Divisional Round Fantasy Football Projections: Best Plays for QB, RB, WR and TE

The Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs is just two days from kicking off. That makes now a perfect time to go over some fantasy football projections for those of you in fantasy postseason leagues or wanting to play some DFS.

We will go over quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.

Check out fantasy football projections on FantasySP all season.

Quarterbacks

In a surprise, Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford is projected for the most fantasy points among quarterbacks. He's set for 22 points against the Bears.

The Bears are the most favorable fantasy matchup a quarterback could have, so it's not as surprising, but I'm not quite that high on Stafford. The super favorable matchup gives him a chance to be the top fantasy QB though.

San Francisco's Brock Purdy and New England's Drake Maye are each projected for 21 fantasy points this week.

Purdy has a tougher test against the Seahawks, who he had a good fantasy showing and one poor outing against during the regular season. Purdy was good last week despite a couple interceptions, but now is without George Kittle, which won't make things any easier.

Maye has the toughest fantasy test of the week against the Texans. Maye delivered good fantasy marks all season, and was solid in a tough test last week, so I'm not opposed to utilizing him for the coming round.

I had Maye ranked third and Purdy fourth in my quarterback rankings for the week. My top guy was Buffalo's Josh Allen, who is set for just 20 fantasy points.

Allen is nursing several injuries, which could be impacting his projections a bit. Add in a tough test against Denver and I get why his projection isn't as high. He's the best fantasy QB left (and in the game), so I'm trusting him to get the job done, so I confidently put him first.

Chicago's Caleb Williams and Denver's Bo Nix are projected for 19 fantasy points each.

Williams has a slightly below-average test coming up, while Nix has a very tough battle with the Broncos. Williams might be inconsistent, but he's delivered pretty good fantasy results over the past several games. Nix is in a similar boat, but coming off a bye, so depending on your opinions on players coming off a bye, he is either set up well or due for some rustiness.

Williams ranked fifth for me, while Nix was sixth. Seattle's Sam Darnold came in seventh for me, while Houston's C.J. Stroud was eighth.

The projections disagree, with Stroud projected for 16 points, and Darnold at only 14.

Stroud's test against the Patriots is another below-average one, but not super daunting. Darnold's test against the Niners is slightly above average, so that's why he got the edge over Stroud this week.

Again though, if you are worried about rustiness with Darnold, Stroud could be the slightly better option.

Running Backs

The top projected running back is also who I ranked No. 1 this week, San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey. He's set for 27 PPR points against the Seahawks.

The matchup is very tough, but CMC should star anyways, especially without Kittle around. McCaffrey's pass-catching ability makes him an elite fantasy/DFS option when he's healthy, which he has been this season.

The projections also lined up with me for my No. 2 ranked back, Buffalo's James Cook. He's set for 18 PPR points in a tough test against Denver. 

It's actually the toughest test a back could have, but after Allen, Cook is the top fantasy player in Buffalo, and on touchdown upside alone, he remains a high-end fantasy back.

LA Rams' Kyren Williams and Denver's RJ Harvey are both projected for 17 PPR points this week. Those are the two backs I had at No. 3 and 4 as well.

Williams' test against the Bears is below average, but nothing too daunting. Harvey's matchup against the Bills is the best fantasy matchup possible this week, so the projections and I see him delivering big.

Chicago's D'Andre Swift is next on the projection page at 16 points. I had him at No. 6. His matchup against the Rams is below-average, but again, nothing too crazy, so I expect good things out of him.

New England's Rhamondre Stevenson is next, projected for 13 points against the Texans. Seattle's Zach Charbonnet and Houston's Woody Marks are each tabbed for 12 fantasy points.

I had Kenneth Walker as the top back in Seattle, and ranked him fifth, so that's the biggest difference between my thoughts and the projections. I have TreVeyon Henderson over Stevenson as well, and ranked him seventh, before Marks was at No. 8. Charbonnet was ninth for me, while Stevenson checked in 10th.

I know Stevenson was great last week, but a couple catches really bumped up his fantasy production. I think Henderson leads the way in the New England backfield for a tougher battle against the Texans.

