These players have made an impact
We’re one round away from finding out who will play in Super Bowl LIX, and the championship games should be exciting this weekend. The divisional round games last week were fun as well.
In the NFC, Washington pulled off a huge 45-31 upset against Detroit, and Philadelphia held off the Rams 28-22. And in the AFC, Kansas City beat Houston 23-14, while Buffalo knocked off Baltimore 27-25.
With that in mind, let’s go over some Fantasy winners and losers from the divisional round. As always, we’re looking ahead, and some players helped their Fantasy outlook for the 2025 season, while others might have lost value with some poor play.
Winners
Quarterbacks
It was another awesome performance for Daniels against the Lions, and he finished 22-of-31 passing for 299 yards and two touchdowns, along with 16 carries for 51 yards. In two playoff games, Daniels has now passed for 567 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 29 carries for 87 yards. He scored at least 27 Fantasy points in each of his final six games in the regular season, and Daniels is making a strong case to be the No. 3 quarterback drafted next season behind Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, especially if the Commanders bring in another receiver to complement Terry McLaurin.
Stafford’s season is over with the Rams loss to the Eagles, but he had a strong showing in the snow at Philadelphia with 26-of-44 passing for 324 yards and two touchdowns, along with 5 rushing yards. In two playoff games, Stafford passed for 533 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, and we’ll see if he returns to the Rams in 2025 when he’ll be 37. No one is drafting Stafford as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback, but he could be a solid No. 2 option in all leagues. In the regular season, Stafford scored at least 21 Fantasy points in five of 10 games when Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were healthy.
Running backs
I didn’t expect Mixon to play well at Kansas City, but he had 18 carries for 88 yard and a touchdown and two catches for 12 yards on three targets. He finished the playoffs with 43 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns and three catches for 25 yards on five targets. He’ll be 29 in July, which isn’t ideal, but Mixon showed he still has plenty to offer. And while he ended the regular season with a four-game slump where he scored 10 PPR points or less, he still had eight games with at least 16 PPR points through Week 13. Mixon will likely be a high-end No. 2 running back in all leagues worth drafting as early as Round 3.
I had Robinson as a loser in this space last week since he struggled in the wild-card round at Tampa Bay (10 carries for 16 yards and four catches for 22 yards on five targets), but he rebounded well against the Lions with 15 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t have a target, but Robinson reminded us he can still be a low-end No. 2 running back heading into next season. We’ll see what Washington does with Austin Ekeler and the rest of the backfield this offseason, but Robinson should remain the starter in what should be a dynamic offense. He likely won’t have a huge role in the passing game, but Robinson had seven games in the regular season with at least 13 PPR points. He’s someone to target in Round 5 or later in most leagues.
Wide receivers
Terry McLaurin
McLaurin won’t get drafted as a No. 1 receiver in most leagues next season, but he should be a high-end No. 2 option worth drafting in Round 3. Against the Lions, McLaurin had four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown on six targets, and he now has 11 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 16 targets in two playoff games. The Commanders might add a significant playmaker to this passing attack in the offseason, but McLaurin should still be a prime go-to option for Jayden Daniels. And, we should recognize Dyami Brown as a winner since had six catches for 98 yards on eight targets against Detroit. He now has 11 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets in two playoff games, and he could be an interesting late-round pick if the Commanders don’t add another receiver this offseason.
Shakir is never going to be considered a No. 1 Fantasy receiver, and calling him a No. 2 option in most leagues might be a stretch. But he is a solid No. 3 receiver, and he continues to prove his worth to Josh Allen and Fantasy managers. He had six catches for 67 yards on seven targets to lead the Bills in all three categories against Baltimore, and he now has 12 catches for 128 yards on 13 targets in two playoff games. He had seven games in the regular season with at least 13 PPR points, and he should be drafted in all leagues as early as Round 6. Now, we’ll see if Buffalo adds to its receiving corps this offseason, but Shakir should remain one of Allen’s best weapons in 2025.
Tight ends
LaPorta ended his season with a solid performance in the loss to the Commanders with six catches for 51 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. That capped an impressive final stretch for LaPorta, who scored at least 13 PPR points in six of his final seven outings, including the playoffs. His low total during that span was 10 PPR points, and he had at least six targets in nine games in a row. LaPorta got off to a rough start in 2024 with nine PPR points or less in six of his first eight games, but he closed strong and should be considered a top-five tight end in all leagues in 2025. I would draft him as early as Round 5, right after Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle come off the board.
Ertz is making a strong case for the Commanders to re-sign him this offseason after he had five catches for 28 yards and a touchdown on five targets against Detroit. He’s now scored a touchdown in three of his past four games, including the playoffs, and he has seven touchdowns since Week 11. He just turned 34 in November, and he’s a free agent this offseason, so we’ll see where he plays in 2025. But if he returns to Washington then he could be a solid late-round pick in all leagues. Now, if Ertz leaves the Commanders, put rookie tight end Ben Sinnott on your radar, and he will be one of my favorite sleepers next season.
