Best DFS picks for Christmas day in Week 17

Happy Holidays! We have three games on the Christmas slate, starting with the Cowboys at Commanders, then the Lions at Vikings and finally the Broncos at Chiefs. We won’t have Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels, Gardner Minshew, J.J. McCarthy, or Marcus Mariota this time around, as they’re all hurt. Do we really need to tack on more games to the regular season? Probably not.

Below we will take a look at the best DFS plays for these three Christmas day games.

Quarterback

Josh Johnson, QB, Commanders ($6,300)

If you want to fit Jahmyr Gibbs, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Amon-Ra St. Brown, or Jameson Williams into your lineups, you’re going to need to find some cost savings and Johnson is exactly that. You can’t trust him to put up big numbers, but with a good matchup and his rushing ability, he has a real shot at being a useful play this week.

The Cowboys remain the worst overall team at giving up fantasy points to quarterbacks and they should be able to get the Commanders in pass-first mode at some point. It will be tough, but nothing is easy in this world.

Running back

Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions ($9,400)

Gibbs hasn’t scored three touchdowns in a game for two whole weeks! If any player on this slate is going to break it, it will be Gibbs. The Lions must win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive and they should be able to get a lead over the Max Brosmer led Vikings, which will help Gibbs see plenty of rushing opportunities. Plus, David Montgomery is dealing with an illness, which might be nothing, but could only help Gibbs if Monty were to miss any snaps.

Aaron Jones Sr., Vikings ($6,300)

The Lions are weak against running backs in the receiving game and Jones will need to be available as a check down for Brosmer, in a game they are likely to trail. Plus, Jordan Mason appears unlikely to play this week. Jones is also less than 100%, but at this time it looks like he’ll play. He will be popular if Mason is out, but it will be tough to skip him at a good price and uptick in work.

Wide receiver

Jameson Williams, Lions ($6,900 )

Amon-Ra St. Brown isn’t 100 percent, but is looking like he’ll play. If you can afford ARSB in your lineup, I’m still more than happy playing him here, but if not, moving down to Williams isn’t a big fall off. Williams has been getting a big target load, with 9, 10, 9, and 10 targets over the last four games and turning those into productive games. It’s much harder for him to put up a dud than it was earlier in the season when his usage was more sporadic.

CeeDee Lamb/George Pickens ($8,900/$8,800)

Both Lamb and Pickens have hit 1k receiving yards this season and both continue to put up good numbers in a high flying offense. Unfortunately, they often trade big games back and forth and it can be tough to pick the right one. Their price to roster doesn’t help us decide either. This matchup is great and I want one of the two on my team. I’m leaning Lamb this week, but they are almost interchangeable.

Tight end

Josh Oliver, Vikings ($4,500)

This is a poor group of tight ends to choose from this Christmas, so I’m looking to go cheap. And with TJ Hockenson likely to miss this game, Oliver would be in line to get the bulk of the work. That might not mean a lot for fantasy points if Brosmer can’t do much, but I’ll take it for his price.

Defense

Denver Broncos ($5,000)

If you can’t afford the Broncos, then don’t force it. But there’s no doubt this game is a huge mismatch with Chris Oladokun at QB for the Chiefs and their lack of a run game.