The NFL regular season may be over, but that doesn’t mean fantasy football has to stop. There are several variations of playoff fantasy leagues. Today, we are going to focus on full-length playoff fantasy football leagues. Here are our top picks to build out a roster for the entire playoffs.
What Are Full-Length Playoff Leagues?
Before we get to the picks, here is a very quick primer on one-and-done playoff fantasy football leagues. Most leagues require a starting lineup similar to this: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex, Flex.
Some leagues will have benches. Others won’t. For leagues with benches, the size of the bench may vary. It’s impossible to tailor this advice to each variation of playoff fantasy football. Therefore, we will do our best to give recommendations that are useful to everyone.
Full-Length Playoff Fantasy Football Roster
My particular full-length playoff league allows you to select 18 players. The starting lineup consists of QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex, Flex, Flex. Since your league likely differs from mine, I will focus on the process behind building my roster, so that, hopefully, even if you have small rosters and smaller lineups, you will be well-equipped to build a winning one.
QB: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Another year. Another overall QB1 finish for Josh Allen. He has been the best quarterback in fantasy for six consecutive years. Over his tenure, the Bills have had some heartbreaking losses, mainly at the hands of Patrick Mahomes. This year is different.
Of the quartet of elite AFC QBs, Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow are not playing for a championship. Allen will never have a better opportunity, and I think he will lead his team to victory.
When the games really matter, the Bills lean on Allen. Expect the ball to be in his hands more than it was during the season and for Buffalo to feature the Josh Push at the goal line. We are going to load up on Bills to the extent we can.
QB: Drake Maye, New England Patriots
My process at quarterback has always been to limit exposure to one conference. Of course, if I get it wrong, then I lose. The bet here is that the Bills and Patriots meet in the AFC Championship Game.
Drake Maye was the overall QB3 on the season and the best value at the position. He is an elite QB1.
There is no scenario in which the Bills and Patriots can play in the Divisional Round, making these two an ideal pairing, especially since I am rolling the dice on a fragile QB build by only taking two.
RB: James Cook, Buffalo Bills
There aren’t enough superlatives to describe James Cook this season. He’s improved every year of his career. His 18.8 PPG this season was a career high. Cook led the league in rushing and proved his 2024 season was not a fluke bolstered by touchdowns.
The goal is to get as close to a full lineup as possible for the Super Bowl. Since the bet is on the Bills as one of the teams, we want all of their top producers. Cook is a must.
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
This is where the strategy element comes into play. Obviously, I am sacrificing some value by taking both Patriots backs. We know with absolute certainty that either Josh Jacobs or D’Andre Swift is going to play two games. The one that performs very well may end up being a better pick due to the points scored in the first two rounds.
The gamble here is that my other, more skilled players will earn me points in the early rounds. Then I’ll have Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson available in the AFC Championship, while others have lost most of their players. I highly doubt that there will be many managers who double up in this manner.
Remember, we don’t only have to bet on one team to reach the Super Bowl. Our secondary bet is on the Patriots.
RB: Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
I think you see where this is going. On the NFC side of things, I am all in on the Rams. Kyren Williams has been the better back all season, but he’s been alternating drives with Blake Corum. Both are very capable of hitting 14+ fantasy points together.
The decision to take Corum (and a second Patriots back) boils down to the belief that the benefit of having the extra player or two in the Super Bowl will be worth sacrificing a higher-scoring player who is likely to be one-and-done.
RB: Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
The secondary bet on the NFC side is on the Eagles. It’s certainly been a disappointing year for Saquon Barkley. But he’s healthy and hasn’t lost a step at all. Barkley’s struggles can be attributed to a combination of fewer splash plays and a significant drop in touchdowns (-6 from last year).
There is a risk that the Eagles and Rams end up meeting in the Divisional Round, which would happen if the Packers defeat the Bears. Even so, losing my Rams or Eagles in the second round is not a death sentence, as one set of players is guaranteed to advance. Then, we just have to hope they win again.
RB: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
18 players are a lot. I’ve already done enough planning for the final two rounds and am giving myself a realistic shot at a full lineup throughout the playoffs. All that effort will be for nothing if I fall too far behind in the early rounds.
Christian McCaffrey is the best running back in fantasy. Everyone is going to take him. Everyone is going to start him. I can’t be the only one without him, even if I expect him only to play one game. He could easily drop 30, and if the RB I start instead of him only gets me 12, that will be hard to make up with such a large field of competitors.
