Daily Fantasy Football Best Bargains 2021: Week 17 Top DFS Values on DraftKings and FanDuel
The best way to cash on weekly fantasy football sites is to load up on as many stars with good matchups as possible. Due to budget restraints, however, fantasy players must sacrifice other positions to nab the stars they want.
Here, you'll find the top bargains at each position on FanDuel and DraftKings that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here are Fanduel’s and DraftKings’ scoring systems.
Quarterbacks
Trey Lance, 49ers ($6,400/$4,800): Lance is looking extremely likely to be helming the 49ers this week with Jimmy Garoppolo suffering a torn UCL and fractured thumb. He has looked incredibly raw in his limited action this year, but in his last start he rushed 16 times for 89 yards and barely missed a touchdown. With that kind of rushing floor, I don’t really care what his passing looks like, especially when he gets to face the Texans. Lance is an absolute smash play, and I think he could actually hurt Deebo Samuel’s ceiling a bit as a rushing option as well. At this price, he’s bordering on a must play.
Davis Mills, Texans ($6,400/$5,500): If you are looking for a superb price, but don’t have the stones to play a rookie like Lance in a high-pressure scenario, Mills can get the job done on the cheap. He’s thrown for two touchdowns in back-to-back games, the second against a decent Chargers secondary, and we’ve seen Mills go for 300+ twice this year. The 49ers defense is no slouch, but it is only ranked 20th in Pass DVOA this year per Football Outsiders, so Mills should be playable.
Running Backs
Javonte Williams, Broncos ($6,100/$6,400): Williams turned in a turd last week against the Raiders, and we are grateful because it led to a nice price reduction. Make no mistake, Williams is a future fantasy superstar, and he’s going to show why against the NFL’s worst run defense, even if he sees his carry count split evenly with Melvin Gordon. I am excited to play him.
Melvin Gordon, Broncos ($6,100/$6,200): Gordon costs just as much as Williams, but they share work to such a degree that both get enough opportunity that they’re both useful. I prefer Williams because he is capable of more explosive plays, but you can honestly play both of them in this game. That’s how bad the Chargers are against the run. Seriously, these two backs are separated by a measly four carries, so they will both probably score at least one touchdown.
Devin Singletary, Bills ($6,000/$5,400): Singletary is the established guy in Buffalo’s backfield now. That doesn’t mean a ton, because Josh Allen is their best rusher, but Singletary has scored in back-to-back games and has seen 34 carries in that span. He gets the Falcons this week, and that TD streak should extend to three. He’s got high-end RB2 upside, and at this price, that is fantastic value.
Wide Receivers
D.K. Metcalf, Seahawks ($6,600/$6,500): Metcalf looked like himself vs. the Bears, despite a two-catch, 41-yard performance. He caught a long TD in the snow, and showed that his struggles can be placed on the shoulders of QB Russell Wilson, not him. Detroit has the fifth-worst DVOA in football vs. WR1s, and allows more than 80 yards per game to the position. Maybe he is hurt by Rashaad Penny running all over the Lions, but Metcalf is long overdue for a WOW game.
Marquise Brown, Ravens ($6,300/$5,900): It’s been a long, long time (Week 9) since Brown has been a fantasy beast, but with Lamar Jackson potentially back from injury, this matchup against the Rams bodes well. One would think that being shadowed by Jalen Ramsey would spell doom, but the Rams haven’t locked Ramsey onto an opposing receiver much this year. The Rams shockingly allow 9.2 points per game to WR1s, tied for the most in the NFL. It’s likely the Rams will be focusing all their energy on limiting Mark Andrews, so if Jackson plays, I like Brown to issue a reminder of what he’s capable of.
Darnell Mooney, Bears ($6,000/$5,500): Mooney has been impossible to trust in season-long fantasy, but this is DFS, and he is facing a Giants team that’s long been ready to pack it in. Big Blue surrenders 8.5 points per game to WR1s, and Mooney has been heavily targeted all year long. Those targets aren’t always the best, largely because he’s dealt with bad QB play all year, but the matchup increases their value. He’s also been seeing big target shares regardless of which of Chicago’s three QBs are under center, which shows how integral he is to this offense.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller, Raiders ($6,500/$6,300): We haven’t seen Waller since Thanksgiving, and it’s been a bit of a down year for him, but if he does make it back into the lineup here, he walks into the best matchup possible, the Colts. Indianapolis has been a sieve for TEs this season, and Waller is probably their worst nightmare. If he is active, I have zero qualms about playing him, even if he’s on a pitch count. He will go nuclear.
Foster Moreau, Raiders ($5,200/$3,800): Moreau is interesting as well as an extremely risky play if Waller is active. Since Waller’s injury, Moreau has been on the field for 85% or more of the snaps in every game. Even if Waller returns, Moreau is going to see the field a ton, as Waller will need breaks, and the Colts’ permissiveness to the position means he could sneak in the end zone. If Waller is out, Moreau moves from sneaky to smash play.
Noah Fant, Broncos ($5,300/$4,400): Fant simply doesn’t see the target share you’d expect for a TE of his caliber, but even if four targets doesn’t float your boat, you can rely on him to be thrown to about 4-6 times a game. Most weeks, that makes for middling production, but this week he gets the Chargers, who allow the second-most yards per game to the position (65.9). I don’t think he has a week-winning ceiling, but at this price I think he’s got quite the high floor in Week 17.