RADIO
If you've been eliminated from your fantasy league, the good news is you can still get in on some of Sunday's action via DFS. The biggest thing that makes fantasy in general more challenging at this point in the season is that we can no longer assume that teams who've been eliminated from the NFL playoffs are playing to win. We've seen the Colts go to a rusty Nick Foles and the Raiders just shelved Derek Carr for the remainder of the season in favor of Jarrett Stidham. We can still be mindful of these changes and best attack our DFS lineup accordingly.
The purpose of this article is to help identify players who are being undervalued in DFS and typically come with a higher range of outcomes for their Sunday contest. You don't always need a player to be the QB1 or RB1 on the week (especially if you are playing in cash games), but in Guaranteed Prize Pool contests we always want to be targeting the players with the highest potential upside at their given DFS price.
This article will run every week throughout the regular season. It won't include the obvious choices but instead players who appear to be undervalued in current DFS formats. If you didn't catch my Week 1 article that included some DFS tips and tricks, it can be found here. As the values currently sit, players will qualify as a value in DFS for this article if they are a quarterback in the 5k range, running backs who are 6k or less, wide receivers at 5.5k and under, and 4k or less for tight ends based on DraftKings salaries. When it comes to tournaments, stacking our quarterback with one of their pass catchers is a must and we should be looking for players with higher guaranteed floors (and consistency) to get us over the 50/50 hump in cash games. No matter which one you decide to play this week, here are some bargain players with potential in Week 17. Now let's get to those picks already!
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Quarterback NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 17
Jared Goff, DET vs CHI| DK: $5,600, FD: $7,400
One of the better surprises of the season, Goff has been great this year especially at home. With the Lions at 7-8 and hanging on for dear life in the NFC playoff race, they have every incentive to try and win this one at full strength. The Chicago Bears will be playing their starters and there's a good chance of this one being a shootout. The Lions have been great for fantasy this year largely because their defense hasn't been able to stop anyone, which has forced them to keep scoring.
In his last four games, Goff has been the QB4, QB4, QB17, and QB2 and it's probably good to stay in the flames with him. Running back D'Andre Swift has struggled to get going after coming off of injury and Goff has an impressive trio of receivers at his disposal with the Sun God: Amon-Ra St. Brown, DJ Chark, and rookie Jameson Williams. Chicago should be able to keep up in this one and we could see a lot of points. Goff is another great DFS value this week at home and is going to win some people a championship in standard fantasy leagues.
Brock Purdy, SF at LV| DK: $5,500, FD: $7,000
A player very few people knew just six weeks ago, Purdy has stepped in admirably for an injured Jimmy Garappolo and is 4-0 as the 49ers starting QB. While he hasn't been awesome for fantasy, he's been consistent in all four of his starts throwing for 2+ TD passes in all of them. In those four games, Purdy was the QB18, QB8, QB14, and QB13 and he's got some uber talented skill players around him to throw to.
This week the surging 49ers face an ailing Raiders squad where Derek Carr's lackluster play got him benched for the final two games of the season. Many veterans on the Raiders like Chandler Jones have already been put on the shelf for the year and the Raiders are already looking towards 2023. With the 49ers having everything to play for and the Raiders having enough talent at the skill positions that they should be able to move the ball somewhat, expect another solid performance from Purdy. How the quarterback room is going to look in San Francisco next offseason is anyone's guess.
Running Back NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 17
Cam Akers, LAR at LAC| DK: $6,100, FD: $7,000
One of the biggest early busts of the 2022 season, Akers was even inactive for several weeks as the Rams even tried to even trade him. After Darrell Henderson was released and a trade for Akers didn't materialize he was thrust back into the mix in Week 11 where he saw 14 carries. One of the things about Cam this late in the season is that even on a Rams team out of the playoffs he is an incredibly motivated player at this stage of the season. Akers is trying to prove that he belongs in this league and that the Rams should make him the guy.
Last week Akers finished as the RB1 with 23 carries for 118 yards and 3 TDs on top of catching 2 passes for 29 yards. This week the Rams face a Chargers defense that is surrendering the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs at 23.1 points per game. With Akers finally looking healthy alongside an equally motivated Baker Mayfield, the Rams will be sure to bring it in the next two weeks as they close out the season. Akers feels like the kind of running back worth staying with on his current hot streak.
Tyler Allgeier, ATL vs ARI| DK: $5,300, FD: $6,700
One of the most underappreciated rookies in the NFL, Allgeier slid during the 2022 NFL Draft and was taken by the Falcons in the 5th Round. He sat for a lot of the early 2022 season, but after injuries hobbled Cordarelle Patterson and Caleb Huntley, Allgeier was thrust into the mix. So far on the season Allgeier quietly has 166 carries for 817 yards and 2 TDs along with 15 receptions for 127 yards and a TD. In his last two games since receiving a bigger workload, Allgeier has finished as the RB7 and RB12.
This week Atlanta faces a disappointing Arizona Cardinals squad that will also be watching the postseason from the couch. The Cards D is giving up the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing RBs on the season at 23.5 points per game. While C-Patt will likely get around 10 touches, the bulk of the workload on Sunday should go to Allgeier who runs angry and hard. Nobody loves to establish the run more than Arthur Smith, even if it costed Kyle Pitts truthers like this author greatly in the 2022 fantasy season. Expect another solid game from Allgeier with the potential for a big one.
