After an exhilarating Wild Card, the excitement continued in the Divisional Round. We bookended the weekend with overtime thrillers. Denver outlasted Buffalo 33-30 in an instant classic, and Los Angeles survived Caleb Williams‘ fourth-quarter magic to knock off Chicago, 20-17.
They weren’t all nailbiters, though. Seattle steamrolled San Francisco by 35 points, basically from the opening kickoff when Rashid Shaheed took it to the house. And New England terrorized C.J. Stroud (more on him below), eliminating Houston and advancing to the next round.
In a wild turn of events, almost immediately after their win, Broncos HC Sean Payton announced Bo Nix broke a bone in his ankle late in the game and will miss the rest of the playoffs. What a brutal blow after an awesome moment.
There are only three games left in the season, and we’re dangerously close to a Jarrett Stidham vs. Sam Darnold (or worse, Drew Lock) Super Bowl. Help us, Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye; you’re our only hope.
Gotta love the playoffs!
And through it all, I watched through a dynasty fantasy football lens to keep you informed on the impact these games have. This series will continue through the Super Bowl, so keep an eye out each week for more dynasty coverage.
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Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers
RB Kenneth Walker, Seahawks
So … that’s what Kenneth Walker looks like without Zach Charbonnet stealing away goal-line carries. He took over the workload after Charbonnet went down early against San Francisco and looked like the stud we were promised all along. For Walker managers, it was glorious to behold.
Just two weeks after averaging 6.1 yards per carry against the 49ers in the regular season finale, Walker hit that exact mark once more Saturday night. This time, he gashed the 49ers for 116 yards on 19 carries and finished with a hat trick of touchdowns. He also chipped in 29 receiving yards on three catches. No TD vultures, just pure Walker domination.
Kenneth Walker’s Performance vs. 49ers
Reports on Monday announced that Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL and will require surgery. That now puts his entire 2026 campaign in doubt. More pressingly, Walker will now get the chance to carry the load once more in the NFC Championship, and possibly the Super Bowl, if the Seahawks advance.
It’ll be an interesting offseason for Walker. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent and will be one of the top options available for teams looking to upgrade their RB rooms. He has a chance to earn himself a lot of money in the coming months if he continues producing as he has over the last four games.
But it was a frustrating 2025 from a fantasy perspective for Walker. Seattle’s insistence on splitting the workload led to inconsistency and weekly headaches for fantasy managers. Both backs averaged 11.3 PPR points per game and finished barely inside RB2 territory in total points — Walker was RB22, Charbonnet RB24. The efficiency metrics for Walker, though, point to an elite playmaker:
Kenneth Walker’s 2025 Efficiency Metrics
Savvy dynasty fantasy football managers, though, were using this frustrating split to acquire both players at a discount. Charbonnet managers obviously took a hit with the injury news, but Walker’s outlook is now very bright at the moment. Even after Saturday night’s explosion, I’d still be looking to buy Walker if the price is right. I’d be comfortable sending a mid-to-late 2026 first-rounder with the hopes he lands with a team willing to give him a majority of the backfield work. After all, he doesn’t turn 26 until October and is coming off his second 1,000-yard season.
There’s still a buying window, but it’ll get tighter if he balls out again this week, so act fast.
TE Dalton Kincaid, Bills
It was a frustrating end to the season for Buffalo, but there’s at least one silver lining going into 2026: Dalton Kincaid finally looks like the first-round talent they drafted three years ago. Against Denver’s tough defense, Kincaid was a major bright spot and reliable chain-mover for QB Josh Allen. He finished as Buffalo’s leading receiver, catching all six targets for 83 yards and a score.
That performance came just a week after Kincaid caught three passes for 28 yards and found the end zone in the Wild Card round. Back-to-back games with a TD and double-digit fantasy points — not a bad way to head into the offseason.
Dalton Kincaid’s Advanced Analytics
Now, can we get this man some more targets? Hamstring, knee, and oblique injuries limited him to just 12 games in the regular season, but even when he was healthy, Kincaid’s usage was light. He only averaged 4.1 targets per game (TE30). Despite the limited opportunities, however, he made them count. Kincaid led all TEs in the following efficiency and production metrics:
- Yards per route run (3.02)
- First downs per route run (0.143)
- Fantasy points per route run (0.67)
- Yards per target (11.7)
- QB Rating per target (149.2)
- Target rate (25.9%)
- Deep target share (16.9%)
- Explosive plays (13)
Seems pretty good to me. Being the TE1 in eight categories isn’t a fluke. Kincaid has real talent; he’s just been held down by injuries and low volume. Throwing him the ball seven to eight times per game could only help Buffalo’s offense, it seems. Hopefully, the Bills make a concerted effort to do that.
