chance he could still be in the playoff hunt. Flacco has returned from irrelevance to the likely second-place finisher in the Comeback Player of the Year voting in less than two months. This game is indoors and we have seen the team count on Flacco to move the offense, getting 42 or more pass attempts in three of his five games, with four games of 300-plus yards and 13 passing touchdowns in total. Houston has the 23rd-ranked passing DVOA and while Cleveland may not win the game, Flacco should be able to keep the fantasy goodness rolling.

Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs-Dolphins): While this has been an unexpectedly rough season, this is still a two time NFL and Super Bowl MVP quarterback. Oh and lest we forget, Kansas City is the reigning Super Bowl champion. Of course a historically cold game, one where hypothermia and frostbite are very real concerns for the players and fans, well that is what lands Mahomes as the third-best option on this two-game slate. He does not have a secondary pass catcher and longtime stud Travis Kelce has looked like a mortal, with rookie Rashee Rice taking on the lead mantle. It doesn’t help to have Jerick McKinnon out either, but there is still a chance Mahomes can make magic with anyone who finds even a sliver of an opening against this dilapidated Miami secondary.

Tua Tagovialoa (Dolphins-Chiefs): If this game were in Miami, DFS gamers would feel a lot better about going to these quarterbacks on the full-slate. For the Saturday Night Football showdown, everyone is facing the same conditions, but we are looking at a 65-70 degree difference between the outdoor game in Arrowhead Stadium and NRG Stadium, which was the first NFL venue to have a retractable roof. Only once in his last nine games has Tagovialoa topped 20 fantasy points and with both of his best receivers and top running back limited in practice, he could be operating a short-handed offense once more.

Best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks and Building Blocks: Running Backs

Isiah Pacheco (Chiefs-Dolphins): DraftKings ($6,400, 58.6% ownership), FanDuel ($8,000, 49.1% ownership)

In two of his last three healthy games, Isiah Pacheco has rushed 18 times for 110 and 130 yards. He also has four rushing scores and one touchdown catch in his last four games. He should see 15 carries as a floor and in his last four games he has averaged five targets, bringing in all but two for a total of 82 yards. Miami has struggled against the run with the 18th rushing DVOA, though from an actual volume perspective. Since Pacheco put up 66 yards on 16 carries against the Dolphins in Week 8, they have allowed only Brian Robinson Jr. (7/53/0) and Gus Edwards (16/68/1) to top 50 yards.

The brutal weather and Jerick McKinnon being on the injured reserve should help Pacheco. Clyde Edwards-Helaire likely will see half a dozen touches, but it would take some serious misfortune for Pacheco before he cedes the lead role.

1. Devin Singletary (Texans-Browns): Cleveland has one of the best defenses in the league, but Singletary has the coveted “bell cow” designation with 19 or more touches in three of his last four games, including games of 25 and 30 opportunities. In four of his last five games, he has three or more targets so he is far from a one-trick pony.
2. Jerome Ford (Browns-Texans): There is no way Cleveland fans could have envisioned making the playoffs, with Ford over Nick Chubb and Joe “The Ancient One” Flacco coming off the couch waiver wire to lead the team into the postseason. Ford does not rack up a lot of yardage on his touches, but in full-PPR he is a decent bet for double-digit fantasy points, even if he does not reach the end zone. Over the last six games, he has one rushing and three receiving touchdowns.
3. De’Von Achane/Raheem Mostert (Dolphins-Chiefs): The rookie had a rushing score last week and in the preceding game he caught one as he was forced to carry the load with Mostert sidelined. Achane (toe/ribs) was a full go on Thursday, but Mostert (knee/ankle) was only a limited participant in practice. If Mostert is in, he curbs the median baseline for Achane, if he is out, then veteran Jeff Wilson Jr. would land above the secondary options from the other teams, but below Mostert.
4. Edwards-Helaire: Likely will get a couple wasted carries between the 20s and perhaps a target or two, but it is hard to see him being a meaningful contributor for DFS purposes.
5. Kareem Hunt: Three touchdowns in his last five games, still did not break out of single-digit fantasy purgatory on FanDuel, with his last game over 10 points coming back in Week 8.
6. Dameon Pierce: Did not see a single touch last weekend and he has 16 carries and four targets in the prior four games. Yikes!