Losers
Quarterbacks
Goff is still going to get drafted as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback, but his past two performances weren’t ideal, including the loss to Washington. And losing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is now the head coach in Chicago, won’t help either. Goff scored 11 Fantasy points in Week 18 against Minnesota, and he followed that up by going 23-of-40 passing for 313 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions against Washington, along with 7 rushing yards and a fumble. He still averaged 22.7 Fantasy points during the season, and the offense will remain explosive, even with Johnson gone. That said, Goff is not a top-five quarterback in 2025, and he’s someone to wait for as a low-end starter on Draft Day.
Stroud had another mediocre performance in the playoff loss at Kansas City with 245 passing yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions, but he added six carries for 42 yards. He was sacked eight times. In two playoff games, Stroud had 527 passing yards, one touchdowns and one interception and 12 carries for 84 yards. I wish he ran like this all the time, but he only had 233 rushing yards in the regular season. And he scored at least 20 Fantasy points just three times in the 2024 campaign. Stroud was among the biggest busts in 2024, and he enters 2025 as just a No. 2 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues. He’s only worth drafting with a late-round pick.
Running backs
I’m expecting Pacheco to come back in 2025 at 100 percent, and I’m hopeful that his struggles to close the season and in the playoff win against Houston were due to the broken leg he suffered in Week 2. Pacheco scored seven PPR points or less in five regular season games after returning from the injury in Week 13, and he only had five carries for 18 yards and no catches on one target against the Texans. When healthy, Pacheco can be a top-10 Fantasy running back, and he scored at least 15 PPR points in the first two games of the season before he got hurt. As long as the Chiefs keep Pacheco in the No. 1 role in 2025, he should be worth drafting as early as Round 4 in all leagues.
Montgomery played through the knee injury he suffered in Week 15 in the playoff loss to Washington, but he only had seven carries for 28 yards, while completing a 20-yard pass. I’m sure Montgomery will remain in his usual role in tandem with Jahmyr Gibbs in 2025, and Montgomery finished the regular season averaging 15.4 PPR points per game. But what if the Lions decide to give Gibbs more work in 2025 at the expense of Montgomery? Against the Commanders, Gibbs was the best player on the field with 14 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns and six catches for 70 yards on 11 targets. When Montgomery was out, Gibbs scored at least 24 PPR points in four games in a row, with eight touchdowns over that span. I’m still expecting Montgomery to have a prominent role with the Lions, and Fantasy managers should draft him as early as Round 5. But with Johnson gone, the new play-caller might give Gibbs more work, which could hurt Montgomery’s value next year.
Wide receivers
Cooper Kupp
There used to be a time when Kupp would catch five passes for 61 yards on seven targets in a half. Or, if Kupp had that kind of stat line, we would say it was a terrible game. That’s what Kupp did against the Eagles, and it was his best outing since Week 14. He closed the regular season with four catches for 53 yards on nine targets in his final three games, and he had one catch for 29 yards on one target in the wild-card round against Minnesota. Kupp turns 32 in June, and he said he wants to keep playing. But he’s not sure if he will remain with the Rams. It’s a situation to monitor, but no matter where Kupp ends up, he’ll be a mid-round pick at best in the majority of leagues.
Hopkins had no catches on one target in his revenge game against Houston, and he’s now scored eight PPR points or less in each of his past four games. We’ll see what happens for the rest of the playoffs for Hopkins, but he might not get drafted in most Fantasy leagues in 2025. He turns 33 in June, and he’ll be a free agent this offseason. Keep an eye on where he ends up, but he’ll likely be a late-round flier at best in the majority of leagues.
Tight ends
I’m putting Andrews in this category because we have to acknowledge the poor performance he had at Buffalo. He had five catches for 61 yards on seven targets, but he lost a fumble and had a costly drop of what would have been the game-tying two-point conversion with under two minutes remaining in the game. I don’t think anything will change with Andrews’ role in Baltimore, which means Fantasy managers should consider him a top-five tight end in all leagues. I would draft him at No. 5 behind Bowers, McBride, Kittle and LaPorta. But there is the chance Isaiah Likely sees a bigger role, and the Ravens could add another pass catcher to compete for targets. Keep an eye on what happens, but I’m hopeful Andrews remains a top target for Lamar Jackson in 2025.
The playoffs have not helped Kincaid’s Fantasy value going into 2025, and he only had one catch for 11 yards on two targets against Baltimore. He had three catches for 47 yards on three targets against Denver in the wild-card round, and he’s now gone seven games in a row without a touchdown. He only had two touchdowns in the regular season, and Kincaid was a bust in 2024. He will still get drafted with a late-round pick in the majority of leagues, and hopefully he can be a breakout candidate in Year 3. Let’s see if Kincaid can finish the playoffs on a high note with a strong outing at Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game.
