DeAngelo Williams and 5 Players to Use in Daily Fantasy Football in Week 17

One week of regular season daily fantasy football action remains, so we’re back for one final run of our NFL DFS picks.

It’s an odd week to close out the year, as the entire AFC already knows which teams are going to the playoffs and just the Lions, Packers, Redskins and Buccaneers (kind of) have yet to finalize the final two spots for the NFC.

That makes week 17 somewhat anticlimactic in the NFL, but that really isn’t the case in the daily fantasy scene. Instead, we just need to pay special attention to which teams are resting guys, which injured players are done for the year and which teams have something left to play for.

There are plenty of options to consider, but there are five daily fantasy football picks we’re especially targeting in week 17. Let’s check them out:

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

Everything presents itself for Stafford to rise up and be a DFS machine this week. The Lions have the NFC North title within reach, and they get to face a very beatable Green Bay defense en route to it.

Stafford and the Lions did lose to the Packers earlier this year, but it was a game that saw him put up 385 passing yards and three touchdowns. Considering how much is on the line and how well he’s played at home (Detroit is 6-1 there this year), it’s fair to assume he’ll end the 2016 NFL regular season on a pretty high note.

Right along with Stafford, you’ll naturally want to consider the likes of Golden Tate, Marvin Jones Jr. and Eric Ebron this week. They all could crush.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Williams is probably our favorite NFL DFS pick for week 17, as it’s possible a ton of people won’t be on him. This is for a few reasons: some people may not realize Le’Veon Bell isn’t playing, fantasy gamers will be enamored with other running backs and/or they don’t trust D-Will in just his second game back from a knee injury.

Logic suggests you can trust him, though, as he was a monster when Le’Veon Bell was out last year and early in 2016, and he’s insanely cheap across all DFS sites. Per reports, he’s also slated for a “healthy” role ahead of the playoffs:

Don’t be surprised if DeAngelo Williams gets some healthy run this week — playoff tuneup after missing time.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 29, 2016

It’s possible that report doesn’t hold any water, but with some of the elite options resting or being limited, it may make sense to pay down at running back. Oh, and Williams would be facing a terrible Browns defense at home. Yeah, we can’t pass that up.

Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders

Williams is probably the top running back value heading into week 17 daily fantasy football leagues, but he’s also a little risky. Murray might be, as well, given the fact that star quarterback Derek Carr (broken leg) is no longer under center.

That could obviously work against Murray, but it could also make him a NFL DFS boss this Sunday. Not only did he destroy the Denver Broncos on the ground earlier this year (3 TDs), but he’s the only reliable source of offense in Oakland we can at all bank on right now.

The risk is noted against a talented Denver defense, but the Broncos are in a freefall (three straight losses) and will be without DeMarcus Ware (back). With a first round bye and the AFC West on the line, a huge game out of Murray wouldn’t be all that shocking.

Steve Smith Sr., WR, Baltimore Ravens

Potentially even better than D-Will (especially if Williams does end up being limited) could be Steve Smith in his final NFL game.

Steve Smith is ‘89% sure’ his final game will be Sunday: https://t.co/H5dtKFlrQ9 pic.twitter.com/0DnNH9n6ay

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 29, 2016

Smith suggested earlier this week that Sunday’s game could be his last, and if we’re to believe that, we probably should brace for the very real possibility the Ravens send him off in style.

Baltimore won’t be going to the playoffs, but they can beat the Bengals, get to 9-7 and possibly help move Smith into 6th place all-time for career receiving yardage. He needs an insane 200+ yard day to accomplish that feat, but if the Ravens end up being up to the task, you might want to be all over Smith in daily fantasy football contests.

We’re not saying Smith is a lock to kill. After all, he had just 20 yards on four receptions the last time he faced off with the Bengals. However, he’s a shifty dude who loves to compete and hates to lose. We wouldn’t feel amazing about betting against him in his last hurrah.

Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers

All of the guys we’ve touched on are reasonably price or downright cheap across all DFS sites, but here’s a locked in pick that will cost you a bit. Nelson won’t be cheap because he’s been awesome and because he specifically crushed the Lions when he faced them earlier this year.

In a huge game where the Packers can win the NFC North crown and are playing for their playoff lives, it wouldn’t make much sense to see Nelson come up small. Nelson has been on a tear and for the past couple of weeks finally resembles the Jordy of old. We can expect 1-2 big plays and a score. If he can do that, he might just help you win some serious cash as the curtain falls on the regular season on Sunday Night Football.

We don’t have a single tight end we feel overly confident in this week, but hopefully these five NFL DFS picks will still help you win big. We feel great about these picks, but like always, be sure to mix things up and put several different lineups into tourneys if you’re aiming high in GPPs. No matter what you do, we wish you luck this week!