Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was going as a top-five quarterback in many Fantasy football rankings this season. He is coming off a 282-yard performance in the Wild Card Round, his most since Week 8. Stroud's rough season has resulted in a price drop for Saturday NFL DFS picks, though, and he's the cheapest starting quarterback in an NFL DFS player pool that includes Patrick Mahomes, Jaylen Daniels, and Jared Goff. Can Stroud return the best value for NFL DFS lineups while saving money to spend up at other positions? Before locking in any NFL DFS picks for the Divisional Round on Saturday for Chiefs vs. Texans and Lions vs. Commanders on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL daily Fantasy expert Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is a NFL and DFS expert for SportsLine, who opened the 2022 NFL season by winning DraftKings' NFL Showdown Thursday Kickoff Millionaire contest. He edged out over 355,000 other entrants in the contest and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Kaylor, who cashed big all season in 2022, has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, and his background as a former college and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel.
Kaylor has hit on epic NFL DFS picks for SportsLine members. He was all over slate-breaking performances like Travis Kelce's (7-25-4), Kirk Cousins (460-4), T.J. Hockenson's (13-109-2), Ja'Marr Chase's (15-1923), D.J. Moore's (8-230-3), and De'Von Achane (233 total yards, four TDs). This season, some of Kaylor's top picks include Green Bay wide receiver Jayden Reed (4-138-1, 33-1) and James Cook (78-2). Last week, he was all over slate-breaking efforts from Ravens running back Derrick Henry (186-2) and Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey (9-197-1). Anyone who followed his picks on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel could be way up.
Now, Kaylor has turned his attention to the Divisional Round on Saturday in the 2025 NFL playoffs and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Texans vs. Chiefs and Commanders vs. Lions on Saturday
One of Kaylor's top NFL DFS picks for Saturday in the Divisional Round is Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs ($7,700 on DraftKings and $9,200 on FanDuel). The second-year running had a tremendous close to the regular season with more than 100 rushing yards and at least one touchdown and more than 150 total yards in his final three games. Gibbs capped that off with 139 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries while adding five receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown in a 31-9 win over the Vikings in Week 18 to give the Lions the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a first-round bye.
David Montgomery missed those final three games with a knee injury and will return for the postseason, but Gibbs played more snaps than the veteran in five of six games before Montgomery missed time. Gibbs' recent production should translate to an even larger workload in the split backfield and Montgomery's presence doesn't scare Kaylor off from making Gibbs a top option for Saturday NFL DFS picks. The Commanders also rank 27th in rushing yards allowed per game (135.4) this season. See who else to roster here.
Kaylor's Saturday Divisional Round NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce ($5,000 on DraftKings and $6,500 on FanDuel). Kelce finished as TE5 in Fantasy football this season despite his first three weeks making him feel 22 for all the wrong reasons as the 22nd-highest scoring tight end. Toward the middle of the season once Kelce shook off any early-season rust and the Chiefs' offense started rolling, the future Hall of Fame tight end's season turned around. From Weeks 4-13, Kelce was TE5 on a points-per-game basis as he had more than 60 yards in six of nine contests.
Kelce has performed well on a national stage and during the postseason throughout his career. In the NFL's first game on Netflix, which aired on Christmas, Kelce had eight receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. It was his second-highest Fantasy football scoring output of the season. Kelce averaged 88.8 yards per game during the postseason last year compared to 65.6 yards per game during last year's regular season and Kaylor expects Kelce to have another stronger postseason than he did during the regular season, beginning on Saturday. See who else Kaylor likes right here.
How to set Saturday NFL DFS lineups, player pools
Kaylor is also targeting another undervalued player who could explode for huge numbers for NFL Divisional Round Saturday. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is, and the rest of Kaylor's NFL DFS picks, at SportsLine.
So who is Jimmie Kaylor including in his optimal NFL DFS lineups for Chiefs vs. Texans and Lions vs. Commanders on Saturday, and which under-the-radar NFL DFS picks offer huge value? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NFL DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from an NFL DFS expert who won a prestigious Millionaire Maker tournament, and find out.