Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games – Week 17

December 30, 2016

By Ha Kung Wong Daily Fantasy Football

Hope everyone is having a Happy Holidays and getting ready for a rockin’ New Year’s Eve!

And I hope you enjoyed a crazy Week 16 with games across four days, AND managed to win some DFS cash! If not, then there’s no better time to make up for it than this week! And if you did win cash, then why not let it ride to even greater riches?

Alright, sorry about that, didn’t mean to be a pusher. Let’s just say that was “evil Ha Kung” talking.

We all know that DFS is a great way to prove you have serious football IQ and earn you bragging rights among your friends (and if you’re like me, among your family as well!). And heck, if you win cash, that’s just gravy, right? (No need to answer that question, it was totally rhetorical. I know you all like cash. And gravy.)

So before we get to winning you bragging rights (and DFS cash), remember, the point of this article is not just to give you one lineup for each site, it’s to give you examples of one or two POSSIBLE lineups. Getting exposure to a few different lineups is always a good idea, so don’t forget to mix and match additional lineups from my suggestions below. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun that way AND you’ll improve your chances of cashing!

So without further to do, here are my favorite cash lineups for FanDuel, Draft Kings, and Yahoo! DFS, plus a few others suggestions you might consider for your lineups.

Let’s get to winning you some CASH in Week 17 of the 2016 NFL season!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games. They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

For Fan Duel try to target at least 2 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Draft Kings, try to target at least 2.5 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Yahoo! Daily Fantasy, try to target at least 0.6-0.7 fantasy points per $1 spent.

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games. Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games for Week 17 contests, along with they’re prices on Fan Duel (“FD”), Draft Kings (“DK”) and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy (“Y!”).

FanDuel

Again, to encourage some diversity in your lineups, I’m giving you two sample lineups for FanDuel this week.

In Week 17, I’m interested in only two QBs, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan.

Aaron Rodgers is the hottest QB currently playing football. He has the most passing TDs in the NFL (36) and the 4th most passing yards (4128). He’s had at least 3 TDs in 7 of his last 10 games, and he has 0 interceptions over his last 6 games. And perhaps the most important piece of information for Week 17? Assuming the Redskins win, the Packers are in a must-win scenario against the Lions to make the playoffs. Even if the Redskins lose, I suspect the Packers will keep their foot on the gas. And, according to Football Outsiders‘s DVOA, the Lions are ranked LAST in pass defense in the NFL, plus this game has the second highest over/under of any game this week (49.5). This all means you should lock in Rodgers as your QB whenever possible.

Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan has also been one of the best QBs in the NFL with the 3rd most passing yards (4,613) and the 3rd most passing TDs (34) in the NFL, and he’s facing the exploitable Saints pass defense. The Saints are bottom 5 against the pass per Football Outsiders‘s DVOA, and this game has the highest over/under of any game this week by a full TD (56.5). I like him as a solid pivot off Rodgers as I expect Rodgers to be heavily owned.

For RB, I like all the value due to injury, such as DeAngelo Williams, Jacquizz Rodgers and Rex Burkhead. Right now, it appears that Le’Veon Bell will get the day off since the Steelers have already locked in their position in the playoffs.

#Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Le'Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown will sit out vs. #Browns in Sunday's finale.

— Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) December 28, 2016

If that’s the case, and assuming Williams is healthy, the matchup couldn’t be better against the Browns’ 31st ranked run defense. Keep a close eye on what happens to Bell before game time to be sure, but the dude just got named the Steelers MVP, so doesn’t he deserve a game off?

it's an Honor to be MVP of the Pittsburgh Steelers! my teammates mean everything in the world to me, I can't do ANYTHING without em! #Juice pic.twitter.com/qn1d7E8jRU

— Le'Veon Bell (@L_Bell26) December 28, 2016

Jacquizz Rodgers, on the other hand, is already locked in with Doug Martin suspended and Charles Sims on IR. Even with Sims sharing snaps in Wek 16, Rodgers managed 63 rush yards and a TD, adding 2 receptions for 15 receiving yards. The Panthers defense is improved from the beginning of the season, but still doesn’t have Luke Kuechly (concussion) back, so I like Rodgers here. Rex Burkhead is going to be the guy in the backfield for Bengals in a meaningless game against the Ravens with Jeremy Hill unlikely to play due to injury.

