With the unknown looming in Week 17 in terms of teams either resting or playing their stars, this might be the final week of the regular season in which we can pinpoint talent and value without too many question marks. Of course, there are some games that remain less predictable than we would like but, with 14 matchups between Sunday and Monday, we have plenty of targets for our lineups.
Sporfolio’s NFL Daily Fantasy Sports game-by-game analysis columns are driven by expected game flow. Based on a combination of our Week 16 NFL picks against the spread and our expectations for a given game, we project the actions necessary to make these picks come to fruition. We aim to pinpoint players integral to our predicted game flow for each game of the week.
Luke May is our resident NFL DFS expert, and Mario Mergola operates Sporfolio as our expert for NFL Picks Against the Spread.
Green Bay Packers at New York Jets
Luke’s DFS Take: This game has no playoff implications anymore now that the Packers have been eliminated, but there could still be some fantasy relevance. The Jets’ defense has struggled throughout the year despite showing some glimpses of potential. The Packers are a frustrated bunch, and the Jets may feel the pain of an angry Aaron Rodgers who figures to be playing with the sole intention of piling up points and statistics. Davante Adams continues to shine and should be considered every week. With Aaron Jones being placed on IR, Jamaal Williams is essentially the only running back left on the team, and he figures to be utilized heavily on the ground and as a receiver. The Jets’ offense fared admirably against a tough Texans defense last week, and they get a much easier task this week against a mediocre Packers defense. While they aren’t the most explosive group, there are a few players who figure to continue seeing heavy usage, and it may be enough to make them relevant in a matchup that has sneaky potential to be high scoring. Elijah McGuire, Robby Anderson, and Chris Herndon can all be counted on for good volume and have been the most productive members of this offense. Given the matchup and the fact that the Packers are likely to score plenty of points this week, each of these three Jets have some appeal.
Mario’s DFS Take: I don’t care what the reports say, I am not going to trust that Aaron Rodgers plays a full sixty minutes of competitive football on Sunday. More specifically, I won’t get burned by placing him in my lineup, nor will I feel slighted if he torches the Jets’ defense. It’s a calculated risk, but one I am willing to take. Either way, I have no issue with using Sam Darnold as New York’s quarterback tries to finish his rookie campaign on a high note. If the Jets are forced to pass, Darnold’s volume will increase. Otherwise, he is certainly capable of going toe-to-toe with DeShone Kizer, if he ends up under center for Green Bay on Sunday.