FantasyDraft: Week 17 NFL DFS Picks

The NFL regular season comes to a close this weekend and DFS players have even more thinking to do than they would on a normal week. The reason for the extra thinking is that this week we have to consider a team’s motivation in addition to all of the other factors we normally consider.

Most of the teams that are in the playoff picture are still jockeying for position. Other than that, it can be very tough to identify which situations are going to offer fantasy value and which should be avoided.

Today I’m going to highlight four wide receivers that I think have extra motivation to have a big game to close out the season. Fire these guys up in the $100,000 guaranteed #PlayersFirst Run & Gun tournament on FantasyDraft this weekend.

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Antonio Brown ($17,600) – Pittsburgh is in a must win situation this week to have any chance at making the playoffs. They also get a great matchup here from a fantasy perspective, drawing a Cleveland defense that has been getting picked apart very efficiently by opposing passers in the latter half of the season. Brown’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came on in relief in week 10 to light up Cleveland for 379 yards and 3 scores. We all know that Brown is a PPR monster and we can expect that to be the case on Sunday.

Julio Jones ($16,000) – In addition to being at home, favored, and in the highest projected scoring game of the week, Julio has a puncher’s chance at breaking two different NFL receiving records this week. Jones is 17 receptions and 243 yards shy of breaking the NFL record in each of those categories. With mere mortals, those totals would seem like a huge reach, but we’re talking about one of the best and most physically gifted receivers in the league playing in a dome against the worst pass defense in football. I won’t pretend to know if the Falcons are aware of or care about Julio’s record chase, but if they do care, Julio could be in line for a huge game this week.

Jeremy Maclin ($12,000) – While the Chiefs have locked up a playoff spot, you can be sure they’re going to approach week 17 with a sense of urgency. With a win, they can capture a division crown if the Broncos lose while assuring themselves at least the 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and a matchup with the weak AFC South champion and avoiding a road game in Cincinnati to open the playoffs. Maclin has been wildly efficient as Alex Smith’s favorite target all year, save for a blip of bad games midseason. He’s been on a roll of late, totaling 36 catches and 5 touchdowns in his last five games. Facing an Oakland defense that can be tough to run on but at times struggles against the pass, Maclin is in a good spot this week.

Jordan Matthews ($9,200) – Matthews was a preseason darling in the season long fantasy football community and an early season darling in the DFS community. He flashed a couple nice games to open the year before disappointing over and over again throughout the middle of the season. Well, I’m setting up to be fooled again because I’m buying in this week. Facing a Giants defense that struggles to contain the middle of the field in the passing game and coming off a two week stretch of 14 catches, over 260 yards and two touchdowns, Matthews has to be a strong consideration for fantasy lineups at just $9,200 on FantasyDraft.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Find me on Twitter @IanJ300 with any questions.

Card Player readers are eligible for a 100 percent deposit bonus of up to $600. Sign up today for FantasyDraft.

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