This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
The wild-card round of the NFL playoffs kicks off with a three-game Saturday slate starting at 1:05 p.m. EST. First up is the Colts-Bills clash from the AFC side of the bracket, followed by Rams-Seahawks and Buccaneers-Football Team in the NFC. Among the players to target on this slate are a dual-threat quarterback coming off a tremendous regular season, a pair of Buccaneers who played well down the stretch, and a receiving specialist out of the backfield facing the team that allowed the most catches to running backs this season.
QUARTERBACK
Josh Allen, BUF vs. IND ($40): Allen should be worth paying up for as Saturday's most expensive player. Colts-Bills is expected to be the day's highest-scoring game with an over/under of 51.5 points, while the pair of NFC games are expected to be defensive clashes given their over/unders of 42.0 (LAR-SEA) and 44.5 (TB-WAS). The Bills are also clear home favorites at minus-6.5, and Allen did most of the heavy lifting for their offense in the regular season with 37 touchdowns through the air and another eight on the ground. His dual-threat ability and effectiveness as a runner near the goal line give Allen an unparalleled floor, as he dropped below 16.0 fantasy points just once all season and topped 28.0 in half of his 16 regular season games.
RUNNING BACK
Ronald Jones, TB at WAS ($20): Jones was extremely effective on a per-touch basis down the stretch, totaling 224 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries (5.7 YPC) to go with two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown over his final three regular-season appearances. He battled some injuries but is healthy and rested for the postseason, and his lack of playing time down the stretch helped lower Jones' valuation to $20, which is the lowest it has been since October. With Tampa Bay expected to play from ahead against offensively challenged Washington, expect Jones to get a steady diet of touches.
J.D. McKissic, WAS vs. TB ($15): If expected game script holds, Washington will be passing down the stretch to try and play catch-up. If Washington's able to flip the script early, it will probably be due to some big plays from McKissic in the passing game. Either way, the league's regular-season leader in targets from the running back position (110) and second-place finisher to Alvin Kamara in receptions (80) is likely to play a major role in the Football Team's offensive approach, especially when you consider that Tampa Bay allowed the fewest rushing yards to running backs (964) and the most receptions to the position (101) in the entire league in the regular season. Given the matchup, McKissic's a steal at this salary.
WIDE RECEIVER
John Brown, BUF vs. IND ($17): After battling injuries throughout the year, Brown healed up just in time for the playoffs and could see an expanded role with Stefon Diggs (oblique) and Cole Beasley (knee) both banged up. The speedster exceeded 1,000 yards as Allen's top target last season and demonstrated plenty of big-play ability in 2020, topping 70 yards in five of nine games. That may not sound like much at first, but Brown was held to no more than one catch in three of the other four games while clearly hampered by injuries, so he has only fallen short of 70 yards once when close to full strength. He'll be peppered with targets if Diggs doesn't play or see less defensive attention if Diggs does, so Brown should provide strong value either way.
Antonio Brown, TB at WAS ($23): Brown took a while to get up to speed with his new team after serving his suspension, but the two-time league receiving yards leader finished strong, finding the end zone in each of the last three games. He caught 20 of 28 targets in that stretch, totaling 266 yards and four touchdowns. With two other Buccaneers wide receivers carrying higher salaries and six other receivers overall who cost at least as much as him, Brown should provide good value relative to his valuation.
Cooper Kupp, LAR at SEA ($19): Seattle's defense picked things up dramatically down the stretch, but the Seahawks still finished with the second-most passing yards allowed per game (285.0). Kupp's primed to take advantage of this favorable matchup considering he finished 20th in the league with 124 targets despite missing Week 17 due to a positive COVID-19 test, and he came just five targets short of teammate Robert Woods' team-high 129. The slot receiver comes in $4 cheaper than Woods and is priced below eight other receivers overall on this slate. That's a good deal for a guy who topped 90 catches in each of the past two seasons and is due for some good luck considering he scored only three touchdowns in 2020 after scoring 10 in 2019.
TIGHT END
Trey Burton, IND at BUF ($12): It's tough to choose between Burton, Jack Doyle ($11) and Mo Alie-Cox ($10), but at least one of the three Colts tight ends should deliver a standout performance against a Bills defense that allowed the most catches (92) and second-most yards (993) to the position this season. Burton gets the nod due to his red-zone prowess, as he tied Doyle for the team lead among tight ends with three receiving touchdowns and also ran in a pair as the quarterback in a goal-line package, which is a wrinkle the Colts could opt to bring back in this pivotal matchup.
DEFENSE
Seattle Seahawks, SEA vs. LAR ($16): After struggling in the early part of the season, this unit was remarkably consistent down the stretch. Seattle scored 9.0 or more fantasy points in five of its last six games and held each of its last eight opponents to 23 points or fewer, including just 12.5 points per game in the last four games. On top of that recent success, Seattle should also benefit from facing a Rams offense that may be without starting quarterback Jared Goff (thumb), and didn't exactly light the league up with Goff, scoring just 23.3 points per game this year.
Honorable Mentions
QB: Tom Brady (TB, $30), Philip Rivers (IND, $22)
RB: Jonathan Taylor (IND, $36), Nyheim Hines (IND, $20), Cam Akers (LAR, $20)
WR: Stefon Diggs (BUF, $35), Tyler Lockett (SEA, $21), Zach Pascal (IND, $12)
TE: Rob Gronkowski (TB, $19), Logan Thomas (WAS, $22)
DST: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at WAS, $19), Washington Football Team (vs. TB, $15)
