Season’s greetings, Sporting Nation! We hope you had a fun, festive, and COVID-free Christmas filled with food, family, and (daily) good fortune from fantasy football! If your season-long rework team is still on their feet for championship week, congrats and good luck taking home the ‘chip! If you are dead in the water like I am in my four leagues, you have come to the right place. We are here every week that NFL football is played, and we earn money every week highlighting sleepers and values for DFS tournaments on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Every Tuesday this year, we’ve highlighted our favorite plays that go unnoticed. We examined the player pools on the two most popular DFS sites and compiled a list of players that we project will far exceed their modest prices. By identifying value early and frequently when setting up our DFS alignments, we allow ourselves updates at other positions.
MORE WEEK 17 DFS: Better Stacks | Lineup Creator
If you read this column before Week 16, you would have benefited from our advice for choosing a large number of low-cost, high-value players for your classic DFS rosters. Here’s our “good list” from last week – a bunch of dudes who spread the holiday cheer and brought home the bacon for tens of thousands of contestants (Week 16 matchups, costs, and production listed).
- Russell Wilson, Seahawks vs. Bears (DK: $ 6,100 | FD: $ 7,500): 20.54
- David Montgomery, Bears at Seahawks (DK: $ 5,700 | FD: $ 6,600): 23.6
- Ronald Jones II, Buccaneers at Panthers (DK: $ 5,100 | FD: $ 5,400): 16.1
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions at Falcons (DK: $ 5,600 | FD: $ 6,500): 26.0
- Antonio Brown, Buccaneers at Panthers (DK: $ 4,900 | FD: $ 7,000): 20.1
- Jared Cook, Chargers at Texans (DK: $ 3,500 | FD: $ 5,100): 9.4
- Broncos D / ST at Raiders (DK: $ 2,800 | FD: $ 3,800): 10.0
That’s a neat list of seven high-value, low-cost DFS plays. If you hit any of these, you bought an elite-level production without paying premium prices. By taking advantage of the sleepers and values, a stud in another position has likely been provided.
We’ve been killing with these budget plays all year, and we’re ready to get the New Year off to a good start by putting some more money in our pockets. Let’s go for it!
All player values are from DraftKings and FanDuel. All stats are from NFL.com and Pro Football Reference.
NFL DFS Week 17 Picks: Sleeping QBs, DraftKings Values, FanDuel
Joe Burrow, Bengals vs. Chiefs (DK: $ 6,900 | FD: $ 7,700)
The 2020 NFL Draft top pick went wild last week, completing 37 of 46 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns. Show them how you really feel about that Pro Bowl snub, Joe! Damn, he was good, he finished with 41 fantasy points and skyrocketed his cost from $ 5,900 to $ 6,900. But in my opinion, a red-hot Burrow in a late-season surge is well worth less than $ 7,500. The Chiefs are ranked 27th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks this season. We hope Joe saved some of that Pro Bowl ire for Week 17.
Jalen Hurts, Eagles at WFT (DK: $ 6,600 | FD: $ 7,900)
When the Eagles win, it’s usually because Hurts put them on his back. Since Week 10, Philadelphia has won four of the five games the sophomore quarterback started, and averaged 24.1 fantasy points in those wins. The Philadelphia faithful should be delighted that Hurts is back to full health in time for the final stretch of the playoff race. Next on the agenda is WFT, which ranks last in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks this season.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins at Titans (DK: $ 5,800 | FD: $ 6,700)
It’s been Tua Time for seven straight weeks, but somehow no one talks about it because the actual stats have been less than stellar. Well, Tennessee has a secondary that ranks in the bottom third of the NFL, and Tagovailoa plays well in warmer weather conditions. Both teams have huge playoff implications around this game. I expect the second-year quarterback to finish closer to 20 fantasy points than his 16 average.
WEEK 17 PPR RANKINGS:
Field marshal | Running backwards | Wide receiver | Tight end | D / ST | Kicker
NFL DFS Picks Week 17: RB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
Damien Harris, Patriots vs. Jaguars (DK: $ 6,600 | FD: $ 7,400)
Here’s another guy that might not qualify as a “sleeper” but has an absolute value of $ 6,600. Harris has recorded a total of 51.4 points (all on the ground) over the course of his last two games. Now, he revels in a Jacksonville defense that ranks 24th in rushing yards allowed (123.4 / game) and 28th in TDs allowed (18) on the season. Harris has 857 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, and has a good chance of reaching 1,000 yards and 15 TDs by the end of the season. This week will play an important role in those feats.