Brian Robinson Jr., WAS vs CLE| DK: $5,200, FD: $6,900
A hard-nosed, tough player with a knack for finding the end zone, Robinson faces an underachieving Browns run defense in a game that means everything to the Commanders' playoff hopes on Sunday. This year the Browns are giving up the third-most fantasy points to opposing RBs at 24.6 points per game! Fellow running back Antonio Gibson has been officially ruled out in this one and the bulk of the carries could go to Robinson.
This Sunday's matchup is a great one with Robinson and Washington having everything to play for while Cleveland has been eliminated from postseason contention. While the switch back to Carson Wentz is a cause for concern, especially in the receiving game for Robinson he has a great matchup this week and could see a heightened workload. This feels like a DFS pick with a lot of upside for little cost.
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Wide Receiver NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 17
Garrett Wilson, NYJ at SEA| DK: $5,500, FD: $7,300
Someone who would have likely been Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2022 (and still could be), Wilson was held back by some poor quarterback play early on in the season. With Mike White set to return this weekend for the Jets in a must-win game, it could be wheels back up for Wilson. While the rookie WR's performances on the season have been up-and-down, that is mostly because of quarterback play.
With White now back in the fold expect things to get better for Wilson this week. On the season he has 119 targets with 71 receptions for 996 yards and 4 TDs. He runs routes with great precision, has fantasy hands, and has big play ability. Back in Week 13, Wilson finished as the WR2 on the week when he caught 8 passes for 95 yards and 2 TDs. While the matchup is tougher against a good Seattle secondary, Wilson has superstar potential and we know rookie WRs tend to come on strong for fantasy at the end of the season just like Amon-Ra did in 2021.
Romeo Doubs, GB vs MIN| DK: $4,700, FD: $5,900
Someone who should be viewed as a sneaky-good play this Sunday in a must-win game for the Packers at home, Doubs could end up being Aaron Rodgers go to receiver with Christian Watson on the injury report with his status for this weekend very much up in the air. On the other side, Minnesota has scored plenty of points this season and this one could end up being a shootout.
The Vikings' secondary has been porous this season and they are allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing WRs on the year at 33.7 points per game. While Doubs is a rookie like Wilson above, he was showing some serious flashes of coming on strong before an injury sidelined him for a month in Week 9. For such a cheap price, Doubs has plenty of potential to find the end zone this weekend in a game that Green Bay has to have.
Jahan Dotson, WAS vs CLE| DK: $4,600, FD: $6,100
Continuing with the theme of rookie wide receivers, Dotson has been impressive this year with a knack for finding the end zone. In just 10 games, Dotson has 29 receptions for 414 yards and 7 TDs. He missed five games this year due to injury. Dotson also showed some serious chemistry with Wentz before being injured and had 22 targets over his first four games.
Dotson is a big-play receiver with excellent hands and body control. With Terry McLaurin set to draw Denzel Ward for most of the afternoon, things could open up greatly for the rookie and we know that Wentz loves to take his deep shots downfield. Like his teammate Robinson above, this game is basically the Commanders' season while the Browns don't have anything to play for. With many of the Week 17 starting lineups already looking out of place, it's important to find any advantages in DFS that we can find. Choosing players on teams with their season's on the line isn't a bad place to look either.
Tight End NFL DFS Value Plays - Week 17
Tyler Higbee, LAR at LAR| DK: $4,600, FD: $5,900
With the Rams receiving weapons all but depleted for the rest of 2022, last week Higbee stepped up and filled the void in a game just about nobody expected. There was a gentleman on Twitter who was up 30 points going into the game in his fantasy matchup with the Broncos' defense and all his opponent had was Higbee left. He lost after Higbee caught 9 passes for 94 yards and 2 TDs and the Broncos' defense scored negative fantasy points. Ouch.
With Baker Mayfield and Cam Akers playing for their futures expect the Rams' offense to still score some points this week against a Chargers defense that hasn't been very good this year with all the injuries, they've had. If you are looking to spend minimally at tight end to save your resources elsewhere there is certainly a case for Higbee to have a solid chance at repeating last week's performance.
Evan Engram, JAX at HOU| DK: $4,400, FD: $5,800
An athletic specimen who is finally healthy and putting it all together this season, Engram is quietly the TE5 on the season with 68 receptions for 723 yards and 4 TDs. With Doug Pederson the tight end whisper calling plays and quarterback Trevor Lawrence starting to look like the budding superstar many had him pegged to be, things are really looking up for Engram and the Jaguars.
While this week they face off against a Texans team that hasn't given up a lot of fantasy points to opposing QBs and pass catchers, some of that changes with how well the Texans have played the last few weeks. Over his last four games Engram is the TE5, TE1, TE13, and TE5. With the Texans offense looking more capable in recent weeks there could be more points scored in this one than the oddsmakers are expecting. Engram has some serious speed and can make some big plays in the open field, something we always want from our tight ends in DFS.
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