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Koby's DraftKings NFL DFS Week 17 picks, value plays, DFS sleepers for the Thursday slate (2025). His top DK plays and value picks for daily fantasy football lineups.
Merry Christmas, RotoBallers! Now that the NFL is playing on Christmas, we are loaded up with sports to watch, including some NBA as well! The poor Lions and Cowboys this year both got stuck with holiday duty this season, working both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hopefully everyone is having a great day today, and let's finish the Holiday off with a bang!
We have three games on deck for us today. We start Christmas morning off with a clash between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders, then we travel to Minnesota as the Vikings take on the Detroit Lions. To cap the night off, we have the Denver Broncos traveling to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs.
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DraftKings Quarterbacks - Week 17 DFS Picks
Bo Nix, DEN at KC ($6,000)
I'll start by saying this could be an absolute nightmare of a slate. We have three QBs here who are either perennial backups or guys who are making their first or second career starts. Most of these teams have nothing to play for but to play spoiler. Not sure we will see much of it here, but anyway, back to Bo Nix. The Broncos have the most to play for here; if they win out, they are the first seed in the AFC.
Nix is going up against a KC team that has vastly changed since their last meeting and just gave up 26 points to Cam Ward and the lowly Titans. The Broncos have been throwing the ball quite a bit lately, too. He has 295+ passing yards in four of his last five games, including his previous meeting against the Chiefs. I think Nix puts us in the best position to start our lineups with. This KC defense has lost hope, and I don't expect them to be playing 100% here.
Jared Goff, DET at MIN ($6,200)
Some might ask, well, why not Dak Prescott? Well, Goff still has something to play for, and although I think there is a chance Prescott will continue to play the rest of the season, I'm not going to take that risk. Prescott gets a great matchup, but Dallas could pull him at any time in the game, and it could spell trouble for us. Goff is coming off back-to-back excellent games that they came up short in. He threw for 300+ yards and three touchdowns in those games.
Goff is in for a tougher matchup against a solid Vikings defense, which will look to play spoiler here. Goff threw the ball well in their previous matchup and will need to continue to do so to keep their playoff hopes alive. I believe Goff has the highest ceiling on the slate, but the Vikings defense has me a bit hesitant to roster him over Nix. They have the advantage on offense, though, as Max Brosmer will be the one leading the Vikings team this week.
Other options - Josh Johnson (GPP)
DraftKings Running Backs - Week 17 DFS Picks
TOP PLAY
Jahmyr Gibbs, DET at MIN ($8,300)
Jahmyr Gibbs had an odd game last week in their loss to Pittsburgh. He rushed the ball only seven times, but was targeted 13 times, catching 10 of them. Even with it being a bit of a down week for him, he was able to muster up 23 fantasy points. He gets a much more favorable matchup this week against the Vikings' run defense, which has allowed the fifth most rushing yards to opposing RBs this season.
A 3-time Pro Bowler, @Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs ranks 4th in team history in TDs scored (48) & is the only player in team history to produce 17+ TDs in consecutive years.
He's also the only Lion yo produce multiple seasons with 1,000+ rushing yards & 500 receiving yards.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/5ep6FA4sVq
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) December 23, 2025
With someone as explosive as Gibbs out there in a potential elimination game, I'm expecting him to bring out all the stops to get them there. Gibbs sees a near 60% red zone rush share, and with David Montgomery questionable, we could be seeing a bit more of Gibbs in this matchup.
VALUE PLAY
Malik Davis, DAL at WAS ($4,300)
This one is pretty risky, but why not take a shot on the rookie to make a splash towards the end of the season? Javonte Williams is questionable to play with a neck injury, and with the Cowboys eliminated, they may not further risk injury. This is a great matchup for Davis to get some work in. This Commanders' defense has been atrocious at stopping the run this season, giving up the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing RBs on the season.
The Commanders are giving up the third-most rushing yards and sixth-most rushing touchdowns this season. Davis has seen limited carries, but has progressively seen more. In his last two games, he was up to eight carries. With two touchdowns on the season, he could be thrown into a spot to get another. This is a great spot to get some solid value, especially if they get the starters out of the game early.
Other options - RJ Harvey
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DraftKings Wide Receivers - Week 17 DFS Picks
TOP PLAY
Courtland Sutton, DEN at KC ($6,000)
Since the Bye Week for the Broncos, Courtland Sutton has come out of it looking better than ever. He has 38 targets and caught 24 of them in his last four games, which included three touchdowns. He looks to be back in the WR1 spot and is worth the 1k upgrade over WR Troy Franklin. With 12+ fantasy points in each of his last four games, he looks to be one of the top options on the slate, and is priced as the WR7 on the slate.
Another play of Courtland Sutton just man-handling the DB#Broncos @MileHighReport pic.twitter.com/T5gh766bWR
— Ross (@Ross_MHR) December 23, 2025
The Chiefs have progressively been getting worse at defending WRs this season. In the last four weeks, they have given up the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing WRs. I really think Nix is going to continue peppering Sutton with targets, and I don't see the Chiefs' defense being able to stop it. The only way I don't see this working out is if it gets out of hand early.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET at MIN ($7,900)
This slate is extremely tough because we have three extremely inexperienced quarterbacks at the helm. This makes it hard to want to roster the likes of Justin Jefferson, Terry McLaurin, or even Xavier Worthy. They are all viable options, but with concerns in the QB play, it makes playing the chalk much more likely. I imagine Amon-Ra St. Brown will be one of the highest-owned receivers on the slate. I also don't mind the likes of Jameson Williams, who has been throttling defenses recently.
I think with Williams, he is much more of a deep threat, which presents a nice, safe floor. But it is the red zone targets this season that make ARSB so much more intriguing and a great ceiling play. He leads the Lions this season with a 41.7% red zone target share. The next closest guy is Gibbs with 14%... ARSB has three games this season of 30+ fantasy points. It sounds like he will be fully cleared to play, and if that is the case, then start loading him up!
VALUE PLAY
Ryan Flournoy, DAL at WAS ($3,800)
As long as Ryan Flournoy plays, I expect him to have a bigger role. I don't see the Cowboys taking many risks with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens out on the field. That being said, if Flournoy is cleared, he could have a sizeable role in the offense that saw him playing 65% of snaps in Weeks 14 and 15! He was on his way there last week before he injured his knee.
Flournoy is also getting more looks in the end zone as he has four touchdowns in his last seven games. This is going against a Commanders secondary that has allowed the seventh-most TDs to WRs this season. I really like Flournoy as a value play on a slate with so many variables and a lot of unknowns going around.
Other options - Justin Jefferson, Jameson Williams, George Pickens, Treylon Burks
DraftKings Tight Ends - Week 17 DFS Picks
TOP PLAY
T.J. Hockenson, MIN vs. DET ($3,300)
What an absolute nightmare of a position to even attempt to roster someone on for this slate. Travis Kelce is not going to do much with Chris Oladokun at QB, and Jake Ferguson has slowly seen fewer and fewer opportunities in the Cowboys offense. This brings me to T.J. Hockenson, who, unfortunately for us, is questionable. With that being said, if he is out, then I do recommend Josh Oliver in this position.
In Brosmer's last start against the Seahawks, Hockenson was one of the big bright spots for him. Hockenson caught all six of his targets for 59 yards. There seems to be a connection between the two, and I'm not sure Brosmer is comfortable yet with throwing the ball down the field much. Hockenson is a great outlet option for him and should find himself getting targeted quite a bit.
Other options - Evan Engram
Thanks for reading, and good luck in your contests this weekend!
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