Week 17 DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Football Picks, Lineup Tips for Sunday

Week 17 of the NFL season is typically the most difficult to figure out from fantasy perspective.

A handful of the top point-earners in daily fantasy contests throughout the season will be on the sidelines as they rest up for the postseason. While Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and a few others will not be in play Sunday, there are still a decent amount of top DFS options available because of the uncertainty in the AFC and NFC playoff pictures.

The teams in the AFC wild-card hunt carry some of the best matchups and DFS value. The Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens face three of the worst teams in the AFC, and the Cleveland Browns get to play the Pittsburgh Steelers' second-string offense.

Those situations are far more intriguing that what is going on in the NFC, where the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals could be in for a low-scoring affair and the Chicago Bears face the unenviable task of facing the No. 1 seed-chasing Green Bay Packers with a playoff berth on the line.

Top Lineup Picks

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Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland (DraftKings: $5,500; FanDuel: $7,000)

Baker Mayfield's Week 17 is set up to be much more successful than Week 16, when he struggled against the New York Jets.

Mayfield still threw for 285 yards last time out, but he did not have any scoring throws without Jarvis Landry and three other wide receivers in the Browns lineup. With Landry back in the fold Sunday, Mayfield can utilize his top wideout and his trio of tight ends to move the ball against the Pittsburgh defense.

Cleveland has a chance to break open the game early, with Mason Rudolph starting for Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh won the AFC North in Week 16.

Mayfield has four multi-touchdown performances at FirstEnergy Stadium, and he produced 343 yards and a pair of scores against the Baltimore Ravens in his most recent divisional game at home.

Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee (DK: $9,400; FD: $10,200)

Derrick Henry loves playing against the Houston Texans.

The Tennessee running back has two straight 200-yard outings against his AFC South rival. He is expected to receive a heavy load of carries with the division title on the line Sunday.

Henry's matchup and the time of year feels like the perfect storm to use him as the centerpiece of any DFS lineup. He had 201 rushing yards in last season's finale against Houston, and he owns nine 100-yard outings from Week 10 on in the past two seasons.

Houston has little motivation to be competitive since it has no head coach and no first-round pick, so expect a big day for the Titans.

Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota (DK: $7,600; FD: $8,000)

Justin Jefferson has an opportunity to earn a few more votes for Offensive Rookie of the Year against the putrid Detroit Lions defense.

The Minnesota Vikings rookie faces a Lions secondary that was torched by Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert for 477 passing yards in Week 16.

Since Week 11, Detroit's yardage concessions have gotten worse by the game, and it let up more than 400 total yards in each of the past three contests.

In the past five weeks, Jefferson has been targeted on at least eight occasions in every game and had back-to-back 10-target appearances in Weeks 15 and 16.

Although the Vikings have nothing to play for, they will try to finish the season strong against a weak divisional rival.

Avoid the Rams-Cardinals Game

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The Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals can each clinch a wild-card spot with a win in their Week 17 matchup, but it may be painful for both teams to do so.

The Rams are without Jared Goff, Darrell Henderson and Cooper Kupp, while Arizona is missing Christian Kirk.

With John Wolford and a banged-up Kyler Murray playing quarterback at SoFi Stadium, Sunday afternoon's NFC West clash could look much different than the Rams' 38-28 victory from Week 13.

Los Angeles' rushing defense held four of its past six opponents beneath the 100-yard mark, so that could take away Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds as effective DFS options.

The Cardinals should load the box and force Wolford to beat them through the air. If that comes to fruition, Cam Akers and Malcolm Brown will be useless from a fantasy perspective.

If the quarterbacks find some sort of rhythm, DeAndre Hopkins and Robert Woods could be good plays because of their statures in their respective offenses. However, with Wolford being a complete unknown at the NFL level and one part of Murray's game taken away by Los Angeles' run defense, neither player makes sense as a DFS contributor.

Find Value in Cowboys-Giants Matchup

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The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants find themselves in peculiar positions in the early window.

The victor of their NFC East showdown will have to wait until the Washington Football Team's result Sunday night to find out whether they won the division. Washington needs to lose to Philadelphia for the Dallas-New York winner to get into the postseason.

When the rivals met in Week 5, they totaled 71 points and 702 total yards. Neither defense has significantly improved since then.

Dallas let up more than 400 total yards in four of its past six games after a Week 10 bye. New York's yardage concession has gotten progressively worse in the past four weeks, and they were split apart by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.

The wide receivers on both rosters could serve as productive value plays around the stars with the highest salaries. Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard are all priced in the middle of the pack in DraftKings and FanDuel contests.

Slayton and Lamb both had eight receptions on 11 targets in Week 5. They were five receiving yards away from having identical totals. Gallup exploded for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Week 16, and Shepard reeled off nine catches for 77 yards versus the Ravens.

If Andy Dalton and Daniel Jones exploit the defenses' weaknesses, the Cowboys-Giants game could produce some of Week 17's best fantasy numbers.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.