Noto's NFL DFS Key Personnel: Conference Championships

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2026-01-23 00:07:08 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. So, who better to walk you through all of the key NFL DFS positions each week? Noto has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career, and he will mix it up in all different types of contests. In his Key Personnel article for the Conference Championships, he will walk you through his favorite NFL DFS picks, ways to pivot away from the chalk, and overall strategy.

Welcome back to this season’s final edition of Key Personnel. We’ll have plenty of content up for the Super Bowl, but I will be writing the Grind Down rather than this article. My big stance last weekend was to fade of Christian McCaffrey. If you told me he finished the week with 12 fantasy points, I would have expected a huge week in DFS. Unfortunately, I made a late swap to Zach Charbonnet over Kenneth Walker. The former got hurt early, and Walker scored 3 touchdowns after Charbonnet left the game. It was disappointing to be so close to a big week, but hopefully some of you had success with the CMC fade.

We now turn our attention to the Conference Championships. It seems that the majority of NFL fans are excited for one game (Seahawks vs. Rams) and are disappointed with the other (Broncos vs. Patriots). I get the feeling that both of these games will come down to the wire. It’s an interesting slate for DFS, as there are a lot of question marks. There are more options than we would typically have for a 2-game slate, especially at wide receiver. As is always the case with these small slates, don’t hesitate to use late swap after the first game. If there are any changes to my core plays, you can find my updated Expert Play tags in our NFL DFS optimizer, LineupHQ.

Editor’s Note: Looking for more places to play? Check out our Underdog promo code and PrizePicks promo code, two of the best DFS sites available today.

NFL DFS Top Picks & Plays: Noto’s Key Personnel for the Conference Championships

Top Quarterback Plays

Tier 1 – Core Plays

Matthew Stafford ($6,300 DK / $8,300 FD) is easily my favorite quarterback this weekend. There are paths for every other team to win without a big game from their signal caller. I don’t see that with the Rams. For them to beat the Seahawks in Seattle, they’ll need a big game from this season’s likely MVP. He’s already recorded 9 games this season with at least 25 fantasy points, and he had 34 fantasy points against Seattle in their last meeting. It’s not a good matchup on paper, but there aren’t any good matchups for the quarterbacks on this slate.

Tier 2 – Strong Plays

The projection models like Sam Darnold ($5,500 DK / $7,400 FD) this week. He’s at home, he has a ton of weapons, and he has the best matchup (the Rams are 14th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks). However, in the second half of the season, the Seahawks have wanted Darnold to be more of a game manager. In the last 3 games (all must-win contests), he’s attempted fewer than 30 passes. With that said, the argument for Darnold is clear: If the Seahawks get behind early, they will have no choice but to unleash this passing attack. I’m on board with Darnold in tournaments, but his floor is much lower than Stafford’s.

Drake Maye ($6,000 DK / $8,100 FD) has to be thanking his lucky stars that CJ Stroud had one of the worst postseason starts of all time, because he threw an interception and fumbled 4 times in their win over the Texans. He goes from one brutal matchup to another, as he now travels to Denver to take on the Broncos, who are 6th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks this season. Maye does bring rushing upside to the table, but I could see this game turning into a defensive battle.

🏈 Quarterbacks – Noto’s Notes

🏆 Core Plays: Matthew Stafford
💪 Strong Plays: Sam Darnold, Drake Maye
🔗 Potential Pairings: Stafford + Nacua and/or Adams, Darnold + JSN

Top Running Back Plays

Want to read more? Sign up for NFL Premium!

-

-

-