I hope everyone had an excellent holiday season and are ready for a big start of the 2023 calendar year with some NFL DFS! As always, we can focus more on lineup construction in Discord. The purpose of this article is to identify my top plays for a NFL DFS cash game lineup on DraftKings and FanDuel Sunday Main Slates (also known as a double-up) in addition to my favorite NFL DFS GPP tournament plays. Good luck this week!
NFL DFS Quarterbacks
Quick note regarding Quarterbacks: I’ll continue to attack the mid-tier range at the quarterback position for that value I’ve been discussing over the past month. It’s been working and this is a full slate with 13 games. There is a ton of value on this slate and the pay-up, Patrick Mahomes, is likely in a slower game environment that I will probably avoid. Justin Fields is always in-play and capable of breaking the slate on a 70-yard touchdown run, but I do worry about his health status and lack of designed runs we saw last week against Buffalo. Maybe that was just a fluke and Fields is a fantastic play this week in the highest total game on the slate, but I’m going to save money at the quarterback position again in Week 17 NFL DFS.
- Aaron Rodgers ($6,000 DK / $7,100 FD) – We’ve been picking on the Vikings’ secondary throughout this whole season and won’t stop now as we get Aaron Rodgers at home in a must-win game. If Christian Watson is out, that will hinder my love for Rodgers this week as they can simply lean heavily on the running game, but regardless, he’s in a beautiful matchup for a very affordable price. With 80% of the field likely to roster Jared Goff in cash games, I’ll leave Rodgers to the NFL DFS GPP player pool.
- Deshaun Watson ($5,800 DK / $6,700 FD) – If you’ve been following my articles lately, you know that I love playing these $5K price-range quarterbacks with rushing upside. Watson is finally priced below $6,000 (on DraftKings) and is going to be 1% owned in this Week 17 slate. As everyone looks to roster Aaron Rodgers, Mike White, and Jared Goff in this price range, the guy with the highest upside in Deshaun Watson is the forgotten man. Yes, he’s looked like garbage so far this season, but in NFL DFS GPP lineups, Deshaun Watson is one of the AETY Model’s favorite value and leverage plays on the slate at the quarterback position. The Commanders’ defense is solid, but they’re extremely beatable through the air and grade out as a top-10 adjusted-expected matchup for opposing rushing quarterbacks.
- Jared Goff ($5,600 DK / $7,400 FD) – I’ll keep this one brief. Jared Goff is on fire in terms of fantasy points per game over the past five weeks and gets a cakewalk matchup at home against the Bears’ 29th ranked pass defense (DVOA). The Detroit Lions’ have the HIGHEST IMPLIED TEAM TOTAL on the slate, lol! I don’t know if I have ever typed those words in my life. In cash, you’re playing Jared Goff. In tournaments, Goff is still a fine play (just know you’ll need to get different elsewhere), but I’ll pivot to Rodgers or Watson in hopes that the Lions’ do most of their scoring on the ground with their three running backs.
Honorable Mention: Justin Fields, Justin Herbert, Mike White, Tom Brady
NFL DFS Running Backs
- Saquon Barkley ($8,000 DK / $9,200 FD)
- Dalvin Cook ($7,000 DK / $8,300 FD) – I don’t think I’ve got Dalvin Cook right all season long, but I’ll go back to the well this week against the Packers’ 32nd ranked run defense (DVOA). This is going to be a highly competitive game with a lot of points scored (according to the AETY Model and Vegas totals), and the price is right here for a lead running back who hardly leaves the field. If the Vikings’ want to win this game, they’ll need to take advantage of the Packers’ inability to stop opposing running backs.
- David Montgomery ($6,900 DK / $7,500 FD) – Montgomery is a GPP only play for me in Week 17 NFL DFS. We will see some Khalil Herbert like we did in the beginning of the season, but this offense runs through Justin Fields and David Montgomery. We’ll likely see a sub-5% ownership tag and that leverage Montgomery offers against Justin Fields’ chalk is always something noteworthy in a high-total game against a run defense that grades 26th in DVOA.
Rhamondre Stevenson ($6,800 DK / $7,000 FD) – Great price and a good matchup for a true three-down running back with 18+ touch equity. As long as Damien Harris is out, Stevenson is a cash game staple and fine for your NFL DFS GPP lineups.
*Damien Harris will be active. Now off this situation as a whole.- Miles Sanders ($5,900 DK / $6,800 FD) – Like Dalvin Cook, I’ve never got Miles Sanders’ week right this season. At the price and the expected ownership (15-20%), Miles Sanders is perfect for your NFL DFS cash game lineups and is worthy of a GPP roster spot as the Eagles have the #1 DVOA advantage in terms of rushing attacks against a horrendous rushing defense.
- Isiah Pachecho ($5,600 DK / $6,300 FD) – A double-digit home favorite at sub-5% ownership… GPP sex. The Denver Broncos run defense continues to plummet and Pachecho is hiding in-between all of the chalk value running backs. Let’s go.
