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
Browns RB Quinshon Judkins has been arrested and held on domestic violence charges in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Judkins was booked on Saturday and remains in custody as of this evening. ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reports Judkins’ initial court appearance will come Sunday morning. The Browns have said they are “aware and gathering more details.” Judkins’ arrest comes on the eve of training camp, and gets his professional career off to the worst possible start. A lengthy stay on the commissioner’s exempt list would be all but guaranteed if the charges stick. A suspension would then follow if he were convicted or admitted guilt. The situation should be updated on Sunday.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Chargers second-round WR Tre Harris did not report with fellow rookies.
That effectively makes Harris a holdout, something that has become common practice for second-round players amidst ongoing negotiations regarding guaranteed money. 30 of the 32 second-round selections from the 2025 NFL Draft have yet to sign their rookie contracts, with Harris now the first official holdout after the Chargers’ rookie report date came and went. This appears to be nothing more than “just business,” but fantasy managers will want to track the ongoing behind-the-scenes saga unfolding this year.
Veteran DT Ndamukong Suh announced his retirement from the NFL.
Suh announced his retirement in a heartfelt post on X early Saturday morning, bringing up a conversation he had with his father before the latter’s passing as the deciding factor of his decision. “It’s time to let football go. You’ve done everything you set out to do. Now it’s time for the next chapter,” Suh reflects. The five-time All-Pro amassed 600 combined tackles in 199 games during his 13-year professional career, winning Super Bowl LV as a member of the Buccaneers during the 2021 season. He last played for the Eagles in 2022 before failing to catch on as a free agent the following two seasons.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reports Kenny Pickett “developed a strong on-field rapport” with Jerry Jeudy after training with the team’s top receiver this offseason.
At 27 years old, Pickett is the middle-aged member of the Browns’ four-person quarterback competition. Although he is perhaps the least discussed member of the bunch, Oyefusi notes, Pickett respectably went “14-10 as a starter in two seasons with the Steelers.” Developing rapport with the team’s top option could give Pickett an edge in training camp and the preseason, though Pickett is unlikely to produce even high-end QB2 results were he to win the starting job.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is expected to return to the scheme he ran early in his Cleveland tenure “with more under-center formations that utilize play-action.”
The Browns employed a 24.9 percent play-action pass play rate last season, ranking 17th among NFL teams. In his first season at the helm in 2020, Stefanski ran play action at a sixth-ranked 28.7 percent rate. Increasing the fantasy-friendly play’s usage would be a boon to Browns pass catchers. They can use all of the schematic advantages they can get, given their team’s unsettled quarterback situation.
Jaylen Waddle said he is honing his hand-eye coordination this offseason while improving his chemistry with Tua Tagovailoa.
Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, Waddle viewed his hand-eye coordination as an area that “needed immediate improvement.” We agree. Although Waddle’s six drops last year tied for his career low, they led all Dolphins pass catchers and his 9.4 percent drop rate was just 0.2 percent under his career high. Louis-Jacques also notes, “these practices have also proven to be valuable reps for Waddle with Tagovailoa. Waddle is operating as the team’s No. 1 WR with Tyreek Hill (wrist) sidelined, which Tagovailoa said has allowed him and Waddle to “grow [their] chemistry.” Head coach Mike McDaniel adds that Waddle’s offseason performance is an “example of the culture the team is trying to build in 2025.” If Waddle can continue asserting himself as the team’s No. 1 WR in training camp and the preseason, a WR1 season-long finish is possible.