WR: Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, Los Angeles Rams
This one doesn’t require much of an explanation. Puka Nacua is the best wide receiver in fantasy and not to toot my own horn (but to definitely toot my own horn), something I predicted in August.
Since we are banking on a Rams Super Bowl appearance, we also need Davante Adams. He hasn’t played in a month after aggravating his hamstring strain, but is healthy and set to return for the playoffs. Adams led the NFL in touchdown receptions and should resume his role as the Rams’ “goal line back.”
WR: A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
At the risk of constantly repeating myself, this is all about team stacking. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both had good, but inconsistent seasons. The run-heavy nature of the Eagles’ offense capped their weekly upside.
In the playoffs, Jalen Hurts should have to throw more, and we know he keys in on his top two targets. If it’s not the Rams in the Super Bowl, we want it to be the Eagles, and we want their key playmakers.
WR: Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
This is the least confident of my selections. If the Bills do make the Super Bowl, I definitely want to have one of Allen’s pass-catchers. But Shakir is such a low ceiling option. There is definitely a chance he ends up not being worth it, and this spot would have been better served going to someone like Nico Collins or Josh Jacobs.
The Bills are a tough team to stack because they only have two strong fantasy assets. I don’t want to take Dalton Kincaid (spoiler!) because what he offers isn’t strong enough to justify a spot, but we can’t only have two Bills and claim to be going “all in.” Thus, Shakir earns a roster spot.
WR: Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots
Since our secondary AFC bet is on the Patriots, we need one of Maye’s pass catchers. Stefon Diggs has seen somewhat erratic usage this season. One week, he’s running 80% of the routes. Next, he’s at 50%.
Now that we’re in the postseason and every game is win or go home, I expect Mike Vrabel to have his best WR on the field as often as possible. Plus, what exactly are the alternatives? We’re not taking Kayshon Boutte or DeMario Douglas. Diggs it is!
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are really good. They earned the No. 1 seed and are deserving of being the favorites. The problem is that they are a difficult team to stack. Beyond Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who do you actually want from this team?
There’s no other fantasy-relevant wide receiver or tight end. Zach Charbonnet is viable at running back, but he’s too touchdown-dependent and hard to justify considering we can’t use him this weekend.
Thus, we are forced to fade the Seahawks, but still take JSN because he could easily play two games and smash in both of them.
TE: Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
George Kittle and Colston Loveland are the two best tight end options for this week. Unfortunately, I think Kittle is only playing one game and Loveland just two. Also, let’s not pretend like Loveland is this shoo-in for elite production.
I don’t see one game of Kittle or two games of Loveland being so far and away the superior strategy. Three or four games of Henry can make up the difference.
Since the bet is on the Patriots as one of the AFC teams to make a run, Henry makes sense given the roster build.
TE: Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
My preference would’ve been to take two tight ends from the same conference, using the same strategy as at quarterback. The problem is that the players do matter.
Kincaid averaged 10.3 PPG this season, but had just a 15% target share and a 53% route participation rate. His floor is literally zero. He’s not worth forcing onto the roster.
So, we look to the Rams. Their tight ends always produce…but which one? If we were going to take a Rams tight end, who would it be? Colby Parkinson? Tyler Higbee? Terrance Ferguson? I just can’t justify it.
Adding Dallas Goedert to our swath of Eagles makes the most sense. We’re likely to get two games out of him. He has touchdown upside. And if the Eagles make the Super Bowl, we have their entire offense.
Only taking two tight ends is risky. However, I think it’s reasonable because what value would a third tight end really offer? I think the ability to add an extra running back or wide receiver outweighs what a non-elite tight end would provide, and that this team can still win even without a tight end for the Super Bowl if the predictions are correct.
A Closing Note…
While this type of full-length playoff contest is common, it is highly unlikely that more than a small percentage of you out there have my exact format. Perhaps you have a third WR spot instead of a third Flex Spot. Perhaps you’re only starting five WRs and RBs, maximum. You may not have a dedicated TE spot. The overall roster size might be smaller.
Even within standard playoff fantasy formats, there are numerous potential wrinkles.
I hope that after reading this, even if it wouldn’t make sense or be legal in your pool to take my exact full roster, you understand the principles and concepts that led me to pick the players I did and construct the roster in the way that I did, such that you can build your own winning group of players.
