Week 17 is one of the most fun slates of the year for many reasons. Whether you’re out of your fantasy league playoffs or looking to hedge against some players, we have plenty of opportunities this weekend. If you’re playing on DraftKings or FanDuel, these are the best options for GPP contests where we’re looking for high-ceiling outcomes and potential leverage plays.
Week 17 GPP DFS Advice & Picks
The players below are the ones I’m looking at for GPP considerations for Week 17.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen (QB – BUF) vs. Jets | DraftKings: $8,500/FanDuel: $9,100
Once again because of the high price tag, people are shying away from playing the current leading contender for the MVP award. Once again that makes Josh Allen an excellent tournament play. The Jets would no doubt like to help Lamar Jackson‘s MVP case by embarrassing Allen but that might be easier said than done.
Allen scored 24 points against the Jets when they met in Week 6 and has scored over 40 points in two of his last three games. The Jets rank 27th in pass defense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) this year. If Allen can’t beat them through the air he can with his legs, averaging 50.5 yards per game over the last six games.
Correlation Suggestions: Stacking josh Allen is always tricky. Dalton Kincaid might be the easiest option, but he hasn’t been a top-12 tight end since Week 6. The YOLO options would be outside receivers Keon Coleman and Amari Cooper, who face a fully regressed Sauce Gardner.
Baker Mayfield (QB – TB) vs. Panthers | DraftKings: $6,900/FanDuel: $8,200
Baker Mayfield has been a staple of our DFS GPP plays this year. Week 17 is no exception, as Mayfield and the Buccaneers have another fun-looking matchup. The Panthers have been more helpful for fantasy football purposes since Bryce Young started finding his feet and helping them score more points, including the last time these teams met in Week 13 when the game went to overtime.
Mayfield scored only 10.2 points that week, as the running backs vultured most of the fantasy points, but with the Bucs desperate for wins to prolong their playoff hopes, this one has the potential to be fun across the board.
Correlation Suggestions: It seems obvious but the Bucs’ passing game is quite condensed with Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan the most consistent options lately. To differentiate, you could stack Rachaad White with Baker Mayfield as the ways White wins through the passing game doesn’t prohibit Mayfield from having a good game.
Aidan O’Connell (QB – LV) @ Saints | DraftKings: $5,100/FanDuel: $6,800
After one week of the dreadful Desmond Ridder, it felt so good to have Aidan O’Connell back in our lives in Week 16. O’Connell has only scored 12+ points once in his last three games, so this one does involve a good deal of hope.
Nevertheless, the matchup makes it worth considering. The Saints have allowed four top-seven performances this year, including two since the start of Week 11. They are allowing the third-most yards per play. O’Connell has the best weapons in this matchup and is cheap enough to consider for large-field tournaments.
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND) @ Giants | DraftKings: $7,900/FanDuel: $8,400
If it wasn’t for a dropped ball at the goal line, we could be talking about how Jonathan Taylor went nuclear at the perfect time of year. Taylor has averaged 144 yards over the past three games and scored four — almost five — touchdowns in that period. Now Taylor faces a Giants defense woeful against the run, allowing 4.8 yards per carry and the second-most rushing yards per game (142.6).
Correlation Suggestions: Malik Nabers continues to be banged up and hardly practices but he’s the clear high-ceiling correlation play. If Nabers is reported to be limited coming into the game then Wan’Dale Robinson could be worth a speculative pivot.
Breece Hall (RB – NJY) @ Bills | DraftKings: $6,300/FanDuel: $7,900
It’s slightly mind-boggling that Breece Hall is even playing at this point in the year when he’s dealt with injuries of late. Nevertheless, he is. He looked more explosive last week than he had in previous weeks.
Hall hasn’t finished inside the top 20 of fantasy backs in any of his last three games but he could do so against a weak Buffalo run defense allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs, including eight top-eight weekly finishes.
Correlation Suggestions: It feels like Breece Hall and Josh Allen will be an uncommon pairing, and that feels quite intriguing.
Alexander Mattison (RB – LV) @ Saints | DraftKings: $5,600/FanDuel: $5,700
Last week, we talked about how if the game script was more positive it could favor Alexander Mattison over Ameer Abdullah, and that’s what played out with Abdullah seeing seven rush attempts to Mattison’s 12. Ultimately it didn’t matter too much, as both found the end zone, something they’ll have a solid chance to repeat in Week 17 with the Saints allowing the fifth-most running back fantasy points and ranking 30th in run defense.
Correlation Suggestions: It feels easier to lean into the Raiders side of this game but if Marquez Valdes-Scantling is healthy enough to play he could be an intriguing bring-back if we chase the idea the Raiders are in control and the Saints go pass-heavy.
Kendre Miller (RB – NO) vs. Raiders | DraftKings: $85,500/FanDuel: $6,200
If Alexander Mattison doesn’t appeal to you then let’s flip over to the other side of this game and consider Kendre Miller, who looks set for a large role once again. Miller averaged 5.1 yards per carry in Week 16. If it wasn’t for the Saints getting completely blown out by 34 points, Miller could have had a nice game.
The Raiders rank 25th in run defense DVOA and allow an average of 4.4 yards per carry. If this game stays close, Miller could see enough volume to help him pay off this price tag.
