Fantasy football playoffs! Yes, it’s a thing, and yes, there are several ways to play. A quick rundown of the offering if you’ve never played.
One-and-Done
You can pick any player, any week, but you can only pick them once. So, if you took Josh Allen this week, you wouldn’t get to use him ever again, even if the Bills make the Super Bowl. It’s kind of like DFS, in that you want to target the best matchups and upside, but unlike DFS, you have to plan ahead, hoping you’re correct about which teams advance. Targeting great fantasy players who are likely to get eliminated is a major part of it.
Advertisem*nt
Rolling Team with Bonus
Again, you can pick any player, but your player stats get bonuses the longer you have them. You could take someone on a bye because their bonus points will end up more than getting that one week, especially if they make the Super Bowl. This playoff game is the most crucial to picking the correct Super Bowl teams… especially if you gamble on a bye team making it.
Playoff Draft (and Hold)
You know this one, even if you haven’t played it. This is just like seasonal, but you draft a playoff squad. Often these are small leagues (six teams), and it’s a mix of the two above with targeting players with great upside, matchups and also trying to predict who goes deepest into the playoffs. Obviously, it’s going to be hard to have a full team without some truly fringe guys (Demarcus Robinson) in this format. Sometimes, pivoting off the favorite (Chiefs) is a smart strategy because you could actually load up on a team or two, and if they go on a surprise run, you’re golden.
NFL DFS
World of its own. You know how to play and what to do, or you don’t like it (or can’t legally play it). Don’t need to go into much detail here, but if you haven’t tried it and can, give it a try. I recommend sticking to single-entry games if you are playing low-level and/or inexperienced.
Now on to fantasy football playoff rankings.
READ THIS NO MATTER WHAT! If you ask anything related to this in the comments, pretend you got #MUTEMBO’d because I’m ignoring the question… since it was answered, haha… and I still love you anyway.
The first set of rankings are how I would rank every player on equal footing for the playoffs – as in, pretend everyone plays four games, these are the rankings. Basically, a talent/fantasy value rank.
The second set are rankings based on how the playoffs will shake out in my opinion. That’s why I have the first set of rankings. If you disagree with a pick, think different teams are in the Super Bowl, play different formats, etc., your rankings will differ.
NFL PLAYOFF WILD CARD SCHEDULE AND MATCHUPS
- Colts at Bills
- Rams at Seahawks
- Buccaneers at Footballs
- Ravens at Titans
- Bears at Saints
- Browns at Steelers
I’ll even toss in some early-week thoughts on spreads:
- Bills cover -6.0 (changed with the line moving down)
- Rams cover +3.5 (slight line movement)
- Buccaneers cover -8.0 (line did move up, and lots of people are on WFT to cover, but I just don’t like that the way for them to win is grind it out, and Bucs are too dominant versus the run. Alex Smith and the passing game need to do damage, and I have doubts)
- Ravens cover -3.5 (would feel better at -2.5 or even -3.0… this one worries me most)
- Saints cover -9.5 (could see this move to -10.5 with early money)
- Steelers cover -6.0 spread (still on PIT, but don’t love it as much as the -3.0 open… and now hate that I’m on five favorites)
NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND MATCHUPS
- Lowest seed at Chiefs
- Browns/Steelers vs Colts/Bills (highest seed hosts)
- Lowest seed at Packers
- Rams/Seahawks vs Bears/Saints (highest seed hosts)
FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS:
PURELY PER PLAYER VALUES
*Asterisk denotes injury/health concern
QUARTERBACK
