Daily Fantasy Football Week 17: DraftKings DFS Lineup Advice and Best Matchups

The Christmas-break daily fantasy football action is now in the books, and while we saw games on both Thursday and Saturday night in previous weeks, things shift in a big way in Week 17. In the final week of the NFL season, all games will be played on Sunday, and we have some great, and crucial games on tap.

With that being said, let's not forget that we could run into a situation where there could be a few teams who have very little to play for. This would result in a few top players possibly being rested before the playoffs, and other teams who could look to get their young players some attention.

This all has to be factored in, but let's jump into the action and find the best options on the board, as well as a few value and wild-card plays. Time to get into it.

Quarterback

	Player	Team	OPP	Price
Top Performer	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	CLE	$6,900
Safe Bet	Ryan Fitzpatrick	NYJ	BUF	$5,400
Value Pick	Johnny Manziel	CLE	PIT	$5,100
Wild Card	Matt Ryan	ATL	NO	$5,500

To start off the action, we'll go into it with a player in Ben Roethlisberger, who may have cost a few fantasy players some money in Week 16. Yes, watching Roethlisberger throw for just 215 yards and two interceptions was painful, especially when considering that he did it against the poor Baltimore Ravens secondary.

Let that performance go though, and give Big Ben another shot in Week 17. Not only do the Pittsburgh Steelers need to win to make the playoffs (and get help), but they draw the Browns, who have been pretty awful against opposing quarterbacks this year. They've allowed 31 passing touchdowns, which sets up nicely for Roethlisberger.

As for the safe bet of the week, how about Ryan Fitzpatrick against the Buffalo Bills? Not only is Fitzmagic coming off a great performance complete with 296 yards and three touchdowns, but he's become ridiculously consistent as well. Over his past five games, he's thrown for 13 touchdowns and just one interception. Plus, what's not to love about a quarterback who's on fire, fresh off a walk-off touchdown pass?

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Next up, let's talk about a value play and a wild card in Johnny Manziel and Matt Ryan. While Manziel is going to save you some serious money in Week 17, his matchup is solid with the Steelers also. We recently saw Pittsburgh allow Ryan Mallett to throw for 274 yards and a touchdown. Plus Manziel can do things like this:

Yes, Manziel threw for only 136 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs, but let's not overlook how much better the Chiefs defense is compared to the Steelers. Most importantly, Manziel rushed for 108 yards in that game, showing that he has no problem using his legs at this point. Manziel may be worth taking a chance on in Week 17.

Last but not least is Matt Ryan, who helped lead the stunning upset over the previously undefeated Carolina Panthers in Week 16. Ryan completed 23 of 30 passes for 206 yards and a 70-yard touchdown. He gets a great matchup against the Saints, and if he can pick up some confidence after this upset, there's no reason to think he won't have another strong showing.

Running Back

	Player	Team	OPP	Price
Top Performer	Devonta Freeman	ATL	NO	$7,600
Safe Bet	Todd Gurley	STL	SF	$7,400
Value Pick	Tim Hightower	NO	ATL	$5,500
Wild Card	Jeremy Langford	CHI	CHI	$3,900

It's widely known that the New Orleans Saints have struggled on the defensive side of the ball in 2015. More importantly, they've struggled from a fantasy perspective against opposing running backs, allowing 10 rushing touchdowns, 886 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. Freeman, who's a jack of all trades, will be an elite play in Week 17; it's as simple as that.

As for Todd Gurley, we're talking about a running back who just rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks and their strong run defense. Gurley has now officially topped 1,000 yards on the season, and he has nine touchdowns on the year. With St. Louis set to take on a San Francisco 49ers team that has allowed 17 rushing touchdowns to running backs this year, it sets up beautifully for Gurley.

Tim Hightower and Jeremy Langford are two plays worth talking about, both for different reasons. Hightower, for one, has put together a story that's pretty much incredible. Matthew Berry of ESPN probably summed it up best with one simple tweet.

Hightower has been thrust into the starting role for the New Orleans Saints after both Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson were sent to the injured reserve. How has he responded? With 261 yards and three touchdowns over his past three starts. To make it just a bit sweeter for fantasy players, Hightower has seven catches for 88 yards, for good measure.

Hightower has a great matchup with the Falcons, who have allowed an astounding 101 receptions to opposing running backs this season. The man who has completed quite a comeback is a great fantasy option in Week 17.

Last up, we have the young back who broke out after Matt Forte went down with an injury earlier in the year. While Jeremy Langford is still dealing with a split-carry situation with Forte, it seems that he'll be the future of the Chicago Bears. According to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, Forte is prepared to "move on" from the Bears after the season. With that said, the shift to Langford is officially on.

Langford saw 19 carries, compared to 11 for Forte and seven for Ka'Deem Carey in the 26-21 Week 16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Detroit Lions aren't the greatest matchup for the Bears, but it may be worth giving Langford a look due to the recently increased workload.

Wide Receiver

	Player	Team	OPP	Price
Top Performer	Antonio Brown	PIT	CLE	$9,300
Safe Bet	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	PHI	$9,000
Value Pick	Travis Benjamin	CLE	PIT	$4,100
Wild Card	John Brown	ARI	SEA	$5,100

The stack option of Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown is going to be one of the more intriguing of the Week 17 slate. Both players are capable of putting up huge numbers, and both have excellent matchups. The Browns have not only struggled at slowing down quarterbacks, but—you guessed it—they've struggled mightily against wide receivers.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a must-win situation, Brown is likely going to be one of the hottest plays in the final week of the regular season. Another hot play? The recently suspended Odell Beckham Jr. of course. While New York's Week 16 game wound up not mattering, you can bet that Beckham is going to come back and play like a man looking to make a statement. The Giants may be out of it, but if I had to take a guess, Beckham will want to go out on a high note.

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If you can't tell, we're rolling with the nice matchups here, as Beckham also has a superb one against the lowly Philadelphia Eagles secondary. So, let's talk Travis Benjamin and maybe even a potential stack with Manziel. Benjamin won't break the bank, and he draws the Steelers, who have given up 19 touchdowns to opposing wide receivers on the year. Want a stack very few people will be on? Manziel and Benjamin is it.

Last up, our "wild card" is someone who's actually been pretty consistent this year in John Brown. While Brown has seven touchdowns this season and has scored in each of the previous three games, his receptions have dropped to just three per game in the last two outings. He's essentially saved his fantasy weeks with touchdowns, but will he able to do it again when facing the Seattle Seahawks?

Brown's cost of $5,100 isn't bad, but when you can grab teammate Michael Floyd for $100 more, it might make more sense to go that route. Floyd has caught at least five passes in each of the previous four games, while topping 100 yards in three of the four. So, why Brown? Big-play potential. If you want someone who has a shot at beating Seattle downfield on deep balls, this is your man.

Follow Jeff Smith on Twitter.

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Pricing information and scoring data obtained from DraftKings.com. All statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.

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