DraftKings NY Giants Fantasy Spotlight – Week 17
Week 17 is always one of the most difficult weeks to navigate for daily fantasy football. Luckily this season there's only one team with their destiny locked in and twelve of the sixteen games this weekend have some implications on playoff spots. Seven of the eight games in the AFC have some sort of playoff implications and the Texans, Ravens, Chiefs and Chargers all need wins to even keep the possibility of a playoff birth alive. In the NFC, most of the games with playoff implications revolve around seeding and the Panthers and Falcons will battle for the final non-clinched playoff spot in their conference.
What does this all mean for daily fantasy football? Well you should be looking to focus on games with some form of playoff importance. With nothing on the line, teams are always at risk of pulling starters or playing it safe with injuries. This makes the player pool murkier than usual, but it also opens up a lot of potential value for daily fantasy football. For this week's daily fantasy football spotlight, we'll look at some of the premiere options based on who we expect to play a more desperate style of football, which is usually great for fantasy scoring.
Cam Newton vs. ATL ($7500) - You could probably go either way in terms of targeting QBs in this game, but the defensive matchup is much better for Newton than Ryan. The Panthers defense has held opposing QBs to 235, 154 and 166 passing yards in each of the last three weeks respectively - with just one passing TD allowed in each game. The Falcons on the other hand have been torched to the tune of 327, 360 and 313 passing yards over the last three weeks. Newton has also been really impressive in the stretch run this year, posting 20+ fantasy points in three of his last four games played (he missed one game due to injury in that span as well). I love the matchup for Newton and if you want to pair him with one of his receivers, look for Greg Olsen to have a big game. Stud rookie WR Kelvin Benjamin will likely see a lot of Desmond Trufant, who has rated out as the 7th best coverage corner on ProFootballFocus this season. Meanwhile, tight ends have had at least 50 receiving yards in three consecutive games against the Falcons defense.
Justin Forsett vs. CLE ($6200) - Forsett has been quiet of late, amassing about 13 fantasy points combined over his last two games. That has led to a reduced price point and he's now in the range where it's very manageable to get him into your lineups. The Browns rush defense has faltered in recent weeks, due in large part to the inability of their offense to move the ball. Now they'll start Connor Shaw and you can fully expect the Ravens defense to turn him over, giving Forsett some bonus chances inside the red zone. Beyond that, the Browns have allowed 148 yards and 2 TDs to Jeremy Hill then 122 yards and a score to Jonathan Stewart in that two week span. Look for Forsett to get back on track here in a game that the Ravens have to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
A.J. Green vs. PIT ($8,300) - Green has a terrific track record against the Steelers and this game will be played on Sunday Night Football for the AFC North crown. A few weeks back, Green hauled in 11 balls for 224 yards and a TD against this Pittsburgh secondary and there haven't been any noticeable improvements in their defense that should scare you off of him this week. In fact, over the last four weeks the Steelers defense has allowed 5 different receivers to have at least 80 yards. On the year, Pittsburgh has allowed seven different 100+ yard receivers as well. The biggest red flag on Green is the injury concerns coming out of Week 16's matchup with Denver. Signs are looking positive for him to play on Sunday though, just keep an eye on that news before locking him into your DraftKings lineups.
There are three guys with a lot on the line this weekend and big upside that can help you take down one of the Fantasy Football World Championship tournaments during Week 17 on DraftKings. Remember to track all the latest injury news throughout the end of the week to find some viable cheaper options as well and good luck this weekend!
