DraftKings NFL Week 17 Positional Breakdown

 

After a short four months, we have found our way to the end of the NFL season. I really enjoyed putting this article together on a weekly basis, and I hope it helped you in your quest to put together better lineups, whether for cash games or tournaments. This week will be a little more testy, as the AFC playoff picture is mostly set, and the NFC only has a few missing pieces. Many teams will sit players in an effort to allow them to be fresher for the playoffs.

 

QUARTERBACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP: One team that hasn’t settled anything yet is the Green Bay Packers, who look to lock down the division and a playoff spot this week. As a result, Aaron Rodgers ($7700) should be a highly owned player. The matchup is excellent as well, as the Lions aren’t exactly stout against the pass. Russell Wilson ($6800) is in a similar position, as the Seahawks are battling the Falcons for the number two seed and first round bye, which means we should see a big game from him. The Niners can hope to stop him, but probably won’t be so lucky. Jameis Winston ($6100) will try to lead the Buccaneers into the playoffs this year, and gets a favorable matchup against the Panthers and their awful secondary. At this price, it’s tough to imagine him not being highly owned.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP: At this point in the year, many players should have moved on from the narrative of playing someone against only because it is a good matchup. Kirk Cousins ($6500) is fighting for a spot in the playoffs, and the Redskins will try to get past a tough Giants defense. Matthew Stafford ($6000) hasn’t been a very good quarterback from a fantasy perspective this year, but I think he could end the season on a bang if he’s able to take advantage of the Packers secondary. He’s got the homefield advantage, and I think he should end up with a big score. Blake Bortles ($5600) has been probably the most disappointing quarterback this year, but he’s in a good position this week to have a big game against a bad Indianapolis defense. I doubt he’ll carry high ownership at all.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Wilson/Rodgers/Winston

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Wilson/Bortles/Cousins

 

RUNNING BACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – There is little doubt that Devonta Freeman ($7000) will carry high ownership against a really bad Saints run defense. He should be a good bet to destroy them this week. The Vikings defense is reeling and with the type of workload he’s likely to get, Jordan Howard ($6800) should continue to see high ownership. I think I’d prefer to go this route in tournaments than in cash games, but he’s still usable. Thomas Rawls ($5800) literally had one good game this year, but players will always target running backs against the Niners. After recording his third 200 yard game of the year, I would expect pretty high ownership on Jay Ajayi ($5900). The matchup isn’t great against the Patriots, but I think he could still end up having a nice day. I would expect the highest ownership this week to go to De’Angelo Williams ($5500), who should see a full workload against the Cleveland Browns this week. He’ll be everyone’s chalk play at this price.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – David Johnson ($9800) could be higher owned than I think, but with the top quarterbacks, and thus their more expensive weapons, I could see Johnson being more low owned. The Bills are in a tough matchup, and again, I think the cheaper options will affect the ownership of LeSean McCoy ($8900). He makes for a great option in tournaments if you can afford him. Ty Montgomery ($5700) was way too over-hyped last weekend, and really cost everyone who played him, which should drop his ownership considerably. Despite that, I think Rodgers could end up using him and he could end up being a nice play. Fantasy players prefer Freeman to Tevin Coleman ($5100), so despite the price savings, I think you’ll end up seeing lop sided ownership between the two. Even with Doug Martin out of the picture, I could see Jacquizz Rodgers ($4900) with very low ownership, and that could make him an excellent tournament option.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Freeman/Johnson/McCoy

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Coleman/Rodgers/Ajayi

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – Odell Beckham Jr ($9000) checks in at the top of the pricing this week, and also will probably take in a considerably amount of ownership this week. After having several back to back monster weeks, it’s hard to imagine Jordy Nelson ($8100) not commanding a great deal of ownership as well. He’s clearly Aaron Rodgers go to guy, and that won’t change this week. Speaking of go to guys, I cannot see a way this week that Doug Baldwin ($7200) won’t be a highly owned player. He’s very good in crunch time, and it’s hard to imagine seeing who is going to be able to deal with him this week. Chicago’s defense has been poor, and Adam Thielen ($5600) had a monster game last weekend, which will surely translate into a big gain in ownership this week. I’m not saying not to do it, I’m just reminding you that this is Adam Thielen and not Antonio Brown. Speaking of Brown, without him, Eli Rogers ($4000) could be in for a big day, and I could see his ownership being pretty high as a result.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – T.Y. Hilton ($7600) could be the odd one out of the higher-end receivers this week. The matchup isn’t great against a Jacksonville secondary that is improving, but he’s still a high end tournament option. Brandin Cooks ($6900) is typically a better option at home, and that is what I think most fantasy players will think and look past him this week. As a result, you have dynamite in a bottle at a low ownership. That’s the perfect recipe for a GPP win. On a site like DraftKings, Larry Fitzgerald ($6000) is an excellent option who is likely to see good targets, and is probably gunning for the 1,000 yard mark this year. DeSean Jackson ($5600) is someone who will unquestionably go overlooked, but his price and upside makes him a great tournament play this week. I could see Cousins looking his way a lot in an effort to get big gains quick. Despite crossing the 100 yard mark last week, Allen Robinson ($5500) will continue to see low ownership as a result of a poor season. Again, if he does what he did last week and makes it into the end zone, he’s winning someone a tournament.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Nelson/Baldwin/Rogers

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Hilton/Robinson/Jackson

 

TIGHT ENDS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – If it wasn’t for the fact that he doesn’t score many touchdowns, Travis Kelce ($5000) would put up a huge argument for second round value. Thankfully, we only have to be concerned about one week, and I think he’ll be a vital part of the Chiefs plans this week. Zach Ertz ($4800) seems to only be a functional option in the second half of the season, so I could totally see him having a big game this week. If people aren’t on Charles Clay ($3500) by now, they are too late. He’s been good for the last three weeks, and I could see E.J. Manuel needing to use him a lot this week.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – Kyle Rudolph ($4600) has been the perennial cash game tight end play, as his price seemingly never goes up, yet he puts together double digit fantasy outings each week. I don’t care who they are playing, anytime Delanie Walker ($4000) is at or around $4k, you have to take notice. It’s tough to see how this team might be without Mariota, but I’d assume Walker will still be a big part of things. Jesse James ($3000) could be in for a big day, with Brown and Bell likely out, and Ladarius Green dealing with a concussion. The Browns are horrible against tight ends.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Kelce/Clay/Walker

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Kelce/James/Clay

 

DEFENSES

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – If the Seattle Seahawks ($3700) were at home, they could be the highest owned defense any week this year. They aren’t, but I suspect they will still be highly owned against the Niners. The Buffalo Bills ($3400) are a team I will target, as they are taking on the Jets who have just been awful this year. This is another defense on the road situation, which I typically don’t like, but you have to deal with it. The Pittsburgh Steelers ($3600) against the Browns will also carry high ownership, and with them being at home, it will probably be the route I go.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – Can the Minnesota Vikings ($3800) end the season the way they started it? They could against the Bears, and as a result make a nice low owned play. The Kansas City Chiefs ($3300) have been a pretty good defense in fantasy, and they get a pretty good matchup here against the Chargers. The Brock Osweiler experiment has failed, and even though Tom Savage has been better, I think that the Tennessee Titans ($2900) have some appeal.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Steelers/Seahawks/Bills

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Steelers/Vikings/Titans

 

I hope you enjoyed this article this year. I would love to do it again next year and I hope this helped you make some decisions that led to winning money.

 

Nicholas Volinchak is a correspondent at FF Nation. To read more from Nicholas, follow him @researchandwin. You can find more of Nicholas’ football work at Research Fantasy.