Week 17 Game Scripts to Target in Daily Fantasy Football
Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers
Over/Under: 49.0
Rams Implied Team Total: 29.50
Niners Implied Team Total: 19.50
Another weekly staple of this column, the Los Angeles Rams need to win to maintain the number 2 seed in the NFC, which means we can comfortably pencil the starters in for a normal workload. The San Francisco 49ers didn't put up much resistance when these teams met earlier in the season, but Kyle Shanahan's Niners are 7-2 in December on his watch, so we can expect the team to put up a fight.
C.J. Anderson, RB, Los Angeles Rams
FanDuel Price: $6,200
The breaker of last week's slate, C.J. Anderson is a layup cash and tournament play should Todd Gurley ($9,600) sit again. Despite spending just a week on the team, Anderson handled 20 carries and three targets for 162 total yards, as well as a touchdown. He likely gave coach Sean McVay the assurance he needs to sit Gurley out again if his knee is still inflamed. If we knew Gurley was officially ruled out, Anderson would likely be priced $1000 higher.
Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
FanDuel Price: $7,800
Jared Goff's price is down to $7800, his lowest in months, and McVay probably wants the passing offense to get back on track in time for the playoffs. That makes Goff an underrated tournament and cash option at a very reasonable price. Incredibly, Goff is averaging almost 14 more points per game at home this season versus on the road. San Francisco's pass defense ranks sixth-worst, per numberFire's Net Expected Points model.
Others to Consider
With 70-plus yards and/or a touchdown in all but two games this year, Robert Woods ($7,600) is a weekly cash option. As referenced above, San Francisco is an attack-able passing matchup, while Woods will avoid Richard Sherman the most. His floor is about as sturdy as they come at the position.
As Goff has struggled, so has Brandin Cooks, who's price is deservedly down to $7000 coming off four consecutive games below 10 FanDuel points. The good news is the Niners have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points per game to receivers despite having faced the Oakland Raiders, the Chicago Bears, the Denver Broncos without Emmanuel Sanders and the Arizona Cardinals twice. Cooks' floor is obviously too low for cash, but this is a prime spot to get off the schneid, and he's likely to be below 5% ownership despite his strong team total.
In a game where the passing offense will likely be efficient but not excessively voluminous, it's hard to get on board with Josh Reynolds ($5,400) who saw just two targets last week in a similar game script.
Keyed by the stingy coverage of Jaquiski Tartt as well as bad corner play funneling targets to wide receivers, the Niners have allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends. Gerald Everett's ($4,800) role continues to grow. He is a tad underpriced and offers a cheap attachment to a strong team total, but the matchup and game script are reasons to lean away from him in roster construction decisions.
Per Adam Levitan, George Kittle ($6,700) is clearly aware he's just 99 yards away from the single-season tight end yardage record (Travis Kelce is 53 yards away). If you own property on narrative street, this is as good a storyline to target for DFS as any. The Rams are just average against tight ends and the Niners should be forced to throw a ton if game script holds true. Kittle may go under-owned this week with Kelce and Zach Ertz in great spots.
Being on the lower-totaled side meant he didn't make the highlighted section above, but Jeff Wilson is just $5,800 despite having the backfield nearly to himself. Matt Breida has already been ruled out. When Breida was out in Week 14, Alfred Morris mixed in for just two carries, while Wilson handled 24 (!) touches. Granted, the Niners pulled an upset in that game, much less likely here. But we saw Wilson soak up nine targets and eight catches in similar negative game script in Week 13. Locked into a feature-back role and seemingly game-script proof, Wilson is an easy play at his price.
Nick Mullens ($6,700) deserves credit for playing reasonably well over the last month despite a very tough schedule. Albeit a low-floor option, Mullens is an intriguing low-owned stack partner with Kittle (and Anderson) given his price and likely volume in negative game script. Still, as we'll get to below, his receiving options are thin.
That's because Dante Pettis has already been ruled out. Pierre Garcon is on I.R. Marquise Goodwin ($5,100) didn't practice Wednesday with a calf injury and has battled ineffectiveness anyway. If Goodwin is out, the three-wide set will likely be Kendrick Bourne ($4,900) and Richie James ($4,600) out wide with Trent Taylor ($4,700) in the slot. With five or more targets in four of his last eight games, Bourne is the only option worth targeting. He's a cheap way to get in on a potentially voluminous passing output from the Niners as heavy underdogs.
Eli Weiner is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Eli Weiner also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Eweiner2. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
