DFS strategy shifts in the playoffs. Smaller slates demand sharper edges, and knowing when to pay up versus fade chalk can make or break your weekend. Saquon Barkley forces that decision.
That said, in an effort to touch on the highest number of players, I’m looking at the Wild Card DFS slate as a whole. Some of the ideas and research shared below can be repurposed into Showdown or Single Day slates, but content for those niche spots wouldn’t cover the larger schedule that is most popular among casual players.
The Fade Saquon Barkley Wild Card DFS Stack
QB | Jalen Hurts (vs. SF)
RB | Christian McCaffrey (at PHI)
RB | Blake Corum (at CAR)
WR | A.J. Brown (vs. SF)
WR | DeVonta Smith (vs. SF)
WR | Parker Washington (vs. BUF)
TE | Dalton Schultz (at PIT)
Flex | Kayshon Boutte (vs. LAC)
D/ST | Los Angeles Rams (at CAR)
To build out a Jalen Hurts stack, you have to be willing to take on some risk. He ranks No. 20 of 25 qualifiers in pass attempts per game, and that might lead you to believe that rostering him without a pass catcher is the way to invest, but we’ve celebrated three holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day) since his last rushing score.
I think if you’re leaning in, you have to lean all the way in. The banged-up 49ers rank bottom-5 in pressure rate, opponent TD/INT rate, and passer rating when throwing deep. That’s an advantageous profile, but it will come with relatively low ownership due to the narratives and price tags surrounding the Eagle stars.
Talented players in a great matchup? I think I can get behind that.
Hurts has four games this season with at least 280 passing yards, and that’s effectively what we are betting on here. In those four games, A.J. Brown has posted a +26% target share in three of them and DeVonta Smith a +27% three times. In the two most recent instances, both Brown and Smith cleared 85 receiving yards, production that is very much within the range of outcomes on Sunday afternoon.
MORE: PFSN’s FREE DFS Lineup Optimizer
On average this season, the top two opposing target earners have seen 48.3% of passes thrown their way (in Weeks 1-2-7-9-11, the opposing top duo saw over half of the targets vs. SF).
In those four Hurts games, Saquon Barkley averaged just 67.8 scrimmage yards, giving us nice leverage off of those rosters by way of getting the Eagle production in a different way. That doesn’t mean you full fade their RB1 (keep reading), but it is a path to victory because this lineup succeeding would likely mean a chalk piece falling short of expectations.
Saquon Barkley in a Shootout Environment
Saquon Barkley has been a pay-up option in each of these last two lineups after me actively avoiding him in the first one, and that’s why building at least a few different lineups is valuable.
Which angle do you most believe?
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT HUMAN.
THIS SPIN IS MAGICAL
SPECIAL TALENT. SLO-MO CINEMA.
pic.twitter.com/hIHi1ICHaQ— MLFootball (@MLFootball) December 22, 2025
I’m not 100% sure which side of the Eagles offense is right, but I do feel reasonably strong that not having any of them is wrong. Opposing running backs have been better than league average before contact in nine of the last 13 San Francisco games.
MORE:Â Wild Card Fantasy Rankings for Every Position
Five of Barkley’s even best post-contact games have come since Week 12: if there’s a spot for the 2024 version of him to reemerge, this would seem to be it.
Kayshon Boutte Unlocks the Eagles Stack
The important piece that makes this star-studded lineup work is Kayshon Boutte, a name you’ll see peppered into the majority of my lineups because of the price point/upside combination.
The Chargers ranked No. 29 in blitz rate this regular season (18.8% of opponent dropbacks). While the offensive line has been a topic of discussion for the Patriots, they have had a handful of top-10 weeks per PFSN’s NFL Offensive Line Impact Metric.
Patriot Pressure Rate Allowed When Not Blitzed
- Weeks 1-11: 38.5% (No. 30)
- Weeks 12-18: 31.3% (No. 10)
If Drake Maye has time, we are in business. You’re not rostering him for his floor, but rather hoping that he can turn a good lineup into a great one. He’s averaging 25.2 yards per TD reception this season, and if we can land a single punch, he’s paying off his price tag in a major way.
Kayshon Boutte Production Splits
- When Maye isn’t blitzed
24 catches on 33 targets for 402 yards and 3 TDs - Blitzed
13.5 yards per catch (down from 16.8) - When Maye isn’t pressured
29 catches on 37 targets for 472 yards and 5 TDs - Pressured
Just seven targets on 122 routes
That’s the formula: Boutte at the minimum lets you pay up for the Eagles pieces without sacrificing upside elsewhere. If Maye stays clean, Boutte could return tournament-winning value—and if he doesn’t, the salary savings already did their job.