In talking with Bengals players today, here are the two main headlines: RB Jeremy Hill (knee) is unlikely to… https://t.co/6RpCrHQjbW

— bob holtzman (@BobHoltzmanESPN) December 29, 2016

In Week 16, Burkhead had 42 rush yards and 4 receptions for 25 receiving yards sharing backfield snaps. With it all to himself, volume and value alone make him enticing.

And since I went cheap at RB, I can spend up at WR with Jordy Nelson, Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr.

Jordy Nelson finds himself in the same situation as Aaron Rodgers, playing hot over the last couple weeks and potentially needing to win in Week 17. He has the most receiving TDs (14) in the NFL, he’s had double digit targets in 6 of his last 8 games, and he’s had at least 100 yards or a TD (and sometimes both) in 7 of his last 8 games. The matchup almost doesn’t matter, he always produces. Mike Evans is facing an exploitable Panthers pass defense, and remains Jameis Winston’s number 1 target. In fact, he has the most targets of any WR in the NFL this year (162). He also has the 3rd most TDs among WRs (11) and the 5th most receptions (91). As for OBJ, he’s clearly Eli Manning’s favorite target, as he’s tied with Evan for the most targets in the NFL (162). And the Giants will be motivated to spoil the Redskins’ chances to make the postseason. The Redskins have a bottom 5 pass defense, and OBJ has the 2nd most receiving yards in the NFL (1,323).

At tight end, I like Travis Kelce if you have the cap space, and Eric Ebron as a value play.

Travis Kelce

Kelce completely destroyed me in one of my season long league championship games by going off for 160 yards on a whopping 11 receptions with a TD. He’s full on beastmode now (sorry, Marshawn Lynch) and regardless on how you feel about his reality TV show (because, come on, Kelce doesn’t really need a TV show to get a date), he should be locked in as the number 1 choice at TE in Week 17. The Chargers are only ranked 16th at defending TEs according to DVOA, and the Chiefs would like to win to seal the bye week. Ebron is a close second, though, if you’re trying to save a little cap space. In Week 16, where nothing went right for the Lions, Ebron still got his with 8 receptions for 93 yards. He’s had at least 4 receptions in each of his last 4 games, and it looks like Matt Stafford’s finger injury is making him throw short to Ebron more and more often.

I like two defenses this week — the Denver Broncos against the Oakland Raiders, the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets.

The Raiders will be starting Matt McGloin in Week 17 with Derek Carr out with a broken fibula. Sure, the Raiders have one of the better offenses in the league, but with Carr out and with both Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper dealing with injuries of their own, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Raiders stall against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Denver has the 3rd most sacks (40), allow the least passing yards per game (187) of any team in the NFL, and are ranked 1st overall on defense per DVOA. Sure, the Broncos defense was humiliated by the Chiefs in Week 16, but that’s all the more reason for them to coming out firing against the Raiders. The Jets have been circling the drain for weeks, and now they’re going back to the turnover machine himiself, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitz-“Magic” is being pressed into service once again with Bryce Petty going down with a torn labrum. That’s twice that’s he’s been benched and twice he’s come back due to an injury to his replacement. He’s like the “Madden Curse” of backup QBs. Christian Hackenberg should be happy that he doesn’t get to start, as he’d probably break an arm or get turf toe if he did. Fitzpatrick has the second most interceptions in the league (17) in just 13 appearances this season, and only has 10 TDs. I suspect we’ll see more of that against the Bills on Sunday. Plus, Buffalo has the 5th most sacks (38) in the NFL this season. So take your pick, whichever you’re more comfortable with seeing as how both a priced similarly.

