3 Daily Fantasy Football Players to Avoid for the Divisional Round
Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
FanDuel Price: $7,600
DraftKings Price: $6,300
While the New England Patriots get to start their playoff journey at home this weekend, it'll be a tall order to come away with a victory against a stout Los Angeles Chargers defense, which ranks eighth per our metrics and has allowed the fifth-least FanDuel points to opposing wide receivers.
Make no bones about it -- the Chargers have been an elite passing defense by nearly any metric, advanced or traditional. They ranked ninth in passing yards allowed per game (228), giving up only 23 scores through the year. They also held wunderkind Patrick Mahomes to his lowest two passing yard totals of 2018 (243, 256).
This all stacks up for a rough matchup for Julian Edelman, who could see coverage from both Casey Heyward and Derwin James. James has racked up numerous honors this year, and the rookie made the Pro Bowl along with being named First Team All-Pro. The safety ranks as Pro Football Focus's #4 ranked player at the position, and has improved an already solid Chargers pass defense.
Edelman has topped double-digit targets in three of his last four contests, so he's likely to be a big part of the New England offense. However, this deck seems stacked against him, and it could be beneficial to pivot away from the wide receiver.
Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.