Vanek's Views: DraftKings NFL DFS Picks for Wild Card Weekend (Sunday Slate)

by Jordan Vanek (vanekjordan) Last Updated 2026-01-10 19:16:16 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

Using his experience as a former scout and staff member at Central Florida under Josh Heupel, Jordan Vanek takes an in-depth look at the upcoming NFL DFS main slate on DraftKings for Wild Card Weekend (Sunday Slate). Formerly of The 33rd Team and 4for4 Fantasy Football, Jordan’s deep dive into the best stacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends is a must-read before you start building your lineups.

Surprisingly, there aren’t many weather concerns on this slate, but you should still be checking our NFL weather page as we get closer to lock – especially with Florida’s pop-up showers always in play. In my opinion, it’s the best tool in the business and something everyone should be monitoring right up until kickoff.

3-game slates also create plenty of late-swap opportunities as we move through each game, and our NFL DFS projections will provide real-time updates as news breaks and inactives are announced. Once you see how ownership lands on James Cook and Travis Etienne Jr., you can start planning swaps – whether that means pivoting onto Saquon Barkley or even getting to both New England running backs for leverage.

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NFL DFS DraftKings Picks: Top Stacks, RBs, WRs, & TEs for Wild Card Weekend (Sunday Slate)

Game Stacks

Josh Allen ($7,000, QB, Buffalo Bills)

Khalil Shakir ($4,800, WR, Buffalo Bills)

Dawson Knox ($3,300, TE, Buffalo Bills)

Travis Etienne Jr. ($6,600, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars)

Parker Washington ($5,000, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars)

These are the types of games where I can’t help but click Allen’s name almost every time. In the biggest spots, Allen’s usage spikes – especially his rushing workload, which tends to take a noticeable step forward. The wide receiver to pair with Allen is always tricky, but I have my reasons for the picks.

One specific area where the Jaguars struggle is defending Trips formations, and Shakir’s usage out of Trips is extremely high. Dalton Kincaid ($3,800, TE) shows up in the graphic below with strong yards per route run from Trips as well, but the Jaguars are much better at defending slot tight ends and significantly worse against in-line tight ends. That’s where Knox comes in. He dominates the in-line usage, with the next tight end in that role being Jackson Hawes ($2,500, TE). I prefer Knox because of how often he gets schemed red-zone looks, and his snap rate has been over 60% in 7 of the last 8 games the Bills’ main starters played.

On the other side, the Bills have struggled to defend the slot and the run, which is why I’m building this with Etienne and Washington. I want two Jaguars in these builds because the goal is to push the Bills into a true shootout where the game stays competitive and Allen is forced to stay aggressive. Etienne has been one of the best running backs in the NFL this season and has re-established himself as the workhorse for this Jaguars offense, and I expect him to see his highest usage of the season from this point forward. Washington has also emerged as a major piece of this offense recently, to the point where it’s becoming difficult to take him off of the field. He’s been a huge addition in the slot and has produced at an elite level, averaging over 2.44 yards per route run from the slot. Considering how often he was rotated in and out of the lineup earlier this season, it’s been impressive to see him begin to dominate the usage.

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