6 DraftKings Bargains for Week 17

Malcolm Brown, RB, Los Angeles Rams

DraftKings Price: $3,900

There are several cheaper running backs who have a chance to fill in for resting or injured starters this week. Of all of them, Malcolm Brown's situation seems to be the most solid going into the weekend.

Branden Oliver has a chance to be a popular play, but as of now, Melvin Gordon hasn't been ruled out of what is must-win game for the Los Angeles Chargers. Charcandrick West would be an amazing fill-in for Kareem Hunt, but West sat out today's practice with an illness. Brown, however, is set in stone as the lead back for the Los Angeles Rams as Sean McVay has already ruled out Todd Gurley.

Brown is not going to have an easy day. He's going to have to work for his fantasy output as the once downtrodden San Francisco 49ers run defense actually looks decent now that they aren't on the field all of the time. Since Jimmy Garoppolo started playing quarterback for his new team, the Niners rank second against the run in PPR leagues. That's quite the turnaround for a team that was targeted by DFS players earlier this season.

However, they have given up 5.6 catches per game to the position over those games, which is one reason why guys at this price level can still have some success on full-PPR sites like DraftKings.

Six different running backs have scored at least 8.0 fantasy points against the 49ers in the past five weeks, and all lead backs have scored at least 7.3. That kind of output isn't going to win you a tournament, but it does offer a solid floor for a player at Brown's price point. Save for a San Francisco blowout, there is no reason to think that Brown won't see roughly 15 to 20 touches this week.

Vegas doesn't think a blowout is likely as the Niners are only 3.5-point favorites this week. We project Brown for 13.6 DraftKings points and have him returning the highest value for any rusher on the slate.