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Fabs’ One-And-Done Fantasy Football Playoff Lineup For The Conference Round

The challenge with this format is not leaving yourself without a full starting lineup during Super Bowl week.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye faces the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye faces the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The fantasy football season isn’t over, at least not if you participate in a postseason league! There are a few different types of these competitions, but my favorite has always been “One-and-Done Leagues.” Here’s a quick overview of this format.

Rather than drafting a team, which isn’t as much fun because each week’s slate of games results in a decline in available teams and players, you’ll set a new lineup each week. The caveat is that once you use a player, you’re not allowed to use him again.

Therein lies the challenge of this format: You have to be careful not to leave yourself without a full starting lineup during Super Bowl week. That’s why the best strategy to avoid this is to fill the "onesie” positions with players from the same conference until the final week of the postseason. That’s quarterbacks, tight ends, kickers and defenses. 

Going into the playoffs, I decided to start all AFC quarterbacks until the Super Bowl. This week, I’ll use Drake Maye (sorry, Jarrett Stidham). That will leave me with either Matthew Stafford or Sam Darnold at quarterback in the Super Bowl.

At running back, I started James Cook II and RJ Harvey last week. This week, I’m going with Kenneth Walker III, who has been on fire and has absolutely owned the Rams this season. I’ll go with Rhamondre Stevenson at the other running back position. 

I played Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Davante Adams, and DJ Moore at wide receiver last week, so the pickings are slim (I used Puka Nacua in the Wild Card Round). As a result, I’ll start Courtland Sutton, Stefon Diggs, and Rashid Shaheed this week and hope to get one or two good stat lines, since the matchups are mostly tough for wideouts.

The conference with the best fantasy tight ends going into the postseason was the NFC, so I’ll start Colby Parkinson this week. That will leave me with either Hunter Henry or Evan Engram for the Super Bowl lineup. (Yeah, I’m hoping for a Pats win)!

At kicker, I’m going to use Andy Borregales. He has the best matchup of the four remaining kickers, and that will leave me to use either Jason Myers or Harrison Mevis in the final round of this one-and-done challenge. I’ve gone with all NFC defenses (I started Seattle last week), but I also started the Rams in the Wild Card Round. So, I'm going with the Broncos defense this week based on the thought that the Patriots will beat them with Stidham at quarterback and go to the Super Bowl.

If I'm wrong, I won't have a defense for the Super Bowl (go Patriots!)

Here’s my complete Conference Round lineup!

Wild Card Round | Divisional Round

Fab’s Conference Championship Round One-And-Done Starting Lineup

Pos

Player

Team

Opponent

QB

Drake Maye

NE

at DEN

RB

Kenneth Walker III

SEA

vs. LAR

RB

Rhamondre Stevenson

NE

at DEN

WR

Courtland Sutton

DEN

vs. NE

WR

Stefon Diggs

NE

at DEN

TE

Colby Parkinson

LAR

at SEA

FL

Rashid Shaheed

SEA

vs. LAR

K

Andy Borregales

NE

at DEN

DEF

Broncos

DEN

vs. NE


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Michael Fabiano
MICHAEL FABIANO

Michael Fabiano is a fantasy football analyst for Sports Illustrated. His weekly rankings and Start 'Em, Sit 'Em articles are must-reads for fantasy players. He is also the co-host of the Fantasy Dirt Podcast on SI. Before joining SI in August 2020, he worked for CBS Sports, NFL Network and SiriusXM. He also contributes to Westwood One Radio. Fabiano was the first fantasy analyst to appear on one of the four major TV networks and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.

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