2023 NFL DFS Week 17 Value Plays: Top DraftKings & FanDuel Picks
NFL week 17 is underway and we’re building some winning DFS lineups for Sunday’s main slate. It doesn’t matter if you’re building a lineup for cash games or a GPP tournament, finding the right DFS bargains is important. We want to be able to fit in the likes of Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Christian McCaffrey, so saving salary is vital. But not at the expense of taking a potential zero. We’re looking for DFS value picks who have a legitimate shot at not just returning value for the cost, but exceeding value. These are more than just dart-throws. Some of them are value plays to be used in cash games, not just GPP tournaments, so let’s take a look at who is saving us some money here in NFL Week 17.
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Top FanDuel & DraftKings Week 17 DFS Value Plays
Derek Carr, QB New Orleans Saints
We think the Saints vs. Buccaneers matchup could be a sneaky shootout and if that is the case then Carr could be giving us 20+ fantasy points here at a pretty nice price tag. We've gotten similar production from Carr over the past few weeks and while he isn't always the most consistent QB, he does eventually get us the fantasy points we are looking for most weeks and this matchup could be one of those.
Zamir White, RB Las Vegas Raiders
Fresh off his explosive Week 16 performance we see White as the chalk value RB of the week with the Raiders facing a weak Colts run defense. With the field playing Christian McCaffrey the value plays are all super popular this week so you need to decide whether or not White is “good chalk” or “bad chalk”. I've been high on White since they drafted him. He is a big, fast power running back and one that the Raiders could lean on for a heavy workload in this matchup this week.
Rashid Shaheed, WR New Orleans Saints
OK, how about a value stack for your lineups with Derek Carr this week? Shaheed is getting a lot of ownership love this week and it makes sense given the matchup against a bad Buccaneers secondary. Yes, Chris Olave is still the clear top choice in New Orleans but the target share and big play upside for Shaheed in this matchup at his price tag is enticing.
Gerald Everett, TE Los Angeles Chargers
Everett has been a target machine for the past few weeks with the Chargers offense missing Keenan Allen and now he has a good matchup against the Denver Broncos who have struggled against opposing tight ends all season long. If you want a pivot here you could also go to Chigoziem Okonkwo who has been equally as productive at a similar price point this week.
Player News
Seahawks signed CB Shaquill Griffin, formerly of the Vikings.
It’s a homecoming for Griffin, who played four years in Seattle after being drafted in the third round in 2017. Griffin has sinced bounced around the league with stops in Jacksonville, Houston, Carolina, and most recently Minnesota. He appeared in all 17 games for the Vikings in 2023 and totaled six pass breakups with two interceptions. Griffin was a top flight corner in his first Seattle stint and earned a Pro Bowl nod for his efforts in 2019. While he’s more of a rotational corner at this point in his career, his return is a good fit for all parties.
Rams waived WR Quintez Cephus.
The former fifth-round pick is most famous for receiving an indefinite ban in 2023 due to betting on NFL contests. He was reinstated after a year and had brief stints on the Bills and Texans’ rosters during the offseason. LA signed him to their practice squad in 2024 but he never appeared in a game for the team. Cephus will be fighting for a roster spot this summer if he signs elsewhere.
ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe reports Browns QB Joe Flacco is the favorite to land the team’s starting job.
Wolfe added that Kenny Pickett “is gonna have the chance to steal that job from him” during training camp and in the preseason. Shedeur Sanders or Dillion Gabriel, Wolfe said, might get a look later in the 2025 season if it’s another lost season for the franchise. Flacco knows head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense well and was productive for the Browns during his five starts in 2023. Flacco posted the third best adjusted yards per attempt (7.2) of his NFL career during that 2023 stint in Cleveland, and made fantasy superstars out of David Njoku and Amari Cooper. Stefanski said the Browns offense has “a very high floor” with Flacco under center. If Flacco begins the season as starter, look for the Browns to be among the pass-heaviest offenses in the league. It’s a potentially excellent development for Njoku, Jerry Jeudy, and perhaps Cedric Tillman.
Dallas Goedert said Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo could get him the ball more often in 2025.
Goedert said Patullo has made tweaks to the run-heavy Philadelphia offense that could create more opportunity for the team’s pass catchers. “Throughout OTAs, I’ve really loved what he’s doing with the offense,” Goedert said when asked about Patullo, who took over the Eagles offense after Kellen Moore was hired as Saints head coach. “Little changes here and there and I’m really excited for the opportunity just to — with the connection I grew with him the last four years. What he sees in me in different ways that he’s going to get me the ball I’m really excited for.” Among the game’s best yards-after-catch tight ends, Goedert will enter 2025 as the Eagles’ clear No. 3 targets behind AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. In 2024, Goedert was targeted on 25 percent of his routes, the seventh highest rate among tight ends. Goedert’s fantasy prospects would get a boost with more looks near the end zone; last season he had just three targets inside the ten yard line and nine inside the 20.
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo believes WR Roman Wilson should be a good “fit” for Aaron Rodgers.
DeFabo mentioned that Wilson during his collegiate career at Michigan “feasted on in-breaking routes over the middle of the field at Michigan, which should fit Rodgers’ skills.” Wilson will battle Calvin Austin for the team’s WR2 role behind DK Metcalf this season. Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said recently that Austin will enter training camp as the clear-cut No. 2 wideout with “everyone else battling for a spot” in a receiver committee. Back in May, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said Steelers coaches are “counting on” Wilson to make the jump in 2025 after injuries limited him to just five offensive snaps in 2024. Wilson, entering his age-24 season, had 789 yards and 12 touchdowns on 49 catches in his final season at Michigan. He was 19th among all college wideouts in yards per route run in 2023.
Kyler Murray said Marvin Harrison Jr. is more confident this season than he was in 2024.
Murray, per The Athletic, “has noticed a different comfort level with Harrison, a different confidence” in offseason workouts, along with a new physique after Harrison spent the winter bulking up. Murray and MHJ in 2024 had no chemistry whatsoever, especially on downfield shots, where Murray has struggled mightily for several seasons. Unless Harrison can manage to get more separation from defenders and see more intermediate and short targets from Murray, his fantasy prospects likely won’t change all that much in 2025, despite the larger biceps.