Draft Kings

On Draft Kings, you’ll note that I took Brandin Cooks and T.Y. Hilton at WR. Although both are on teams with nothing to play for, the price is right and the matchups also help.

Cooks is coming off back-to-back strong games with 284 total yards and 2 TDs on 12 total receptions. He’ll be facing the 27th ranked Falcons defense per DVOA, and as I mentioned above, he’ll also be in a matchup that has the highest over/under of any game this week. As for Hilton, he’s had three 100+ yard games in his last four games, averaging about 10 targets per game over that span. The Jaguars are ranked 23rd defending against WR1s as per DVOA, so Hilton should have plenty of room to roam in the Colts’ final home game of the season.

I also opted for Alfred Blue in the FLEX, because Lamar Miller is unlikely to play through an ankle injury when the Texans have already secured their spot in the playoffs. Blue did well in Week 16 with 73 rush yards and a TD with 4 receptions and 17 receiving yards, and should continue to get plenty of run against Titans defense that is ranked 30th defending RB receptions.

UPDATE – Lamar Miller has been ruled out for Week 17. Blue is now safe to lock in to lineups.

Yahoo! DFS

For Yahoo, I also like Zach Zenner. With Theo Riddick looking like he’ll miss his fourth game with a wrist injury, Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington will carry the load in the backfield for the Lions. Zenner out-touched Washington 14 to 8 in Week 16, and managed 67 rush yards and 2 TDs with 25 receiving yards on 2 receptions. He’ll have the opportunity to do the same against the Packers 20th ranked defense per DVOA. Plus, he’s an excellent value at minimum price.

UPDATE – Theo Riddick has been ruled out for Week 17. It’s now safe to lock Zenner in.

Theo Riddick OUT for Lions. Travis Swanson doubtful. Darius Slay questionable. https://t.co/VzmqfzDvbG pic.twitter.com/KBaA6KFicf

— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) December 30, 2016

Alternative Options

Feel free to use any of the players that I’ve selected on one site in any other site if you have cap space.

Also, note that you shouldn’t play any Dallas Cowboys or Pittsburgh Steelers, as Cowboys starters are likely to get limited snaps while key Steelers starters, such as Big Ben, Bell and Brown are likely to sit out Week 17.

#Cowboys planning on giving veteran QB Mark Sanchez majority of snaps at position Sunday at #Eagles, source said.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) December 29, 2016

Along with #Cowboys Mark Sanchez receiving most of the reps, expect same with Darren McFadden. An inexperienced LT adds to resting starters

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 29, 2016

Tomlin said Ben, Bell, AB, Pouncey prob won't play vs Browns. "They are guys I'll look hard at protecting and preserving."

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) December 27, 2016

In addition to the above, here are few other suggestions for players to use:

QB Drew Brees @ ATL (FD: $8200 / DK: $7600 / Y!: $41)
QB Kirk Cousins vs. NYG (FD: $7900 / DK: $6500 / Y!: $31)
RB David Johnson @ LA (FD: $9300 / DK: $9800 / Y!: $41)
RB DeMarco Murray vs. HOU (FD: $7800 / DK: $6300 / Y!: $31)
RB Jordan Howard @ MIN (FD: $7400 / DK: $6800 / Y!: $29)
RB Ty Montgomery @ DET (FD: $6700 / DK: $5700 / Y!: $22)
RB Shaun Draughn vs. SEA (FD: $4600 / DK: $3200 / Y!: $12)

With Carlos Hyde going on the IR, Draughn will likely get the start. He’s not a great option with a tough matchup against the Seahawks, but he’ll have some volume, and has had some success catching the ball with 48 receiving yards on 6 receptions in Week 16. Plus, he’s cheap.