We’ve reached Week 17 — the final week of the NFL regular season. There’s no Monday night game, so we get a 15-game slate for DFS purposes on Sunday. Who is fighting for playoff spots or seeding and who is looking to rest starters and try out rookies? Or, in the case of the Rams, forced by injury to start the widely unknown John Wolford? The answers to those questions can have a major impact on DFS rosters.
Here are five players under $5,000 to consider this week.
John Wolford, Rams QB ($4,900)
The Rams ruled starter Jared Goff out after he underwent surgery on his injured hand. That puts Wolford, who hasn’t seen competitive action since the 2019 preseason, into the lions’ den — in a game with playoff implications, no less. It’s a risk playing Wolford, but he will face one of the worst defenses in the league in the Arizona Cardinals.
Nyheim Hines, Colts RB ($4,900)
The Colts offense can be a tricky one to figure out for DFS purposes, with many players receiving their share of touches from week to week. The Colts are among a logjam of five AFC teams with a 10-5 record. They could win the AFC South on Sunday, but they could also miss the playoffs. Fortunately for Indianapolis, the hapless Jaguars are coming to town. Hines rarely gets double-digit carries, but he catches a lot of passes out of the backfield, which helps immensely on DraftKings. He’s scored double-digit DFS points on DraftKings in four of the past five weeks.
Jamison Crowder, Jets WR ($5,000)
There’s no reason not to go back to the well with Crowder in Week 17. He’s been one of the most consistent players on a terrible Jets team. Last week against the Browns, he caught seven of nine targets for 92 yards and a touchdown while also throwing a 43-yard TD. He even rushed once for 14 yards. That 29.3 DFS output represented the eighth time in 11 games that Crowder scored double-digit DFS points. He’s averaged about eight targets per game over the course of the 2020 season.
Richie James, 49ers WR ($3,100)
San Francisco’s top receivers will miss Week 17. Brandon Aiyuk nurses a high-ankle sprain, while Deebo Samuel will miss his second game with a hamstring injury. You could go with either James or Kendrick Bourne ($4,300) this week against Seattle, but James saw the field much more last week. The 49ers will likely be forced to pass more than the 22 attempts CJ Beathard had against the Cardinals, so either player could return nice value in the season finale.
Robert Tonyan, Packers TE ($5,000)
If we’re lucky, we can get Green Bay’s top tight end at low ownership in Week 17 after he caught just one pass on two targets for 17 yards last week. Davante Adams got all of the attention against the Titans. Despite Adams’ star power, Tonyan has put up consistent numbers throughout the year. During the 2020 season, he’s caught 50 passes for 568 yards and 10 touchdowns, and scored at least 10 DFS points in each of his past five games prior to last week’s dud.