Ronald Jones II, Buccaneers on Jets (DK: $ 6,300 | FD: $ 7,000)
Jones took a major step for the Bucs last week after Leonard Fournette hit the IR with a hamstring injury. RoJo converted 22 touches on 81 yards and a touchdown in Tampa’s easy win over Carolina, resulting in 16.1 PPR points. It should be even better this week considering the Jets rank last in fantasy points allowed for the running back position. I know Tom Brady loves to destroy Gang Green, but I also think he will have no qualms about handing the ball to Jones 20 more times to milk the clock.
Chase Edmonds, Cardinals at Cowboys (DK: $ 5,700 | FD: $ 6,500)
Edmonds was absent due to an ankle injury from Week 10 through Week 14, but seemed completely healed in Week 16. He started in place of James Conner (heel), who had flourished with 16 touchdowns and a Pro Bowl nod. as leader of the Cardinals. Back, Edmonds put up a great line against Indy. He ran 16 times for 56 yards and a TD and caught eight of nine passes for another 71 yards. If Conner does sit down again, Edmonds is a no-brainer against the Cowboys, who have been susceptible to catching passes this season.
WEEK 17 STANDARD RATINGS:
Field marshal | Running backwards | Wide receiver | Tight end | D / ST | Kicker
NFL DFS Picks Week 17: WR sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins at Titans (DK: $ 6,700 | FD: $ 7,000)
Waddle’s rise to stardom has been directly correlated with season-ending success for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins. The explosive rookie has caught at least nine passes in three straight games, accumulating 319 yards in that span. How come this kid isn’t trading at $ 7,000 on DraftKings? He just scored 25.2 PPR points in New Orleans, and now he draws the second most generous secondary in fantasy football. Take the money and run.
DeVonta Smith, Eagles at WFT (DK: $ 6,300 | FD: $ 6,100)
I guess it’s stack week, since this is the second instance I’ve stacked a second-year quarterback with his rookie catcher. Smith and Hurts have a mental fusion that dates back to their college careers in Alabama, and I think their success will go hand in hand going forward this season. The rookie caught five of seven passes for 80 yards and a TD in Week 16 for Philadelphia against the Giants. It should deal similar damage to WFT, which is ranked 30th in PPR points allowed to receivers.
Christian Kirk, Cardinals at Cowboys (DK: $ 5,800 | FD: $ 6,400)
If the Cardinals are going to finish this season well, they will need Kirk to stand out in a big way with DeAndre Hopkins (knee) in the IR. The fourth-year receiver did just that in Week 15, catching nine of 12 targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. His fantasy numbers were much easier in Week 16, but that’s mostly because Indy limited the deep ball (you’ll still get seven sacks on nine targets for $ 5,600 most days). Dallas has a seven-above-average front led by rookie phenom Micah Parsons, but the Cowboys’ secondary still makes a lot of big plays. This is a great play in a game that should be a shootout.
NFL DFS Week 17 Picks: TE Sleepers, DraftKings Values, FanDuel
Dawson Knox, Bills vs. Falcons (DK: $ 5,500 | FD: $ 6,200)
Knox was pretty quiet last week, but found the end zone for the second time in three weeks and fourth since Week 12. With the Bills defeating the Pats last weekend to secure first place in the AFC East, Josh Allen be looking to preserve that position. Knox should see great use against a Falcons back-seven who are constantly struggling in pass coverage.
Gerald Everett, Seahawks vs. Lions (DK: $ 4,100 | FD: $ 5,200)
Everett has been a silent killer in the intermediate passing game of late, hitting double digits in fantasy points three weeks in a row and hitting 14 points three times since Week 10. He’s clearly a safety blanket for Russell Wilson, who has connected with him for four receptions and / or a touchdown in five consecutive games. Detroit ranks 23rd in fantasy points allowed to tight ends.
NFL DFS Week 17 Picks: D / ST Sleepers, DraftKings Values, FanDuel
Saints vs. Panthers (DK: $ 3,400 | FD: $ 4,700)
New Orleans took a beating from the Dolphins on Monday, but that was in large part because it had lost three quarterbacks to injuries and COVID protocols. The Saints D still only allowed 14 offensive points and finished with six fantasy points. Against an error-prone offense, led by Cam Newton / Sam Darnold, this should be a double-digit performance from Sean Payton’s defensive unit.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.