From a dynasty fantasy football lens, I’d obviously be looking to buy based on those underlying metrics. If you can get him for a pick in the 1.10-2.02 range, I think that’s a win. Or maybe a pair of projected mid-to-late 2nds could get the job done.
It’s never a bad idea to bet on talent and elite efficiency. Kincaid had both this season, and he finished on a high note on Saturday.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Fallers
QB C.J. Stroud, Texans
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse two-game stretch in the playoffs from a quarterback. In the Wild Card against Pittsburgh, it almost didn’t matter that C.J. Stroud barely looked like someone who had ever handled a football before. Houston’s defense completely suffocated the Steelers, holding them to six points while scoring twice off turnovers. They won in spite of Stroud, who fumbled the ball five times — losing two in the process — and threw an interception.
Fast forward to last Sunday against New England, and Stroud somehow looked worse. He held onto the ball this time, but threw four first-half interceptions that the Texans simply couldn’t recover from. I get that the snow and cold were factors, but there’s no sugarcoating it — Stroud was brutal. He finished 20-of-47 for 212 yards with one TD and the aforementioned four picks.
C.J. Stroud’s performance vs. the Patriots
Just how bad was it? Stroud is the first player in NFL history with five-plus interceptions and five-plus fumbles in a single postseason. That he accomplished this in just two games is astonishing. Really, it was in six quarters, as he somehow didn’t turn the ball over in the second half during the loss to the Patriots.
This is not a record any player wants their name attached to, and it honestly puts some doubt into Stroud’s future in Houston. He’s a far cry from the same guy who won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023. Dating back to the start of the 2024 season, if you include his four playoff games, Stroud has only 42 TD passes against 26 interceptions. That’s not going to cut it, especially when Houston is rolling out a championship-caliber defense.
I’ve been preaching for a while to move on from Stroud in dynasty. The issue now is timing. It’s going to be hard to get market value after this recent disasterclass. Maybe let things simmer and explore trading him away later in the offseason.
Even assuming he holds onto a starting job going forward, Stroud is just not a difference-maker in fantasy. He finished 2024 as the QB28, averaging 13.7 fantasy points per game; he only marginally improved in 2025 to 15.5 PPG, good for QB20. That’s replacement-level production, even in Superflex.
Get out while you can. Stroud’s leash won’t be long in 2026 if this level of play continues, and sooner rather than later, his value is going to crater.
RB Woody Marks, Texans
Sticking with the Texans here — what a difference a week makes. Against the Steelers, rookie Woody Marks got 19 carries and crossed the century mark for the first time as a pro, finishing with 112 rushing yards and a TD.
Sadly, the production didn’t stick, and Marks faceplanted in the Divisional Round against the Patriots. Just six days after averaging 5.9 yards per carry, he managed a measly 1.2 YPC on Sunday. He ended the day with only 17 yards on 14 carries, with a fumble to boot. Yikes.
That putrid performance caps off an interesting, but inefficient, first year for Marks. With Joe Mixon nowhere to be found due to a foot injury and Nick Chubb clearly no longer able to carry the load, Marks was thrust into a lead role sooner than many expected. He logged 220 touches in the regular season, ending with 911 total yards and five TDs.
But Marks isn’t really built to be an early down back, and it showed. He spent a fair amount of time in the blue medical tent during several games and often looked like a player masquerading as a lead back when he’s better suited as a change-of-pace option.
Woody Marks’ EPX Rating
Look at his college profile, and you’ll see why that makes sense. Marks was a prolific pass-catcher out of the backfield, hauling in 261 passes over five seasons at Mississippi St and USC. The Texans would be wise to lean into that skillset, especially after Marks averaged just 3.6 YPC in 2025. With six picks in the first four rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft, I expect Houston to address the RB position and add to their room.
Because of that, if you have someone in your league excited about Marks’ future and willing to pay a decent price, it could be time to cut ties. Already 25 years old, Marks could be a usable RB2 or flex option next year, but the ceiling here is much lower than it might look at first glance.
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Wolf Trelles-Heard is a fantasy football contributor for PlayerProfiler. Find him on X at @DynastyFFWolf.
