NFL

4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 17

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Quarterback

Chalk

Week 17 can be a tricky one for DFS contests -- the level of motivation can be a hard one to predict with some teams already having sewn up playoff spots, or having nothing to play for at all. Especially at the quarterback position, there's some careful choices to make, especially with a 15-game main slate.

At the top end of the spectrum, Patrick Mahomes ($9,500) and Ben Roethlisberger ($8,700) are both tagged as the most expensive quarterbacks and projected for the highest FanDuel point totals, thanks to their respective teams sporting the highest implied team totals of the day.

To move down and save some coin, options like Jared Goff ($7,800) makes a lot of sense. The Los Angeles Rams are third on main slate in implied team total (29.50), and Goff should play the majority of the game as the Rams try to lock up the second-seed in the playoffs.

Josh Allen at $7,700 is in a fantastic bounce back spot against the Miami Dolphins. After a rough Week 16 against the New England Patriots, he faces up with a Miami defense that ranks fourth-worst against the run -- and he gashed them for 135 rush yards in Week 13.

Pivot

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: $8,300 (vs Arizona Cardinals)

If you're looking to roster a quarterback that can still generate plenty of upside but may not be quite so heavily owned, peep Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks.

There's plenty of reason to steer clear of Russ -- Seattle has the lowest pass-to-run ratio in NFL (0.90-to-1), and the Arizona Cardinals, the 'Hawks Week 17 opponent, ranks 11th in pass defense per our metrics. They've also allowed the sixth-fewest FanDuel points to opposing QB this year (15.8 points per game), and assuming he plays, added Pro-Bowler DJ Swearinger this week.

But there's also a lot of reasons to be pro-Russ in Week 17. Seattle ranks sixth on the main slate in implied team total (26.0), and as heavy favorites, they should have plenty cracks at the end zone. Wilson has been incredibly efficient as they get close to scoring in 2018, ranking third in red zone touchdown passes (22) and 11th in touchdown passes inside the 10 yard line (12).

Wilson's rushing efforts have picked up lately as well, giving him a fairly high floor. While he only had 21 rushing attempts in the first half of this year, over his last 7 games, Wilson's logged 44 attempts, including games of 7, 8, and 9 carries.

We have Wilson projected for 20.5 FanDuel points this week, but there's plenty of tournament upside here as he could see him go as high as 35.3 FanDuel points. The only potential downside here is that the Seahawks have already clinched a playoff spot -- so Wilson could leave early. But if he stays in to avoid a potential first-round matchup with the Rams or Chicago Bears, a full 60 minutes of the quarterback could look to a big day.