Week 17 DraftKings DFS Picks & Fades (2025 season)

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Happy Holidays to you and yours!

We have a short Sunday slate, as games now split between Christmas Day (Thursday), Saturday and Sunday. There are a couple of games that stand out from the rest that should be popular, and one game that literally has a 33.5 total which we can mostly avoid talking about - although there are some cheap plays that you could punt on.

Here are my Week 17 DraftKings DFS picks, fades and stacks that I'm considering for my lineups.

Week 17 DraftKings DFS Stack of the Week

Cincinnati Bengals: QB Joe Burrow ($6,500) + WR Ja'Marr Chase ($8,300) + WR Tee Higgins ($6,300). Total salary: $21,100.

There's no getting around this. The Bengals at full health are a threat to put up massive points - they've scored 30+ in three of their last four, of course with a zero in the other. The Cardinals have allowed 40+ points four times in their last seven games and they pass a ton to keep themselves in games. It will be popular, but probably not popular enough for the setup. Fire it into your lineups, figure out the rest as you go.

Week 17 DraftKings DFS Picks

RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles ($7,600)

The way to beat the Bills is still through the ground, especially when you're going into Buffalo, and Saquon Barkley is the type of premium talent that is set up for a massive game here. The Eagles have seeding implications on the line and the Bills are still fighting for the division, so both teams are likely to push each other. Saquon has topped 100 yards in two of the last three games. He's looking like the best of the spend up options to me.

WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts ($4,200)

Josh Downs has suddenly come to life coming out of the bye - even with old man Philip Rivers as his QB. He's had 5+ targets for five straight weeks, including nine last week. The yardage totals are still low, and he's only scored once in that time, but we're going to need to dumpster dive a bit on this slate. At this usage level in a competitive matchup, why not?

TE Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins ($3,800)

We're going back to the well this week with Darren Waller, who ended up with a modest 3-40 line on five targets with Quinn Ewers at QB. The Bucs are a massive pass funnel defense and especially porous to opposing tight ends. If the Dolphins get into the red zone, I expect Ewers to look to Waller to convert.

Week 17 DraftKings DFS Fades

RB Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers ($6,000)

There's nothing lining up here at this price to play Rico Dowdle.

• Still splitting touches with Chuba Hubbard enough to impact ceiling

• Gets the Seahawks defense

• 7 point underdogs

He is surrounded by higher upside plays - including on the other side of this game. It's not worth the risk in any play format.

WR Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals ($6,400)

Marvin Harrison Jr. returned last week on a limited snap count, and it still heavily impacted Michael Wilson. They both were targeted three times in the game - with 16 targets going between Trey McBride and, for some reason, Elijah Higgins - leaving little meat on the bone for him to do anything. Add another week of ramping up and it's going to mean more involvement for MHJ.

WR DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers ($5,600)

Punching fans isn't a good look!

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