FanDuel & DraftKings NFL DFS Championship Round Slate Breakdown

Jan 26, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

On a short slate, it’s usually wise to favor GPPs and avoid or limit cash games. With so few players on the slate, there is more overlap between lineups than on the main slate, which leads to much more variance—exactly what we are trying to avoid when grinding cash games.

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For those used to playing full slates, consider these potential adjustments or listen to this DFS MVP theory segment on playing short slates:

Short slates are not all about value - With so few players in the pool, there will inevitably be a ton of overlap in lineups which naturally leads to a high variance slate. For this reason, it makes sense to focus on GPPs. (Putting your tournament lineups in small 50/50s or multipliers, however, can be a nice way to give your lineups a floor). Rather than building lineups with all of the best point-per-dollar plays, consider game flow scenarios and build lineups that follow a logical narrative relative to those scripts—strategies such as full onslaughts are very much in play.
Consider non-traditional lineup builds - On short slates, there are some lineup construction strategies to consider that would never make sense on a full slate. Some examples are playing more than one running back from the same game or same team in a lineup, rostering one or two players against your defense, and leaving salary on the table. It’s going to be tough to find contrarian stand-alone players—look for other ways to be unique.
There is leverage to be had at the “onesies” - Full slates will rarely have any quarterback, tight end, or defense in more than 15%–20% of lineups in large-field GPPs. On slates such as this one, players at those positions could approach 50% ownership in even the largest fields. This presents a rare opportunity to be contrarian at positions where ownership is usually quite flat.
Stick to a (relatively) small player pool - It’s tempting to try to cover all of your bases when the player pool is so small but that will only dilute your good reads. Narrow in on a small core with your favorite off-the-board plays and be way overweight on those players. Coupled with strong correlation plays, this is how to build a profitable portfolio on a short slate.
Don’t forget about late swaps - With no overlap between games, this slate may offer the biggest edge of the year when it comes to late swap. Teams that are contrarian early have an especially big edge with the ability to swap off of popular players in late games if they are doing poorly or stay on chalky players if their early contrarian plays hit. For more information on late swap theory, listen to this DFS MVP segment.

Championship Round Showdown Slates: Chiefs at Ravens | Lions at 49ers

Chiefs at Ravens (-3.5); O/U 43.5

Game Notes

Patrick Mahomes has the toughest on-paper quarterback matchup of the week as the Ravens finished the season allowing the sixth-fewest schedule-adjusted fantasy points to quarterbacks.
Baltimore also allowed the second-fewest schedule-adjusted points to running backs.
Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice have both seen 16 targets this postseason. No other Chief has more than six.
Justice Hill out-touched Gus Edwards 15–11 last week while Zay Flowers led the team with five targets.
Mark Andrews is expected to return this week, lowering the projections for an already ambiguous wide receiver group. The Chiefs surrendered the third-fewest schedule-adjusted points to wide receivers this year.
Kansas City finished the season ranked in the bottom 10 in schedule-adjusted points allowed to running backs.