We are down to four teams fighting for the ultimate prize, which means DFS fantasy football managers have to be as precise as ever on a main slate. I could give you a brief overview of the popular builds, starting with each quarterback, but that would push you toward the field, and we don’t want that.
We want a singular DFS build that is both productive and different. Sound structurally, but unique. Exotic, but, above all, profitable.
Seattle Seahawks Championship Round DFS Lineup Stack
QB | Sam Darnold (vs. LAR)
RB | Kenneth Walker III (vs. LAR)
RB | RJ Harvey (vs. NE)
WR | Puka Nacua (at SEA)
WR | Jaxon Smith-Njigba (vs. LAR)
WR | Kyle Williams (at DEN)
TE | Hunter Henry (at DEN)
Flex | Evan Engram (vs. NE)
D/ST | Seattle Seahawks (vs. LAR)
The first step of the process, in my opinion, is crafting the stories you want to tell. You have to thread a thin needle in that regard when it comes to what you believe and game theory: if you tell the exact same story that the sportsbooks are projecting, you’re going to leave yourself with a duplicated lineup that needs to essentially be perfect to profit.
Consensus will largely rest on the MVP candidates showing MVP form under the brightest lights. I don’t think that’s necessarily wrong, but the idea that the difference in Sam Darnold’s price tag and that of Matthew Stafford ($800) isn’t much different from the separation between Darnold and Jarrett Stidham ($1,000) is crazy to me.
As such, I’m building around Darnold. By fading Stafford (I’ll get to Drake Maye later), but rostering his WR1 as a bring-back, we are effectively betting against Davante Adams.
“Make Sam Darnold beat us”
— NC🏎️ (Wallpaper Man) (@44nc_) January 21, 2026
The veteran had only a pair of 12-yard catches on six targets against the Bears last week, and while he could burn us with a couple of scores, we know that his best opportunity for earning days is a thing of the past.
Stafford isn’t a threat to pick up points with his legs, so if he has a decent day and the majority of his production comes via his WR1, we are still very much alive.
Back to Seattle. No team stack is going to be overly unique by nature of a slate with just four teams, but is this Seahawks trio going to be as rostered as it should be?
This is a concentrated offense, much like the Rams, but cheaper at every step. At a discount, you’re telling me we get some leverage off the field to take a home favorite? A team that has played one opponent thus far in January and has one more day of prep for a team that they’ve seen twice in a little over two months?
Darnold was a mess in the first meeting (four interceptions), and that’s going to stick in the minds of the masses. He was picked off twice more in the December matchup, but he threw for multiple scores in that game and averaged 7.9 yards per pass.
Those are breadcrumbs, and the deeper you dive, the crumbs tend closer to full pieces of bread.
In the Week 11 loss, the “seeing ghosts” jokes wrote themselves as Darnold averaged a woeful 3.9 yards per pressured attempt. In the Week 16 overtime win, however, that rate jumped to 8.2, in part because he was willing to weaponize his running backs.
As a part of that thrilling win, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet caught all seven of their targets for 86 yards.
MORE: NFL DFS Lineup Optimizer 2025-26 for DraftKings and FanDuel
That would be interesting had last week not happened, but last week did, and Charbonnet’s season is over (torn ACL).
Kenneth Walker’s Splits
Weeks 1-9: Targeted on 13.9% of his routes
Weeks 10-DIV: Targeted on 22.3% of his routes
At full strength, this felt a lot like the Rams, and now it is the Rams but without a backfield committee.
Los Angeles beat Seattle back in Week 11: since then, Walker has more runs of 10+ yards than he does instances in which he’s been stopped at-or-behind the line of scrimmage.
I’m going to assume you don’t need much in the way of a sales pitch on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle’s standout receiver who wasn’t really called upon last week in the 35-point beatdown of the Niners. If you need to know that he earned 25 targets across the two regular-season matchups, well, now you do.
He’s sustained greatness all season long, and that makes him a priority play for me as I’m assuming that Stafford will be the more popular QB in this game, thus making a Rams triple (Nacua and Davante Adams) the chalk starting point.
