San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will be a popular DFS play this Sunday when the team hosts the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game, and for good reason. Detroit finished the regular season as the third-most generous defense to wide receivers in half-PPR scoring. Their worst performances were also the most recent, as they entered the playoffs as the single best matchup to wideouts over the last five games of the regular season. In the regular season through Week 16, the Lions played man coverage at a rate that ranked 10th in the NFL and Aiyuk ranks fifth among all receivers in yards per route run against man coverage. Last week's quiet line of three catches on six targets for 32 yards is unlikely to repeat and fantasy managers can put him in their lineups with confidence.

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell will not be a fantasy option when the team hosts the Detroit Lions on Sunday with the NFC Championship on the line. Last week as the No. 2 back on the depth chart in the Divisional Round against Green Bay, Mitchell garnered zero touches and zero targets on one snap. To invest in Mitchell this week in fantasy would be to gamble on an early McCaffrey injury or garbage time in a blowout 49ers win, which are his only realistic routes to production. Even DFS players going cheap at running back will want to look elsewhere.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey enters Sunday's NFC Championship game against the Detroit Lions in Santa Clara as -- yet again -- the alpha option in fantasy. Last week against Green Bay the dual threat racked up 128 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Detroit's run defense was stellar during the regular season, only allowing 14.1 half-PPR points to opposing running backs, which was tops in the league. They finished strong as well, maintaining No.1 status over their last five regular season games. In the playoffs, the Lions held Rams breakout back Kyren Williams to 61 yards on the ground and the Bucs' Rachaad White to 55 yards. However, McCaffrey has been as matchup-proof as they come, putting up 21 and 18.8 fantasy points against the second and third-ranked Rams and Bucs run defenses, respectively. DFS players willing to spend on McCaffrey should look forward to a solid day even if Detroit stifles the 49ers' rushing attack early, as San Francisco likely shifts his usage into the passing game.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had an uneven performance in last week's Divisional Round comeback win versus the Green Bay Packers, throwing multiple inaccurate passes in the rain while mixing in a handful of brilliant ones. He'll look to sharpen up on Sunday when the team hosts the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game at Levi's Stadium. Detroit's defense has been vulnerable to the pass in both seasonlong and recent metrics. They finished the regular season ranking second-worst in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks as well as over the last five games of the season. In their two playoff games, the Lions allowed an average of 358 yards through the air. Purdy's accuracy issues should dissipate with no rain in the forecast this week. For DFS players unwilling to spend for Lamar Jackson, Purdy is arguably the next best option of the quarterbacks still standing this week in the Championship Round.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that star wide receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) isn't on the team's final injury report on Friday and will play on Sunday versus the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game. "Full-go today," Shanahan said about Samuel's practice status on Friday. Samuel didn't practice on Wednesday and was upgraded to limited in Thursday's session. The 28-year-old was forced out of the Divisional Round win early against the Green Bay Packers and never returned, but it won't stop him from playing in this weekend's big game. Samuel was looking primed for a big performance last Saturday before his injury. There's some risk because of his shoulder injury, but if he's not limited at all on Sunday, he could go off against a Lions defense that has been very generous to opposing wideouts this season.