NFL

FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Conference Championship Weekend

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Quarterback

Chalk

There will be a ton of Patriots stacks this week, and why not? New England is the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl, and Tom Brady is obviously a big reason for this. The 18-year veteran is the favorite to win the MVP award (he has already been named the MVP by the Pro Football Writers of America), and nearly all of his offensive weapons are healthy and ready to go. The Jaguars may have given up the second-fewest FanDuel points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season, but you only have to look back one week at Ben Roethlisberger's 469-yard, five-touchdown day to see that top-tier quarterbacks can beat them. (Granted, Brady likely won't have to put up those type of numbers, as there is almost no chance that he and the Pats will fall behind by three scores to the Jags like the Steelers did in the Divisional Round.)

Pivot

Blake Bortles, $7,600 (at New England Patriots)

The Eagles-Vikings game has the look of a tight, low-scoring affair. Both teams have relied heavily on their defense this season, and that won't change this weekend. Of the two in that game, I prefer Case Keenum, but if I'm going to pivot away from Brady, it will most likely be for his opponent: Blake Bortles.

Bortles has succeeded this season because he hasn't been asked to do too much. The Jags have relied on their defense and league-leading rushing game to win games, which left Bortles with fewer chances to make mistakes. His 60.2% completion rate in the regular season was a career-high, and his 13 interceptions were a career-low. At the same time, he's continued to be one of the better running quarterbacks in the league, which helps build a solid floor each week in fantasy. He ranks fourth in quarterback rushing yards since he's been in the league, behind only Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, and Tyrod Taylor.

The likely game flow this week should force him to throw more often than Doug Marrone would prefer, but New England will likely be up early on and focus on taking out Leonard Fournette, which could leave no other option. This means a higher chance for mistakes, but it also means that we could see the gun-slinging Bortles of old. We have him projected at 19 FanDuel points, returning the highest value of any quarterback on the slate.