The Niners are a favorable matchup, so I have Walker and Charbonnet as good fantasy options for the coming week. I lean Walker over Charbonnet, but understand if you want to try Charbonnet first, as he's been the guy who scores more touchdowns.

Marks has a very tough test against the Patriots, so I ranked him last among the starting backs, and could make the argument to take both Seattle backs over him. Marks could surprise if he finds the end zone though, which is more likely if a teammate (who we will cover soon) is out.

Walker and Henderson are each projected for 11 PPR points this week. Chicago's Kyle Monangai and LA Rams' Blake Corum are set for nine points each, while Hosuton's Nick Chubb is No. 13 in the projections at just six points.

Wide Receivers

The top-projected wide receiver is LA Rams' Puka Nacua at 28 PPR points. I agreed and ranked Nacua first among the wide receivers this week.

He has a super favorable test against the Bears, so I see Nacua starring, as he usually does.

Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba is projected for 22 points, and I also ranked him second. San Fran is an above-average test for him, and he fared pretty well in the two regular season games against them, so expect big things out of JSN.

Buffalo's Khalil Shakir is a surprise at 19 projected PPR points. I had him way down at No. 8. Shakir was great last week, but a tough matchup and some up-and-down outings this season has me skeptical of him repeating last week's success.

LA Rams' Davante Adams is projected for 18 PPR points. I had him at No. 3 this week in that super favorable matchup.

Houston's Nico Collins is set for 15 points against the Patriots, but is working through a concussion and could miss the game entirely. His status needs to be watched closely.

Jayden Higgins (9) and Christian Kirk (8) are the next highest projected Houston wideouts, and their numbers would improve if Collins is eventually ruled out. New England is a tougher test for the wide receivers on paper, so if Collins is out, it will still be tough to trust any others.

Chicago's D.J. Moore and Denver's Courtland Sutton are projected for 13 fantasy points each. Moore and the Bears' wideouts have an above-average test to take advantage of, while Sutton and the Broncos' receivers have another tough test against the Bills.

New England's Stefon Diggs is his team's top-projected wideout. Houston is a brutal matchup, so it's tough to trust any Patriots' wide receivers this week.

Chicago's Rome Odunze, San Francisco's Jauan Jennings and Denver's Troy Franklin are all set for 11 fantasy points this week. Jennings and the Niners' wideouts have another very tough test against the Seahawks, and off a slow week, it makes Jennings tougher to trust.

New England's Kayshon Boutte and Chicago's Luther Burden join Higgins at nine projected points. Seattle's Rashid Shaheed is with Kirk at eight projected points.

Seattle's Cooper Kupp and San Francisco's Ricky Pearsall (who is nursing an injury) are projected for seven points each. Buffalo's Keon Coleman and Denver's Marvin Mims are at six PPR points each.

I had some other wide receivers in my top 20, so check out that story for my best options. 

Tight Ends

With Kittle out of the picture, it's Chicago's Colston Loveland at the top projected fantasy mark among tight ends. He's set for 15 PPR points in a slightly below-average test against the Rams. I agree and had Loveland ranked first as well.

San Francisco's Jake Tonges is projected for the second-most fantasy points (13)  in what is a pretty favorable fantasy test against the Seahawks. I think he's a sneaky-good option, but still ranked him fifth.

New England's Hunter Henry is projected for 12 points in a tougher test against the Texans. I had him ranked third, but after Houston's Dalton Schultz, who is projected for 11 PPR points against the Patriots. New England is an average test, but I see Schultz stepping up with Collins at least banged up.

Seattle's AJ Barner is also projected for 11 PPR points. He has the best fantasy TE matchup against the Niners.

LA Rams' Colby Parkinson is set for 10 points against the Bears, while Buffalo's Dalton Kincaid is projected for nine points against the Broncos. Denver's Evan Engram is set for eight PPR points against the Bills. 

The Bears are a below-average matchup for Parkinson. Kincaid has a slightly above-average test against the Broncos. The Bills are the toughest fantasy test for a tight end, so Engram has a weaker outlook.