- Tyler Allgeier ($5,300 DK / $6,700 FD) – It looks like the Falcons have given rookie Tyler Allgeier the keys to this offense as they start to slowly cut ties with Cordarrelle Patterson. At the price, Allgeier offers our lineup a ton of value and a safe bet for 15+ touches with significant touchdown equity. Allegeir is full-go for cash and GPP lineups in Week 17 NFL DFS.
- Brian Robinson Jr. ($5,200 DK / $6,900 FD) – With no Antonio Gibson, lock in Brian Robinson for 18+ touches against the Browns’ 30th ranked run defense (DVOA). The AETY Model had a very hard time projecting the passing down work for this backfield now that Gibson is out, so it’s best to leave Brian Robinson to GPP lineups and just find $100 more for Tyler Allgeier if you need a cash game value running back.
*Update: Ownership now warrants a cash game roster spot for Brian Robinson Jr.
Honorable Mention: Christian McCaffrey, Cam Akers, Leonard Fournette
NFL DFS Wide Receivers
- Justin Jefferson ($9,500 DK / $9,200 FD)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown ($7,800 DK / $8,200 FD) – Core play for me in all formats. I don’t really care what the ownership is. This is a prime matchup for any pass catcher against the Bears with an added bonus to those who line up in the slot.
- Mike Evans ($6,500 DK / $7,500 FD) – Mike Evans historically dominates the Carolina Panthers and will enter this slate at 2-4% in ownership. Evans is one of my favorite NFL DFS GPP plays against a Panthers’ secondary who will be without their cover corner in Jaycee Horn. This is a must-win game for the Bucs’ and a perfect buy-low spot on the outside of this Carolina coverage for the struggling Mike Evans.
- Amari Cooper ($5,800 DK / $7,100 FD) – As I love Deshaun Watson in GPP lineups this weekend, I obviously love his top target in Amari Cooper. With or without Benjamin St. Juste, this is a matchup Amari Cooper should thrive in and the AETY Model expects this one to go well over the total of 41 points. I wouldn’t say this is a sneaky shootout, but the value is there with everyone in the matchup priced down in all NFL DFS formats. Cooper is only of interest to me in my GPP builds.
- Garrett Wilson ($5,500 DK / $7,300 FD) – Ridiculous pricing on DraftKings. Wilson is a clear $6K or more wide receiver on any given week, let alone the weeks where Mike White is playing quarterback. He’s an absolute cash game staple this week and a fine value piece for GPP lineups in a must-win game for the New York Jets.
- Allen Lazard ($5,400 DK / $6,200 FD) – With or without Christian Watson this week, Allen Lazard is in fantastic matchup against the Vikings’ pass funnel defense. The Vikings have been playing significantly more Cover-1 man defense and that’s where Rodgers loves to use the hot routes to his most trusted pass-catcher, Allen Lazard. As long as this game has good pace, Allen Lazard is one of the best pass-catching values on this slate and will be a core play for me in all formats.
- Courtland Sutton ($5,100 DK / $6,800 FD) – The AETY Model LOVES this spot for Courtland Sutton but that scares me a bit as we haven’t really seen a big game from the big-bodied wideout in since Week 2, but he’s quietly gone for double-digit fantasy points in each of his past four games. The Chiefs’ secondary has been bleeding production to wideouts this season and based on the Vegas pre-match numbers, this is a perfect gamescript for Sutton and the Broncos pass catchers.
For whatever it’s worth, Sutton lead the Broncos with a 28% target share when Greg Dulcich was injured to begin the season. Now that he is on the IR, we should expect Sutton to move around the formation more and fill some of those “hybrid” routes that Dulcich was running. At 2-5% ownership and a valuable price-tag, Sutton is a GPP favorite of mine. - Drake London ($4,900 DK / $6,700 FD) – Simply too cheap for the expected volume. In cash, I’ll probably lean Allgeier over London, but if you need the savings, London is a perfect cash game play and someone I would also consider in NFL DFS GPP formats against this banged-up Arizona secondary.
Honorable Mention: Keenan Allen, Chris Godwin, DJ Moore, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jakobi Meyers (20% ownership tag likely warrants a cash game roster spot), Romeo Doubs, DJ Chark, Elijah Moore
NFL DFS Tight-Ends
- Travis Kelce ($8,100 DK / $8,300 FD)
- TJ Hockenson ($5,400 DK / $7,000 FD) – Broke the slate last week and is a fine play again this week in all formats. Over the past four weeks, Hockenson actually has six more targets than Travis Kelce. The volume is too good for the price.
- Cole Kmet ($4,500 DK / $5,300 FD) – Kmet is the only healthy pass-catcher on this Bears’ offense who poses a threat in fantasy football. He’s quietly lead this team in targets throughout the 2022 NFL season and should be heavily leaned on in the shootout at Detroit. The Lions grade 26th in pass defense DVOA to opposing tight-ends.
Honorable Mention: George Kittle, David Njoku, Tyler Conklin
NFL DFS: The Fab Five (DK Cash Games)
- Jared Goff
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Garrett Wilson
- Brian Robinson Jr.
- San Francisco 49ers
UPDATE: I will unfortunately be out of town on Sunday morning and will miss the livestream so here is my NFL DFS GPP Core Plays:
- Deshaun Watson
- Isiah Pachecho
- Amari Cooper
- Courtland Sutton
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