Fantasy Football Week 17: Early FanDuel, DraftKings Optimal Lineup Picks

Your fantasy football league is over, so now what?

Sure, you can spend the weekend extending the holidays with family. Maybe catch up on a good book or finally honor your commitment to start following hockey. Or just watch football for the pure joy of watching football, stripped of any narcissistic ideals of the players owing you individual success.

That will work in games with playoff bids on the line, but try deriving any joy out of the Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears. Football just isn't the same without selfish rooting interests.

That makes this the perfect week to try out a daily league. Setting a lineup avoids the inevitable fantasy withdrawal, and you can readily avoid any playoff-bound teams with little to gain from a Week 17 victory.

Eliminating the pesky Thursday night game also makes life easier for daily gamers looking to end the season in style.

FanDuel

Position	Player	Price ($)
QB	Mark Sanchez	7,400
RB	Arian Foster	8,600
RB	Jonathan Stewart	6,600
WR	Dez Bryant	8,900
WR	Charles Johnson	6,100
WR	Kenny Stills	6,000
TE	Jimmy Graham	6,700
K	Justin Tucker	4,800
D/ST	Miami Dolphins	4,900

In a losing effort for his real team, Mark Sanchez produced 396 yards (274 passing, 22 rushing) and two touchdowns for his fake owners on Saturday night. He also coughed up two turnovers, adding to an ugly total since taking over for Nick Foles. Per ESPN Stats & Info:

Turnovers will persist as a major problem, but he has offset those point reductions by eclipsing 300 passing yards in four of seven starts. Take out a dud against the Seattle Seahawks' No. 1 passing defense, and he's averaging 304.7 yards through those six games.

The New York Giants surrender 8.0 yards per attempt, which ranks No. 29. They have coasted on an easy schedule over the past month, but tougher competition pummeled them earlier in the season. Take the bad with the good, and Sanchez will still exit Week 17 a solid value.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

OK, so don't expect another passing touchdown from Arian Foster, but he's poised to run all over the Jacksonville Jaguars' No. 27 rushing defense. During the 12 games he's played, the dependable runner has compiled more than 100 total yards all but once.

He did little to nothing for the first three months, but Jonathan Stewart is closing out 2014 in grand fashion. The Carolina Panthers' PR department had little trouble weaving a positive spin on his resurgence.

"

#Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart's 437 rushing yards in last 4 weeks are most in the NFL

— Panthers PR Dept. (@PanthersPR) December 22, 2014"

Offensive coordinator Mike Shula praised his hungry back to Panthers.com's Max Henson.

With the dreadful NFC South on the line, Stewart will get plenty of touches against the Atlanta Falcons, who allow the most fantasy points to opposing running backs in ESPN.com leagues. Those formats don't even take receptions into account, and the Falcons have allowed 80 catches to backs all year.

There's no reason to jump off the Stewart Bandwagon now.

Washington surrenders 8.1 yards per passing attempt, so look for Dez Bryant to burn the flimsily secondary deep as revenge for the previous meeting's upset. Over the past six weeks, the Dallas Cowboys wideout has compiled 585 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

In a disappointing effort from the New Orleans Saints, Kenny Stills savaged 68 yards on six catches. Meanwhile, Jimmy Graham scored his first touchdown while falling painfully shy of another on a highly questionable call. Although eliminated from playoff contention, look for them to blow off some steam against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Charles Johnson slowed down against the Miami Dolphins' No. 4 passing defense, but now he gets the Chicago Bears, who place No. 30 in yards yielded through the air. The friendlier matchup will return the late-season riser to good graces.

The Baltimore Ravens endured a nightmare afternoon, and as a result Justin Tucker saddled owners with one measly point. Kicker production fluctuates wildly based on the situations presented, so pounce on the buy-low opportunity.

Although the Dolphins continue to decay defensively, they now close out the season against Geno Smith and the New York Jets, Take a low-cost matchup gamble on a unit that shone earlier in the year.

DraftKings

Position	Player	Price ($)
QB	Teddy Bridgewater	5,900
RB	Marshawn Lynch	7,300
RB	LeSean McCoy	6,700
WR	Dez Bryant	8,500
WR	Golden Tate	6,000
WR	Doug Baldwin	4,800
TE	Mychal Rivera	3,300
FLEX	Greg Jennings	4,300
D/ST	Houston Texans	3,200

Thought Sanchez was extreme? Nineteen quarterbacks are priced above Teddy Bridgewater, a tremendous DraftKings value poised to cap off a promising rookie season with a bang.

Over the past four weeks, the neophyte has completed 73.0 percent of his passes, scoring seven touchdowns with three interceptions in the process. After combating two tough defenses (Dolphins and Detroit Lions) on the road, he concludes the season at home against Chicago's dreadful defense.

Against the Arizona Cardinals, a top-10 defense, Marshawn Lynch started on the sidelines and still finished with 113 yards and two scores. Earlier in the day, Andre Williams gutted the St. Louis Rams for 110 rushing yards. Lynch is worth DraftKings' reasonable price against a defense that allows 4.2 yards per carry.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Giants relinquish a league-worst 4.9 yards per carry, and only DeMarco Murray has received more handoffs than LeSean McCoy. When the NFC East enemies met in Week 6, a slumping McCoy broke out with 149 rushing yards against the G-Men.

After again shelling out good dollar for Bryant—the two lineup's sole similarity—let's fill out the card with high-volume wide receivers to exploit DraftKings' point-per-reception scoring. Just four catches away from hitting 100 on the season, Golden Tate certainly fits that bill.

So does Doug Baldwin, who has hit his stride as Russell Wilson's go-to wideout. Over the past three weeks, he has registered 15 catches on 24 targets for 263 receiving yards. If Rueben Randle can collect 100 receiving yards against the Rams, so can Baldwin.

Evan Habeeb/Getty Images

Following efforts to again include Charles Johnson at $4,600, this lineup instead settles for his cheaper teammate, Greg Jennings. The veteran has scored four touchdowns in the last five games, so he should also benefit from the great matchup.

After disappearing during a tough matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Mychal Rivera now gets the Denver Broncos, who have allowed six catches and 60 yards per game to opposing tight ends before Monday night. Prior to Week 16's dud, Rivera averaged eight target over each of the last eight contests.

Despite facing the Jaguars, the Houston Texans are surprisingly affordable. Word is this J.J Watt fellow is pretty good.

Follow me on Twitter for more fantasy football advice.

Follow @AndrewGould4