DraftKings Picks Week 17: Best NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football tournaments

Matt Lutovsky

DraftKings Picks Week 17: Best NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football tournaments image

After two weeks with extensive action on Saturday and Sunday, Week 17's NFL DFS main slate is loaded with 13 games. The matchups aren't the most appealing, but the volume of games still provides a deep player pool and plenty of potential sleepers and value picks for daily fantasy football contests. We're going with an unconventional stack as the centerpiece of our Week 17 DraftKings lineup, and we're hoping for some differentiation with a few classic boom-or-bust tournament picks.

Before we break down our strategy, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Full-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, three-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.

WEEK 17 DFS LINEUPS: FanDuel

DraftKings Picks Week 17: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments

Sunday main slate, $50,000 budget

QB Justin Fields, Bears @ Lions ($7,900). When these teams met in Week 10, Fields went off for 147 rushing yards, two rushing TDs, 167 passing yards, and two passing TDs. We're not necessarily expecting a repeat, but Fields' ceiling is clearly as high as any QB. Detroit was just gashed for over 320 rushing yards, so Fields shouldn't have a problem threatening the 100-yard plateau again. The fact that Detroit is allowing the third-most passing yards per game is just a bonus.

RB David Montgomery, Bears @ Lions ($6,900). It's usually counterintuitive to stack a QB and an RB, but Fields isn't a typical QB. Montgomery is also an adept pass-catcher, hauling in at least three passes in each of the past five games. Even with Khalil Herbert back last week, Montgomery handled 20 touches. That's the floor this week against Detroit's 29th-ranked run defense.

WEEK 17 DFS: Best values

RB Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars @ Texans ($6,400). No team allows more DraftKings points to RBs than Houston, so Etienne, who's averaged 19.8 touches over his past four games, is as close to a sure thing as you're going to find. He hasn't scored since Week 9, but it's not for lack of opportunities. He'll find the end zone again this week, so getting him at RB12 pricing is a major steal.

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions vs. Bears ($7,800). We originally had DeAndre Hopkins here, but his knee injury coupled with Trace McSorley starting has us pivoting to St. Brown. We know he'll see eight-plus targets in ideal conditions, and against the Bears' reeling defense, that gives him a high floor and high ceiling.

WEEK 17 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

WR Courtland Sutton, Broncos vs. Chiefs ($5,100). Sutton took advantage of garbage time to finish with five catches (seven targets) for 64 yards last week, but the most important thing is that he didn't aggravate his hamstring injury. The Broncos are a mess right now, but the offense should still be able to pile up garbage yards against a Chiefs' defense allowing the fourth-most DK points to WRs. Sutton is way too cheap given his role and matchup.

WEEK 17 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

WR Romeo Doubs, Packers vs. Vikings ($4,700). Doubs had 11 targets in his first two games back from an ankle injury, and with Christian Watson (hip) hurting, he could be in line for more looks against Minnesota's last-ranked pass defense. If Watson is out, Doubs will likely be fairly highly owned given his value salary, but he's still worth the minor investment.

TE Cole Kmet, Bears @ Lions ($4,500). Kmet hasn't scored since Week 10 when he had two TDs against these same Lions, but he's continued to receive steady targets (5.6 per game). Detroit allows the eighth-most DK points to TEs, so Kmet should be able to return value even if he doesn't find the end zone. He's the best stacking option with Fields among Chicago's pass-catchers.

WEEK 17 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

FLEX Rashid Shaheed, Saints @ Eagles ($4,000). In brutal conditions in Cleveland last week, Shaheed led Saints' receivers with four catches (five targets) for 41 yards. Philadelphia was just torched by Dallas for over 340 passing yards, so New Orleans should be able to move the ball better through the air this week. Shaheed is averaging 19.7 yards per catch, so he doesn't need many touches to post a bunch of yards and possibly break a long touchdown, so we like him even if Chris Olave (hamstring) returns.

DEF New England Patriots vs. Dolphins ($2,600). The Pats have posted 11 sacks, six takeaways, and three D/ST touchdowns over the past three games. We're certainly not expecting a fourth-straight game with a score, but New England should be able to befuddle backup Teddy Bridgewater in a cold-weather road game. 

Matt Lutovsky

Matt Lutovsky Photo

Matt Lutovsky has been a writer and editor for The Sporting News since 2007, primarily writing about fantasy sports, betting, and gaming.