If you're playing in the 2023 NFL Playoff Challenge, you've likely identified players during the opening round of the 2023 NFL playoffs who have provided production every week while their teams made deep postseason runs. However, most players will need to make substitutions in their 2023 NFL Playoff Challenge lineups when they've rostered players whose teams have been knocked out. With the Cowboys, Giants, Jaguars and Bills all eliminated last week, popular players were taken off the board as you formulate your NFL Playoff Challenge strategy for conference championship week. Which players in the 2023 NFC Championship Game and 2023 AFC Championship Game should you target if you're looking for substitutions in your Fantasy football rankings? Before you lock in your 2023 NFL Playoff Challenge picks, be sure to see what SportsLine's Mike McClure has to say.
McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with over $2 million in career winnings. His methodology has led to enormous cashes on FanDuel and DraftKings. He took down two high-stakes tournaments on FanDuel in 2020 and recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in tournaments with over 130,000 entrants on DraftKings. His lineups also finished inside the top 1% in more than a dozen other tournaments.
He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best values that he shares only with members at SportsLine.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to the 2023 NFL Playoff Challenge and locked in his top Fantasy football picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NFL Playoff Challenge picks for the Championship Round
One of McClure's top NFL Playoff Challenge picks for the Championship Round: 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. The move from Carolina to San Francisco helped reestablish McCaffrey as a workhorse and he wound up finishing with 1,880 total scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns. Now firmly entrenched as the No. 1 back for the 49ers, McCaffrey has carried the ball 25 times for 154 yards and a touchdown while also catching eight passes for 39 yards and a score this postseason.
McCaffrey has averaged 19.5 touches per game since taking over as San Francisco's starter and you can expect a similar workload on Sunday against the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game 2023.
Another part of McClure's optimal NFL Playoff Challenge lineup includes rostering Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon. Last week, McKinnon had his most carries since Week 15 against Houston and turned 11 attempts into 25 yards. Although his offensive output may not have raised many eyebrows, he should continue getting more work against Cincinnati since Kansas City could change its usual approach following Patrick Mahomes' ankle injury last Saturday.
McKinnon has been most dangerous this season as a pass-catcher, even though he wasn't targeted last weekend. Whether it comes in the form of carries or passes close to the line of scrimmage, McKinnon should play a bigger part in Kansas City's offense this week to limit Mahomes' exposure to Cincinnati's pass rush. Bills running back Devin Singletary caught 5-of-8 targets last week against the Bengals, so McKinnon should be able to find opportunities through the air once again on Sunday. See who else to pick here.
How to build 2023 NFL Playoff Challenge lineups
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for big numbers during the AFC Championship Game and NFC Championship Game. This pick could be the difference between winning your NFL Playoff Challenge lineups or going home with nothing. You can see who it is over at SportsLine.
So what is the optimal 2023 NFL Playoff Challenge lineup for the Championship Round? Visit SportsLine now to see the full optimal tournament lineup for the NFL Playoff Challenge, all from a daily Fantasy expert with over $2 million in winnings, and find out.
