The fantasy football season isn’t over, at least not if you participate in a postseason league! There are a few different types of these competitions, but my favorite has always been “One-and-Done Leagues.” Here’s a quick overview of this format.
Rather than drafting a team, which isn’t as much fun because each week’s slate of games results in a decline in available teams and players, you’ll set a new lineup each week. The caveat is that once you use a player, you’re not allowed to use him again.
Therein lies the challenge of this format: You have to be careful not to leave yourself without a full starting lineup during Super Bowl week. That’s why the best strategy to avoid this is to fill the "onesie” positions with players from the same conference until the final week of the postseason. That’s quarterbacks, tight ends, kickers and defenses.
Let me give you an example.
In the Divisional Round, I’m going to start Bo Nix. Drake Maye has a difficult matchup against the NFL’s best defense, the Texans, and I’m not starting C.J. Stroud against New England. Remember, I already started Josh Allen in the wild-card round, and I’m sticking with another AFC quarterback up until the Super Bowl.
This is why I’m not considering any NFC quarterbacks, because I don’t want to be in a position where I don’t have one for the Super Bowl if one of my picks doesn’t hit.
You should do this for the tight ends and kickers, too.
At running back, I started Christian McCaffrey and Kyren Williams last week. This week, I’ll focus on AFC running backs and start James Cook II and RJ Harvey. My wild-card round wide receivers were Puka Nacua, A.J. Brown and Nico Collins.
Yeah, not good beyond Nacua as Brown did nothing, and Collins got hurt.
This week, I’m going with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Davante Adams and DJ Moore as a flex. They’re all in the NFC, and I love their matchups. Moore is a viable flex this week, as he’s scored 18-plus points in three of his past five games, and the Rams have been awful against perimeter receivers. It’s a roll of the dice, but no risk, no biscuit!
The conference with the best fantasy tight ends is the NFC. I started George Kittle last week, which obviously didn’t work since he tore his Achilles and didn’t play much. Win some, lose some. This week, I’m going with Colston Loveland as I stick with the NFC.
At kicker, I started Ka’imi Fairbairn last week. Sticking with AFC booters, I’m going to use Matt Prater in the Divisional Round because he has the best matchup of the three AFC kickers I have available, ahead of Andy Borregales and Wil Lutz.
Here’s my divisional round lineup for one-and-done leagues!
Fab’s Divisional Round One-And-Done Starting Lineup
| Pos | Player | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Bo Nix | DEN | vs. BUF |
| RB | James Cook | BUF | at DEN |
| RB | RJ Harvey | DEN | vs. BUF |
| WR | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | vs. SF |
| WR | Davante Adams | LAR | at CHI |
| TE | Colston Loveland | CHI | vs. LAR |
| FL | DJ Moore | CHI | vs. LAR |
| K | Matt Prater | BUF | at DEN |
| DEF | Seahawks | SEA | vs. SF |
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fabs’ One-And-Done Fantasy Football Playoff Lineup For The Divisional Round.