Rachaad White (RB – TB) vs. Panthers | DraftKings: $5,400/FanDuel: $6,800
Bucky Irving will be one of the most popular plays this weekend. He’s by no means a bad play with the Panthers ranking 32nd in run defense, but if you’d like to be different and gain leverage then Rachaad White is worth considering.
White has averaged 16.7 points over his last three games, including three touchdowns. White’s 3.7 receptions per game is the seventh-most among running backs. The Panthers just allowed nine receptions on nine targets to Arizona running backs in Week 16.
Correlation Suggestions: Adam Thielen is the volume-based play on the Panthers, while Jalen Coker is a better home-run swing for very large tournaments.
Wide Receivers
A.J. Brown (WR – PHI) vs. Cowboys | DraftKings: $7,800/FanDuel: $8,800
Whisper it quietly but Jalen Hurts missing this game might not be the worst thing in the world for A.J. Brown. Hurts missed Brown on the two targets he sent his way before leaving with a concussion in Week 16. Replacement Kenny Pickett became hyper-focused on Brown, targeting him 13 times out of his 24 pass attempts, resulting in a 54% target share. This was a season-high in both targets and target share for Brown.
Brown now takes on a weak Cowboys pass defense ranked ninth in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. Since Week, 12 the Cowboys have allowed two top-eight fantasy finishes, as well as allowing the fifth-highest completion rate and the third-highest yards per attempt.
Correlation Suggestions: With no CeeDee Lamb this game feels far less stackable. Speculative shots on Jake Ferguson make some sense with the Eagles having allowed five tight end touchdowns since Week 11.
Mike Evans (WR – TB) vs. Panthers | DraftKings: $7,500/FanDuel: $8,600
With 182 yards left to go until Mike Evans hits 1,000 yards for the 11th straight season, it’s incredibly hard not to play him, particularly in such a good matchup. The Bucs have talked about how important Evans’ streak is and it shouldn’t be surprising to see them force high volume to their best player.
When these two teams met in Week 13, Evans had 118 yards and a touchdown, finishing as the WR3 on the week.
Correlation Suggestions: Baker Mayfield double-stacks feel very much in play once again with Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan. In large-field contests, Rachaad White could be used as well, but he feels like better leverage away from Evans than combined with him.
Brian Thomas Jr. (JAX) vs. Titans | DraftKings: $6,800/FanDuel: $7,500
Perhaps it’s due to Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and Evan Engram injuries or it’s just another classic case of a rookie finding his feet as the season goes on, but Brian Thomas Jr. has taken a leap in recent weeks. Since Week 11, Thomas has no fewer than 86 yards in a game, along with double-digit targets in each game. He has also scored four touchdowns in that spell, averaging 21.9 points per game.
The Titans are a well-coached defense but lack talent and are tiring as the season goes on, allowing the fourth-highest completion rate since Week 11 along with the eighth-highest yards per attempt. Thomas saw 12 targets against the Titans in Week 14. He will likely see similar volume again.
Correlation Suggestions: Chigoziem Okonkwo has been on a tear recently with 21 targets earned in his last two games. Pairing Brian Thomas Jr. and Chigoziem Okonkwo makes plenty of sense. If Tony Pollard should miss out, Tyjae Spears becomes plenty interesting.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB) @ Vikings | DraftKings: $5,900/FanDuel: $6,700
Christian Watson is yet to practice this week, recording did not practice (DNP) designations Wednesday and Thursday, making his status for Sunday doubtful. Without Watson, it should make Jayden Reed’s ceiling a little higher against a Vikings defense allowing the most wide receiver fantasy points.
Reed has scored over 15 points just twice in his last six games but the Vikings have allowed a whopping 14 receivers to score over 18 PPR points this year, including 27.1 to Reed in Week 4.
Correlation Suggestions: Jordan Addison is set to be chalky this week after a solid few weeks, but pairing Jayden Reed with him, Justin Jefferson or T.J. Hockenson makes sense for a game that has plenty of passing game potential.
Tight Ends
Brock Bowers (TE – LV) @ Saints | DraftKings: $6,700/FanDuel: $7,600
The return of Aidan O’Connell was a lifeline for Brock Bowers, who was coming off a miserable 3/35 day with Desmond Ridder in Week 15. The lifeline was glorious with Bowers catching 11 passes for 99 yards and finishing as the TE1 overall for the third time since Week 11.
The Saints are stronger against the tight end position than wide receivers but that shouldn’t matter for Bowers, who is on a record-breaking tear right now, becoming the third rookie tight end to surpass 1,000 yards and needing only five more catches to break Puka Nacua‘s rookie receptions record of 105. The price is a little harder to swallow on FanDuel compared to DraftKings, but he is not worth ruling out because of it.
Correlation Suggestions: The super-bold strategy is Aidan O’Connell double-stacks, while the more straightforward option is mini-correlations with Kendre Miller.
Brenton Strange (TE – JAX) vs. Titans | DraftKings: $4,000/FanDuel: $5,100
Last week, everybody wanted to play Brenton Strange after an insane 12-target game in Week 15, but Strange was a disappointment with only two catches and 22 yards against the Raiders. He is projected for low rostership this week because of that dud.
Since Week 8, the Titans have allowed four double-digit performances to tight ends. With divisional pride on the line, there’s enough reason to be hopeful this game can provide some points.
Correlation Suggestions: We can keep an eye on this matchup in case Tony Pollard misses it. If he does. pairing Brenton Strange with Tyjae Spears would be a low-cost and fun pairing.
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