Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 17
So it is Week 17 and (hopefully) you are in the fantasy football championships (friends do not let friends play fantasy football championships in Week 18), and hopefully if you aren’t in the fantasy championship, you have seamlessly transitioned to playing DFS and winning.
Spoiler alert the sleeper article is transitioning into your picks for DraftKings Sunday main slate, where this week there are only eight games, but remember you have three playoff implication games on Saturday, which can influence play on Sunday. Buckle up…the last two weeks of the regular season are a bumpy ride.
But first last week’s sleeper picks and how I fared.
LAST WEEK’S SLEEPER PICKS
- Michael Penix Jr.: 18/27, 202, zero touchdowns, one interception (thank you Kyle Pitts); rushed for three yards. Finished as QB30 with 7.4 fantasy points.
- Craig Reynolds: four rushing attempts for 18 yards, one target, one reception, and five yards (this is really the Jahmyr Gibbs solo show…and the Ben Johnson audition tape). Standard league finished as RB60 with 2.3 points; and RB59 in half-PPR with 2.8 points (YIKES).
- Keenan Allen: 13 targets, nine receptions for 141 yards and one touchdown. Finished as WR2 in half-PPR with 24.6 points and WR3 in standard with 20.1 fantasy points.
- Brenton Strange: four targets, two receptions for 22 yards (and yes, I was a week late on this one). Finished as TE54 in standard with 0.5 points and TE45 in half-PPR with 1.5 fantasy points.
Whew, it was a frigging roller coaster, and the ride down was abysmal and stomach-turning. Let’s get off this ride.
Now for the sleepers for your Week 17:
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DraftKings: $5,900
Richardson finished with 21.2 fantasy points last week and his stat line included the fact that he attempted only 11 passes…ELEVEN! He finished his passing day with seven completions, 131 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception, he also added 70 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
For fantasy purposes Richardson’s floor is bolstered by the fact that he throws grown men off of him when he decides to run and his 12.2 air yards per attempt is the best in the NFL and his 60 deep ball attempts are eighth.
So when he does connect with his receivers it is going to be for yardage, which also counts in Richardson’s stats.
This week his matchup is against the New York Giants, who last week allowed first-time starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to throw for 202 yards and scramble for three, while giving up two rushing touchdowns and 127 rushing yards to the Atlanta Falcons. The better comparison is the Week 15 opponents, and in that matchup the Giants allowed Lamar Jackson to rush for 65 yards, heck even Derek Carr ran for 12 yards against the Giants.
The Colts still have a sliver of playoff hopes so they have something to play for, but the caveat is that Richardson has shown up on the injury report with back and foot issues so keep up on that.
Prop Bets
- Passing Yards, O 174.5 (-130), U 177.5 (-110)
- Passing Touchdowns, O 0.5 (-275), U 1.5 (-250)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer +135
DraftKings $4,600
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a fight for the playoffs after losing last week to the Dallas Cowboys. This week against the Carolina Panthers is the cliched “must win” to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The better news is that McMillan is WR2 on a team with a 56.90% passing play percentage, with a quarterback who isn’t afraid to sling it. McMillan has seen at least six targets in his last three games (7-6-7) and he has four touchdowns in his last three games (1-1-2).
The better news is that the Atlanta Falcons do not play until Sunday night so the Buccaneers’ playoff fate is in their hands for this game.
Prop Bets
- Receiving Yards, O 40.5 (-110), U 41.5 (-121)
- Receptions O 3.5 (EVEN), U 3.5 (-125)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer +200
DraftKings $5,100
Here is what we think we know, the Raiders aren’t very good, but their opponent the New Orleans Saints just got rolled on Monday Night Football by the Green Bay Packers, 34-0. We also know that the Raiders haven’t quite thrown in the towel yet, having beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars 19-14 last week (draft position be damned).
The Raiders are dead last in rushing yards per game (77.5) and the Saints are 30th in rushing yards allowed per game (137.9).
Last week Alexander Mattison out-touched Abdullah 12-7, Mattison also averaged 2.3 yards per carry while Abdullah averaged 5.4. Abdullah also added 47 receiving yards with seven targets and six receptions.
Abdullah accounted for 19.50 DraftKings points, was RB16 in standard leagues, and RB15 in half-PPR (17 points). This week not only is he playing against the Saints’ anemic run defense, but this game will also be indoors, so no concern about the pesky weather conditions that will face James Cook, Chase Brown, and De’Von Achane (although you aren’t sitting any of them this week)!
Prop Bets
- Rushing Yards, O/U 25.5 (-110)
- Receiving Yards, O/U 16.5 (-110)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer +300
DraftKings $3,600
We should all have someone focus on us the way Mason Rudolph focuses on Okonkwo. Last week Rudolph targeted Okonkwo 11 times, in Week 15 it was 10 times and in both weeks Okonkwo has made Rudolph proud. Last week Okonkwo led the team in targets (and it wasn’t even close, Calvin Ridley was second with five), receptions (9), and receiving yards (81).
This week the Titans will travel to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars (in what could end up being a sneaky high-scoring game).
Look for Rudolph not to take his eyes off Okonkwo this week either.
Prop Bets
- Receptions, O 4.5 (+120), U 4.5 (-135)
- Receiving Yards, O 34.5 (-140), U 38.5 (-110)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer +340
Good Luck and thanks for spending a little bit of your time with me, have a safe and great New Year!
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