The first time the Los Angeles Rams faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this season, Saquon Barkley had a historic day to help his team cruise to a 37-20 victory â which gives this matchup all kinds of DFS intrigue entering this weekend.
Here is a closer look at the top 5 DFS options for the Rams-Eagles Divisional Round matchup this weekend.
1. Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkleyâs previous run-in with the Rams defense led to historic fantasy results when 255 of his 2,005 rushing yards on the year came against a Los Angeles defense that simply had no answers for the Penn State product.
What is often overlooked from that career defining performance is Barkleyâs additional 47 receiving yards on four receptions, which saw him finish with 302 total yards and two scores on the night.
This rematch is sure to make Barkley a very popular pick amongst DFS enthusiasts, which could limit his fantasy upside in your lineup. Yet, I am not going to advise going a contrarian route by leaving him out of your lineup simply due to his excellence in that game⦠and the entire season.
Barkley even managed to top 100 yards rushing in his postseason debut with the Eagles, which means he has topped the century mark on the ground in 12 of his 17 games in a Philadelphia uniform.
Enter Barkley into your DFS lineup with full confidence this weekend.
2. Jalen Hurts
When your running back goes for 200+ yards and multiple scores on the ground, it becomes pretty easy to understand why Jalen Hurts numbers werenât astronomical the first time these two teams met.
Hurts had an efficient day at the office against the Rams back in November with 179 passing yards and a score with an additional 39 yards on the ground, but the dominance of Barkley simply turned Hurts into more of a game manager in this contest.
Hurts was solid in his return to the lineup against the Packers on Sunday after missing the previous two games with a concussion, but his modest stat line of 167 total yards and two passing scores was a result of the Green Bay offense getting off to a terrible start and protecting a lead while leaning on a dominant defense.
Hurts is still a threat to score multiple rushing touchdowns when team gets inside the two yard line on multiple occasions in a contest and faces a Rams defense that gave up an average of 20.2 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season â which was the 8th highest mark in the league.
Hurts is a solid DFS option this weekend and should come at a slightly lower price than some of the other top options on the slate.
3. Puka Nacua
After spending a week getting excited about the fantasy outlook of Puka Nacuaâs upside enering their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, I can confidently say his five receptions for 44 yards and no scores was disappointing.
Matthew Stafford was fully willing to spread the ball around to his ancillary options with the Rams seemingly being in full control of this contest from start to finish â which simply means Nacua was not required to do anything special to push Los Angeles to the Divisional Round.
Well, I expect that to be a very different case against an Eagles squad that dropped 37 points on them back in November â a game where Nacua registered nine receptions for 117 yards against one of the best secondaries in the league.
The fact that the matchup isnât great and Nacua is coming off of a quiet week, makes him a great bounce back candidate for a big game with slightly lower ownership than normal in your DFS lineup.
4. A.J. Brown
Speaking of quiet weeks from stud receivers, A.J. Brownâs disappointing one reception for 10 yards against the Packers last weekend forced him into reading a book called âInner Excellenceâ on the sideline to keep his head right.
Well, whether you think Brownâs decision to read a book on the sideline is bad or not, we can all agree that his fantasy football performance this weekend was objectively bad.
Brown has had some squeaky wheel gets the grease type moments during his tenure with the Eagles. I have to imagine his lack of involvement in the passing game last week could lead to him getting some additional touches early in the game against a secondary he tuned up earlier this year with a stat line of six receptions for 109 yards a score to get him back into the flow of the offense.
Brown is capable of quickly reminding everyone why he is considered one of the elite receivers in the league, which makes him a nice bounce back candidate for this weekendâs slate.
5. Kyren Williams
At this point, we should really stop being surprised when Kyren Williams has a solid fantasy outing.
Williams managed to produce a 18.2 fantasy points against a stingy Minnesota Vikings defense in the Wild Card Round with 92 total yards and a score over 19 touches.
This type of volume is something we have seen from Williams for the entirety of the 2024 campaign, which is evident by the fact he has seen a minimum of 15 total touches in every game this season.
Williams is truly a game script proof back who dominates the ball carrier duties in the running game and contributes in the passing game.
The Philadelphia Eagles defense is incredibly stingy against opposing running backs this year by giving up an average of just 16.7 fantasy points per game â which was the second lowest mark in the league this season. Yet, Williams still managed to produce 72 yards and a score in the blowout loss against the Eagles back in November.
The fantasy ceiling may be a bit capped in this tough matchup, but Iâm still willing to bet on his volume and track record of production in my DFS lineup this weekend.
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