Doing that and affording JSN becomes difficult, thus leaving us the opportunity to roster one of the best in the game without the risk of out-of-control ownership numbers.
We are telling a story that features Seattle playing from ahead. We are betting against the Rams via ownership (again, Nacua can get there without the other pieces, and I’m guessing that more lineups have multiple members of this team than don’t), so why not double down with the Seahawks D/ST?
They are an elite unit that has seen this potent, yet predictable, offense twice now, and they feed into our story. If they can force a few turnovers or short fields, our game script picks up steam, and 44.4% of our roster benefits.
My stance on the other game is more nuanced. Managers will be asked to make a bold statement to build their core, and we did. In this New England/Denver game, we can straddle the fence a little bit.
Personally, I think the Broncos are more live than they are being given credit for. That has me taking a running back from their team instead of the Patriots’, with the thought being that a neutral-to-positive game script would allow for Harvey to flirt with 20 touches.
Realistically, this roster is built out of respect for the elite corners on both of these defenses. I’m avoiding WR1 in both instances due to the sticky roles of Christian Gonzalez and Patrick Surtain, which allows me to get creative with the pricing board.
Double-tight end lineups will be more popular this week than during the regular season, but don’t mistake “more” with “very.” I still think the two-TE build can give us some leverage, and both options in this game have some notes working in their favor.
Evan Engram burned a ton of people during the regular season, and he’s been a disappointment. That’s not debatable, but Sean Payton hasn’t quit on him (78.8% of his snaps were routes last week, 82.5% during the regular season), and that is enough for me to have some interest at this price point.
READ MORE: Jarrett Stidham: A DFS Flier Who Could Help the Broncos Reach the Super Bowl
As for Henry, I don’t think he’ll be a high-leverage play, but I could be wrong there, as managers aren’t usually too thrilled about paying up at TE, never mind one who is priced 20% ahead of the field.
Henry scored from 28 yards out on his only blitzed target of this postseason, bringing his annual totals to 24 catches for 309 yards and four scores on 32 such targets.
That’s a level of efficiency I’m willing to chase against a Broncos defense that ranked third in blitz rate during the regular season (31.7% of opponent dropbacks) and showed zero hesitation in ramping things up against the Bills over the weekend (43.5%).
New England’s top tight end has an aDOT that is 28.8% lower when his QB is blitzed than when he isn’t, making him a viable volume play at the very least.
But he might be more than that.
When teams have blitzed Maye in the red zone, not a rarity given that speeding him up in those high-leverage spots is viewed as the only way to stop him, Henry has been targeted on 42.3% of these throws.
Now we are talking.
The Kyle Williams punt play is made with thought, though there is no denying that you’re embracing all sorts of risk. The rookie has an 18.6-yard aDOT this season (22.0 against the Texans last week in sub-optimal conditions), and if we are going to take on the best defense in the league, why not do it with a player that has the potential to turn a single target into a profitable day?
Players with 35+ Deep Receiving Yard Games vs. DEN
- Daniel Bellinger (73 yards)
- Tyquan Thornton (61)
- Wan’Dale Robinson (60)
- Terry McLaurin (55)
- DeVonta Smith (52)
- Saquon Barkley (47)
- Matthew Golden (45)
- Alec Pierce (44)
- Tyler Warren (41)
- Deebo Smauel (38)
- Jalen Tolbert (35)
A few big names, but largely secondary options that aren’t the primary concern of CB1. This is a different way of fading Surtain: not fading the opponent entirely, just the side of the field in which he figures to occupy more often than not.
The WR hierarchy is fluid in New England these days, as Kayshon Boutte was the only one of them to reach a 55% snap share in the Divisional Round. By embracing that at a cheap price, we put ourselves in a small miss, big hit spot.
Zero points are well within the range of outcomes, but we know the role and that the team has been showing greater interest in this skill set lately.
Kyle Williams’ Role
Weeks 1-8: 17.7% snap share
Weeks 9-DIV: 40% snap share
These two game slates require as much skill as they do putting yourself in a position to be fortunate. That’s how I’m attacking the Championship slate, our last multi-game opportunity for this NFL season.
