NFL Sleeper Top Picks & Plays for Week 17 Sunday Featuring Ezekiel Elliott and More!
Only two weeks in the regular season remain, and a big chunk of those games go down today. There’s no Monday Night Football this week, so we’re looking to make the most out of these afternoon games after a very exciting Thursday night slate that saw the legend of Joe Flacco grow larger than life (even if he was falling asleep on the sidelines).
As you may know, we’ve joined forces with our friends at Sleeper to introduce their Sleeper Picks feature. With Sleeper Picks, you can choose from a variety of players and stat lines, choose whether that player will have more or less than the given stat, and combine your picks for a chance to increase your payout. If you build enough, you can even multiply your entry up to 100x! We went two of three on Thursday night, so let’s keep it going into today.
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Ezekiel Elliott, New England Patriots
With Rhamondre Stevenson being placed on injured reserve earlier this week the Patriots backfield firmly belongs to Ezekiel Elliott. Not only has he been getting the carries, but his work in the receiving game has been huge, seeing 25 targets over the last three weeks. The Buffalo Bills are allowing an average of 5.4 receptions per game to the running back position, with Elliott averaging over six yards per catch, so he should easily reach this mark today.
Pick: Ezekiel Elliott more than 27.5 receiving yards (1.77x)
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
This mark seems ridiculously low against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the season, the Bucs are allowing 210 yards per game to the wide receiver position and even if Chris Olave sees the majority of that today, Shaheed isn’t going to be left out. While his target share hasn’t been huge, he is seeing an average target distance of 14.9 yards, good for ninth in the NFL, so he could beat this mark with just two catches. It’s a great matchup in and must-win game, and I think he well exceeds this number.
Rashid Shaheed more than 33.5 receiving yards (1.74x)
DJ Moore, Chicago Bears
With Darnell Mooney already ruled out and Cole Kmet questionable to suit up, this Bears passing offense is going to run through DJ Moore. He may face more double coverage than usual, but he is exceptionally good against man coverage, averaging 2.66 fantasy points per target. The Falcons have given up quite a few points when in man coverage, so even if he gets more attention, he should still be able to exploit them. I’m seeing double-digit targets for him today, putting him well on the way for more than 4.5 receptions.
Pick: DJ Moore more than 4.5 receptions (1.53x)
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Player News
Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs (knee) was removed from the injury report and will play in Week 1 against the Eagles.
Diggs went down with a knee injury late last year and initially looked unlikely to be ready for Week 1. Things progressed well for the standout corner and he managed three full practices this week before being cleared for action. Sans Micah Parsons, the Cowboys are going to need all the help they can get as they prepare to take on the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles in the first game of the 2025 season.
Cowboys LT Tyler Guyton (knee) was removed from the injury report and will play in Week 1 against the Eagles.
Guyton suffered a knee injury at the start of training camp that was initially feared to be a torn ACL. He escaped the ordeal with a bone fracture that took just a month to recover from. Guyton was a full participant in all three practices this week and is good to go versus Philly. Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs was also cleared from the injury report.
Colts RB Tyler Goodson (elbow) practiced Wednesday.
Goodson was vying for the RB2 job with rookie DJ Giddens this summer. Goodson suffered an elbow injury in Indy’s second preseason game, paving the way for Giddens to win the camp battle. While it’s a good sign that Goodson was able to practice today, Giddens should be treated as the clear backup to Jonathan Taylor for fantasy purposes.
Packers WR Jayden Reed (foot) did not practice Wednesday.
Reed missed most of training camp with a foot injury. He was in a walking boot at one point and was unable to run routes without feeling pain as of last week. He told reporters a week ago that his availability for Week 1 “still feels uncertain.” It’s a frustrating start to the season for a player looking to take the next step. Reed fell from 64 catches as a rookie to 55 in 2024. Despite the downtick in volume, Reed leveraged his elite play-making ability to up his yardage total to 857 through the air and another 163 on the ground. Even if he is ready to go by Sunday, fantasy managers shouldn’t count on a full workload for the third-year wideout. He will settle into the WR4/5 range if active, though that’s far from a guarantee.
Panthers LT Ikem Ekwonu (appendectomy) did not practice Wednesday.
Ekwonu underwent the procedure just over a week ago. Head coach Dave Canales called him “day to day” on Monday, though he appears to be on the wrong side of questionable to start the week. Yosh Nijman looks like Bryce Young’s starting left tackle for Carolina’s Week 1 matchup with the Jaguars. Fellow backup Brady Christensen is also an option for the Panthers.
Ravens CB Jaire Alexander (knee) returned to practice Wednesday.
As ESPN’s Jamison Hensley notes, it’s likely a limited session for Alexander. It’s his first time practicing since the beginning of August, so the Ravens are understandably taking it easy to start the week. Alexander likely needs to get upgraded to a full practice before the end of the week to suit up on Sunday, but this is a step in the right direction. The former Packer will start opposite Marlon Humphrey in a crucial matchup versus Buffalo if he’s ready to go for the first Sunday Night Football action of the season.