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | 1 |
| 2 | Josh Allen | 1 |
| 3 | Aaron Rodgers | 1 |
| 4 | Lamar Jackson | 1 |
| 5 | Russell Wilson | 2 |
| 6 | Tom Brady | 2 |
| 7 | Ryan Tannehill | 2 |
| 8 | Drew Brees | 3 |
| 9 | Ben Roethlisberger | 3 |
| 10 | Baker Mayfield | 4 |
| 11 | Mitchell Trubisky | 4 |
| 12 | Philip Rivers | 4 |
| 13 | Jared Goff* | 4 |
| 14 | Alex Smith | 4 |
RUNNING BACK
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Alvin Kamara* | 1 |
| 2 | Derrick Henry | 1 |
| 3 | Aaron Jones | 2 |
| 4 | Jonathan Taylor | 2 |
| 5 | David Montgomery | 2 |
| 6 | Nick Chubb | 2 |
| 7 | J.K. Dobbins | 3 |
| 8 | Ronald Jones | 3 |
| 9 | Chris Carson | 3 |
| 10 | Cam Akers | 3 |
| 11 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire* | 3 |
| 12 | Antonio Gibson | 3 |
| 13 | Kareem Hunt | 3 |
| 14 | James Conner | 4 |
| 15 | Zack Moss | 4 |
| 16 | Latavius Murray | 4 |
| 17 | J.D. McKissic | 4 |
| 18 | Nyheim Hines | 4 |
| 19 | Jamaal Williams | 5 |
| 20 | Gus Edwards | 5 |
| 21 | Devin Singletary | 5 |
| 22 | Leonard Fournette | 5 |
| 23 | Le’Veon Bell | 5 |
| 24 | Malcolm Brown | 5 |
| 25 | Carlos Hyde* | 5 |
| 26 | Anthony McFarland | 5 |
| 27 | Benny Snell | 5 |
| 28 | Darrel Williams | 5 |
| 29 | Ty Montgomery | 6 |
| 30 | Darrynton Evans | 6 |
| 31 | Rashaad Penny | 6 |
| 32 | Peyton Barber | 6 |
| 33 | AJ Dillon | 6 |
| 34 | Mark Ingram | 6 |
WIDE RECEIVER
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Davante Adams | 1 |
| 2 | Tyreek Hill | 1 |
| 3 | Stefon Diggs | 2 |
| 4 | Mike Evans* | 2 |
| 5 | A.J. Brown | 2 |
| 6 | Allen Robinson | 2 |
| 7 | Diontae Johnson | 3 |
| 8 | DK Metcalf | 3 |
| 9 | Michael Thomas* | 3 |
| 10 | Chris Godwin | 3 |
| 11 | Terry McLaurin | 3 |
| 12 | Robert Woods | 3 |
| 13 | Cooper Kupp | 4 |
| 14 | Jarvis Landry | 4 |
| 15 | Marquise Brown | 4 |
| 16 | T.Y. Hilton | 4 |
| 17 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | 4 |
| 18 | Corey Davis | 4 |
| 19 | Tyler Lockett | 4 |
| 20 | Antonio Brown | 5 |
| 21 | Emmanuel Sanders | 5 |
| 22 | John Brown | 5 |
| 23 | Rashard Higgins | 5 |
| 24 | Cole Beasley* | 5 |
| 25 | Chase Claypool | 5 |
| 26 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 5 |
| 27 | Sammy Watkins | 5 |
| 28 | Darnell Mooney* | 5 |
| 29 | Michael Pittman | 6 |
| 30 | Cam Sims | 6 |
| 31 | Josh Reynolds | 6 |
| 32 | James Washington | 6 |
| 33 | Allen Lazard | 6 |
| 34 | Mecole Hardman | 6 |
| 35 | KhaDarel Hodge | 6 |
| 36 | Cordarrelle Patterson | 7 |
| 37 | Zach Pascal | 7 |
| 38 | David Moore | 7 |
| 39 | Miles Boykin | 7 |
| 40 | Gabriel Davis | 7 |
| 41 | Anthony Miller | 7 |
| 42 | Adam Humphries* | 7 |
| 43 | Isaiah McKenzie | 7 |
| 44 | Steven Sims | 7 |
| 45 | Dez Bryant | 7 |
TIGHT END
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Travis Kelce | 1 |
| 2 | Mark Andrews | 2 |
| 3 | Logan Thomas | 2 |
| 4 | Rob Gronkowski | 3 |
| 5 | Robert Tonyan | 3 |
| 6 | Jared Cook | 3 |
| 7 | Eric Ebron | 4 |
| 8 | Jonnu Smith | 4 |
| 9 | Austin Hooper | 4 |
| 10 | Jimmy Graham | 5 |
| 11 | Tyler Higbee | 5 |
| 12 | Cole Kmet | 5 |
| 13 | Dawson Knox | 6 |
| 14 | Jacob Hollister | 6 |
| 15 | Gerald Everett | 6 |
| 16 | Trey Burton | 6 |
| 17 | Jack Doyle | 6 |
As mentioned at the top, how far teams advance has a significant impact on values. So, for my picks (and my resulting new playoff rankings) see below, and see how much of an impact 1-2 games can make overall.
- I have the Bills, Steelers, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks and Buccaneers in the Wild Card round
- That would give us…
- Ravens at Chiefs, Steelers at Bills, Buccaneers at Packers and Seahawks at Saints (my picks in bold – yawn, I know)
- Now we have…
- Bills at Chiefs and Saints at Packers with Saints and Chiefs in the Super Bowl
- Hey, at least I have both fifth seeds winning and a Saints upset… woo!
FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS:
BASED ON PLAYOFF PICKS AND SUPER BOWL TEAMS
QUARTERBACK
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | 1 |
| 2 | Josh Allen | 1 |
| 3 | Drew Brees | 1 |
| 4 | Aaron Rodgers | 2 |
| 5 | Lamar Jackson | 2 |
| 6 | Russell Wilson | 2 |
| 7 | Tom Brady | 2 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | 2 |
| 9 | Ryan Tannehill | 3 |
| 10 | Baker Mayfield | 3 |
| 11 | Mitchell Trubisky | 3 |
| 12 | Philip Rivers | 3 |
| 13 | Jared Goff* | 3 |
| 14 | Alex Smith | 3 |
RUNNING BACK
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Alvin Kamara* | 1 |
| 2 | Derrick Henry | 2 |
| 3 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire* | 2 |
| 4 | Latavius Murray | 2 |
| 5 | Aaron Jones | 2 |
| 6 | J.K. Dobbins | 3 |
| 7 | Ronald Jones | 3 |
| 8 | Chris Carson | 3 |
| 9 | Zack Moss | 3 |
| 10 | Devin Singletary | 3 |
| 11 | James Conner | 3 |
| 12 | Le’Veon Bell | 3 |
| 13 | Jonathan Taylor | 4 |
| 14 | Jamaal Williams | 4 |
| 15 | Gus Edwards | 4 |
| 16 | David Montgomery | 4 |
| 17 | Nick Chubb | 4 |
| 18 | Leonard Fournette | 4 |
| 19 | Cam Akers | 5 |
| 20 | Antonio Gibson | 5 |
| 21 | Kareem Hunt | 5 |
| 22 | Carlos Hyde* | 5 |
| 23 | Darrel Williams | 5 |
| 24 | Anthony McFarland | 6 |
| 25 | Benny Snell | 6 |
| 26 | J.D. McKissic | 6 |
| 27 | Nyheim Hines | 6 |
| 28 | Mark Ingram | 6 |
| 29 | Malcolm Brown | 6 |
| 30 | Darrynton Evans | 7 |
| 31 | Peyton Barber | 7 |
| 32 | AJ Dillon | 7 |
| 33 | Ty Montgomery | 7 |
| 34 | Rashaad Penny | 7 |
WIDE RECEIVER
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Tyreek Hill | 1 |
| 2 | Stefon Diggs | 1 |
| 3 | Michael Thomas* | 1 |
| 4 | Davante Adams | 2 |
| 5 | Emmanuel Sanders | 3 |
| 6 | Mike Evans* | 3 |
| 7 | Diontae Johnson | 3 |
| 8 | DK Metcalf | 3 |
| 9 | John Brown | 3 |
| 10 | Chris Godwin | 3 |
| 11 | Cole Beasley* | 3 |
| 12 | Marquise Brown | 4 |
| 13 | Sammy Watkins | 4 |
| 14 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | 4 |
| 15 | Tyler Lockett | 4 |
| 16 | Antonio Brown | 4 |
| 17 | Chase Claypool | 5 |
| 18 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 5 |
| 19 | Mecole Hardman | 5 |
| 20 | A.J. Brown | 5 |
| 21 | Allen Robinson | 5 |
| 22 | Terry McLaurin | 5 |
| 23 | Robert Woods | 5 |
| 24 | Cooper Kupp | 5 |
| 25 | James Washington | 5 |
| 26 | Allen Lazard | 5 |
| 27 | Jarvis Landry | 5 |
| 28 | T.Y. Hilton | 5 |
| 29 | Corey Davis | 5 |
| 30 | Isaiah McKenzie | 6 |
| 31 | Gabriel Davis | 6 |
| 32 | Rashard Higgins | 6 |
| 33 | Darnell Mooney* | 6 |
| 34 | Michael Pittman | 6 |
| 35 | Cam Sims | 6 |
| 36 | Josh Reynolds | 7 |
| 37 | Miles Boykin | 7 |
| 38 | David Moore | 7 |
| 39 | KhaDarel Hodge | 7 |
| 40 | Zach Pascal | 7 |
| 41 | Dez Bryant | 7 |
| 42 | Cordarrelle Patterson | 7 |
| 43 | Anthony Miller | 7 |
| 44 | Adam Humphries* | 7 |
| 45 | Steven Sims | 7 |
TIGHT END
| RK | PLAYER | TIER |
| 1 | Travis Kelce | 1 |
| 2 | Jared Cook | 2 |
| 3 | Mark Andrews | 3 |
| 4 | Rob Gronkowski | 3 |
| 5 | Robert Tonyan | 3 |
| 6 | Dawson Knox | 3 |
| 7 | Eric Ebron | 4 |
| 8 | Logan Thomas | 4 |
| 9 | Jacob Hollister | 4 |
| 10 | Jonnu Smith | 5 |
| 11 | Austin Hooper | 5 |
| 12 | Jimmy Graham | 5 |
| 13 | Tyler Higbee | 5 |
| 14 | Cole Kmet | 5 |
| 15 | Gerald Everett | 5 |
| 16 | Trey Burton | 5 |
| 17 | Jack Doyle | 5 |
(Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Jake Ciely is rankings: Fantasy Football, Fantasy Baseball, candy, movies, video games, cereal... anything! Truly, Jake is a ranking prodigy. Oh, he's also the senior fantasy writer for The Athletic, an award-winning analyst and loves DuckTales. Make sure you #CheckTheLink and #BanKickers ... woo-oo! Follow Jake on Twitter @allinkid