Best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks and Building Blocks: Wide Receivers

Quick thoughts, considering the injury and weather variables:

• Amari Cooper has an experienced, albeit horseshoe-carrying quarterback. But after breaking the Cleveland single-game receiving record with 265 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16, it is safe to say as long as he does not have any setbacks with his heel injury, he is Saturday’s top option.
• Tyreek Hill: Assuming he is healthy, even in the frigid weather, Hill can still score from anywhere on the field in his old stomping grounds.
• Nico Collins: Would not fight anyone if they moved this breakout candidate above the other two players on this list when slightly overweighting weather and injuries.
• Rashee Rice: If this game were in Miami, Rice would be second, behind Hill in a revised pecking order.
• Jaylen Waddle: Limited practice participant, who has missed the last two weeks with a high ankle sprain. We need more information, but may not have it at lock for the Saturday slate.
• Elijah Moore: Somehow cleared the concussion protocol after Week 17 and saw six snaps last week. Cedric Tillman has been ruled out with a bruised brain.
• Noah Brown and Robert Woods: Both missed early week practice and were limited on Friday. We need more information Saturday morning from the Texans.
• David Bell: Do expect to see him on the field Saturday afternoon, do not expect a reprisal of his Week 18 fantasy heroics.
• Cedric Wilson Jr. and Braxton Berrios: Will play, but will play more if Waddle remains out.

Best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks and Building Blocks: Tight Ends

There are three standout options with David Njoku getting the lead honors having notched 10 double-digit fantasy point performances in his last 11 games, under full-PPR scoring. This includes 20-plus fantasy points in three of his last four. Dalton Schultz is next, with a significant savings to Travis Kelce on both DraftKings and FanDuel, plus he gets to play in doors, instead of an ice box.

Premium Members can check out all the other tight end options here.

Best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday Picks and Building Blocks: Defense/Special Teams

This should be a fun one as the choices are defenses from a low-scoring game, from teams who are not against running the ball. Or defenses from a low scoring game, but with typically high flying aerial potential – with the added variable of playing in zero degree weather.

1. Cleveland Browns: Get a rookie making his first postseason start, against this squad ranking 5th in rushing and 2nd in passing DVOA. Stroud has exceeded all expectations, but he should be good for a couple of sacks and probably a turnover. To his credit he has not thrown a pick in the last five games and he leads the league with a miniscule 1% interception rate.
2. Houston Texans: Stellar 15 sacks in the last four games, but just one last week in Indianapolis and one against Cleveland in Week 16. Flacco has taken just eight sacks in his five starts, but also eight interceptions.
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Held Miami to just 14 points in Arrowhead Stadium back in Week 9. Since then Tagovailoa has just three mutli-touchdown performances and three-plus combined sacks and turnovers in four of eight games and five games of below 250 aerial yards.
4. Miami Dolphins: The secondary is in trouble with cornerback Xavien Howard out and safeties DeShone Elliott (calf) and Jevon Holland (knees), questionable and DNPs all week. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was a limited participant in practice, but he is not as dominant as he once was, even when healthy. Mahomes 2.3% interception and 4.3% sack rates are still good, but they are the worst of his career as is his 4.5% touchdown rate.

As you get your best NFL DFS Wild Card Saturday picks and lineups prepped on DraftKings and FanDuel, Stokastic can help. We have more free DFS content on the NFL DFS homepage, premium DFS software including NFL Sims and the Lineup Generator, and the best live shows and videos from your favorite analysts on our YouTube channel.

You can also talk NFL DFS picks and strategy with the team and the rest of our sharp community on the Stokastic Discord!