We have officially arrived at Week 17 after the Christmas and Thursday night slate has already been played this week. This DFS slate will feature the Saturday and Sunday NFL slate for Week 17 as there are plenty of games to have a slate this week. Injuries and different situations have muddled the quarterback position for DFS this week, but it should still have good odds and money opportunities for the week. Here are my picks for Week 17.
Quarterback Must Starts For Week 17
Jayden Daniels ($7,800 DraftKings, $8,500 FanDuel )
Daniels is coming off a huge 5 passing touchdown performance against the No. 1 defense in the league the Philadelphia Eagles. Before last week, the Eagles only allowed 2 passing touchdowns in a game, so Daniels was phenomenal throwing the five. Daniels did throw 2 interceptions in the game. Look for the potential Offensive Rookie of the Year to continue his hot streak of the last few weeks in primetime under the lights of Sunday Night Football against the Falcons.
Michael Penix Jr. ($5,400 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel )
Speaking of the Falcons, Michael Penix Jr is also a worthy start this week as he is coming off a strong debut against the Giants. The Commanders’ defense is susceptible to the passing game at times and is coming off a game where Kenny Pickett had to fill in for Jalen Hurts and put up some decent passing numbers. Look for Penix to have a larger impact on Sunday Night.
Josh Allen ($8,500 DraftKings, $9,100 FanDuel )
Josh Allen did struggle a little bit last week against the Patriots but he still had a solid game fantasy-wise. As he faces a Jets team that has given up a lot of yards in the passing game since the firing of Robert Salah earlier in the season, expect Josh to reach his normal ceiling in fantasy this weekend.
Quarterback Must Sits For Week 17
On the flip side of things, here are a few of the players we are sitting in Week 17.
Cooper Rush ($5,400 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel)
Cooper Rush struggled against the Eagles in the first meeting in Dallas earlier in the season, I would expect the same thing to happen especially without the services of CeeDee Lamb for the rest of the season. Rush has been playing better since that game but the Eagles did force five turnovers in that loss last week in the DMV. Look for the Eagles to bounce back and contain Rush in the rain on Sunday.
Kenny Pickett ($5,500 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel )
Pickett will be getting his first start as an Eagle on Sunday afternoon as Jalen Hurts will be out with the Concussion. I think Pickett will play well but is not worthy of a start in DFS as the Eagles will rely on Saquon Barkley a lot in the rain against the Cowboys. So sit Pickett as his ceiling is only about 17 fantasy points.
Brock Purdy ($6,300 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel )
The Detroit Lions are looking for revenge for the NFC Championship game from last year and this is their opportunity on Monday Night Football this week for the last Monday Night Football game in 2024. Brock Purdy has no shot of succeeding in DFS this week even with the injuries that the Lions have on the defensive side of the ball.
Lock of Week 17
Joe Burrow ($7,200 DraftKings, $8,100 FanDuel )
Joe Burrow’s playoff life is on the line and he has to perform against a stout Broncos defense at home on Saturday afternoon. Burrow will perform especially if he has both receivers as Tee Higgins, who has been deemed questionable for Saturday’s game. If Higgins doesn’t play it will be tougher as Chase will be followed by PS2. But I believe Burrow will continue his productive season passing the ball in the clutch this week.
Fade of Week 17
Drake Maye ($5,800 DraftKings, $7,000 FanDuel)
Drake Maye had a strong performance against Buffalo, however, I believe the Chargers’ defense will continue the momentum from the second half of last Thursday’s game against the Broncos and give the former Carolina Tar Heel a tough game this weekend as the Chargers look to solidify their playoff position.
Sleeper of Week 17
Anthony Richardson ($5,900 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel )
The only reason I put Richardson as a Sleeper instead of the lock is that his budget is lower so it’s a great budget option, and at times his passing has left to be desired so it could hurt his value a little bit. But he’s playing the WOEFUL GIANTS, he better perform or we will have severe questions about Richardson going forward for the years to come.
Conclusion
Week 17 of the NFL season has a lot of importance to the playoffs, especially the Sunday Night Football matchup between Atlanta and Washington in DC this weekend. I will be looking forward to the rest of the slate after the woeful Thursday Night game we had and the two blowouts on Christmas as well. Total Apex Fantasy has DFS slates up for some of the games already on the site. Also the importance of the final couple of weeks of the regular season DFS will be complicated but the playoffs will have DFS articles as well so look forward to those playoff ones.
