Week 17 NFL DFS Monday Night Showdown: Browns at Steelers

The NFL DFS season continues with the Monday night showdown, and we’ve got the breakdown to help you win big in one of the final Week 17 NFL DFS contests!

NOTE: For a refresher on showdown general rules and strategy, see my first showdown article of 2021.

Let’s get to the game!

Week 17 NFL DFS MVP candidates (1.5x points)

Some notes on the differences between MVP on FanDuel and DraftKings: The 1.5x point boost on FD comes with no salary penalty, while and DK also bumps the salary to 1.5x – a crucial factor in deciding who we can and cannot afford on both sites. We can use this to our advantage on FD by occasionally targeting non-QBs to establish more variance and more unique lineups, and on DK it allows us to build more hearty overall stacks when we punt the MVP position with a cheap but high-upside player.

Week 17 NFL DFS Chalk: Nick Chubb (FD $16,500, DK $18,300)

Pivot: Najee Harris (FD $15,000, DK $15,300)

Contrarian #1: Diontae Johnson (FD $13,000, DK $17,400)

Contrarian #2: Baker Mayfield(FD $12,000, DK $13,500)

Contrarian #3: Ben Roethlisberger (FD $10,500, DK $14,100)

Contrarian #4: Jarvis Landry (FD $10,000, DK $9,600)

DK-Only Value Play: Ray-Ray McCloud (DK $5,100)

I may end up fading the QBs entirely in this matchup in favor of the starting RBs, and with Nick Chubb in a great matchup against a weak Steelers run defense and looking like the chalk for CPT, the best pivot might be Najee Harris.

Browns notes: Cleveland has most of its COVID players back, including Baker Mayfield and Jarvis Landry, the main two players you should be rostering in this showdown after Chubb, But TEs Austin Hooper and David Njoku are capable pass catchers who can make a big impact in any week. The problem is that the Steelers are excellent at defending the tight end position, so perhaps we should be looking at deep threat Donovan Peoples-Jones and Rashard Higgins a bit more if we’re stacking Mayfield with Browns receivers. The RB situation is complicated with the possible return of Kareem Hunt, but he’s a fringe option at best this week if he suits up.

Steelers notes: Tight end Pat Freiermuth is probably the best receiving option on Pittsburgh not named Diontae Johnson, but both the embattled Chase Claypool and Ray-Ray McCloud could a few extra targets this week if the Browns defense is successful in stifling Harris. Chris Boswell and the Steelers DST make some sense as low-owned pieces who could account for significant points this week, but I’m really focusing on the RBs, Johnson and Freiermuth tonight.

Week 17 NFL DFS Final thoughts (and some DOs and DON’Ts)

Remember to build your team based on a narrative that makes sense.

DO: Build a trio (or quartet) of offensive weapons for a team that makes sense together.

DON’T: Be afraid to take some risks.

DO: Use the projected team totals to shade one way or the other with your selections.

DON’T: Worry about spending every dollar.

Now that we’ve established some Week 17 NFL DFS narratives and MVP candidates, the best way to round out this piece is with a list of my favorite options in descending order, based on overall value (a combo of salary and projected points):

1. Nick Chubb
2. Najee Harris
3. Ben Roethlisberger
4. Diontae Johnson
5. Baker Mayfield
6. Jarvis Landry
7. Chase Claypool
8. Pat Freiemuth
9. Rashard Higgins
10. Donovan Peoples-Jones
11. Steelers DST
12. Austin Hooper
13. Kareem Hunt (questionable)
14. Browns DST
15. Chris Boswell
16. D’Ernest Johnson (if Hunt is inactive)
17. Ray-Ray McCloud III
18. David Njoku
19. Chase McLaughlin
20. James Washington
21. Benny Snell, Jr.
22. Anthony Schwartz
23. Zach Gentry
24. Harrison Bryant

Don’t forget to read the rest of WinDaily’s excellent football articles this week as you prep for next week’s action!