4 Best Moves to Make Before Fantasy Football Playoffs

The fantasy football playoffs are here. But the savviest fantasy managers know it's never as simple as just trusting the guys who brought you to the postseason. Managers should be scouring the waiver wire looking for upgrades or high-upside pickups wherever they can.

Fantasy Football Playoffs Advice

Here are five of the best moves to make before the fantasy playoffs kick off.

4. Pick Up Jimmy Garoppolo

This only applies if you need to upgrade at quarterback or want a reliable backup. But if you do, look no further than Jimmy Garoppolo. He's actually been the fifth-best quarterback in fantasy since Week 8, scoring at least 15 points in six of his last seven games. He also has a fantastic schedule the rest of the way. The Atlanta Falcons surrender the second-most fantasy points to QBs, the Tennessee Titans surrender the seventh most, and the Houston Texans are, well, the Houston Texans. Garoppolo is the best widely available backup QB in fantasy right now, and he's probably going to outproduce most of the low-tier QB1s.

3. Be Proactive With Fantasy Defenses

If you have a healthy team and can afford to burn a bench spot, you might want to think about rostering two defenses. For example, the New Orleans Saints have been one of the better defenses in fantasy, but they're only 58% rostered because they're pretty much unplayable against the Buccaneers this week. But they're certainly going to be one of the best fantasy defenses in Week 17 thanks to a matchup with the Carolina Panthers. Similarly, you're not starting the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, but they'll probably be a top-five play against the Houston Texans in Week 16. Those two are probably going to be really difficult to pick up ahead of those great matchups, so get ahead of the curve and pick them up a week or two in advance.

2. Don't Go Overboard With Kickers

Defense is arguably more matchup-dependent than any other position in fantasy. And because the position tends to have a much higher ceiling of production, you can justify burning a bench spot to roster an extra defense. There's no need to do that with kickers. Just be smart, play the matchups, read our weekly streaming kickers article, and you'll be just fine. Even in the playoffs, there's no reason to ever roster more than one kicker.

1. Load Up On Handcuffs

In fantasy, injuries can change everything in the blink of an eye. Mix in the recent rise of positive COVID tests throughout the league, and fantasy managers need to prepare for the possibility that plenty of stars could be surprise inactives in the playoffs. Those end-of-bench guys are likely never going to crack your starting lineup, but one fluky injury or positive test could give you a legit RB1. Guys like D'Ernest Johnson and Rhamondre Stevenson standout as players who deserve to be rostered in way more leagues. But scour your league's waiver wire for players who would be in line for a massive fantasy boost were someone forced to miss time.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.