Bankable daily fantasy values are officially a relic.
We’re down to four teams in the conference title games this weekend, making daily fantasy lineups fairly repetitive. The salary caps on the two daily sites I use, FanDuel and Draft Kings, don’t require owners to choose a deep sleeper for championship week, unless you consider Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin sleepers (you shouldn’t).
I think these daily games will boil down to defenses, none of which are glaringly obvious plays this week. The Ravens’ defense is the Draft King defensive value, at the rock-bottom price of $2,900.
The thought of staring down the barrel of Tom Brady’s lethally efficient, fast-paced offense might cause you long-term cardiac issues, but consider this: Brady, in his past six games against Baltimore, has completed 59 percent of his passes, including seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Ravens have sacked Brady 15 times in those matchups.
Baltimore is FanDuel’s priciest defense for this week, so I’m plugging in the 49ers’ defense on that site, saving me $300.
FanDuel lineup
QB – Colin Kaepernick
RB – Stevan Ridley
RB – Frank Gore
WR – Julio Jones
WR – Roddy White
WR – Torrey Smith
TE – Dennis Pitta
K – Justin Tucker
D – San Francisco 49ers
-  Kaepernick, somehow, is the third most expensive quarterback this weekend. He’s a must-have for me.
- Â Ridley totaled 14 fantasy points on 15 carries against the Texans last week, and Baltimore is far from invincible against the run.
- Â Expect Atlanta to throw early and throw often, making Jones and White viable plays, even in the same lineup.
- Â New England was fifth worst against fantasy tight ends in 2012. Pitta went for 55 yards and a score in their Week 3 matchup.
Draft Kings lineup
QB – Joe Flacco
RB – Ray Rice
RB – Stevan Ridley
WR – Julio Jones
WR – Torrey Smith
TE – Tony Gonzalez
Flex – Frank Gore
K – Matt Bryant
D – Baltimore Ravens
- Kaepernick, as much as I’d like to use him in every format, is prohibitively expensive on Draft Kings. Playing Flacco in a decent matchup saves you $2,000. QBs cracked the 300-yard mark nine times against the Patriots this year.
-  Smith, even after last week’s schooling of Champ Bailey and the Denver secondary, is dirt cheap, $900 less than his teammate, Boldin.
- Â Atlanta was eighth worst against fantasy running backs this season, allowing more than 18 points in five of their final six regular season games. Gore, as usual, will get his.
