When it comes to survivor pools and locking into the best survivor pool strategy, there is no such thing as a holiday. We can still wish you happy holidays, given the time of year, but if you’re in search of the top NFL Week 17 survivor pool picks, then you’ve got your priorities straight at this time of year. And congratulations for still being in it. Last week we saw a few upsets clear out the pools as the Tennessee Titans beat up the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to an injury to Gardner Minshew and the Pittsburgh Steelers upended the favored Detroit Lions. Slowly but surely, you are near the end and with just two weeks left to go in the regular season, we need to be at the top of our game. So let’s not waste any more time and just get to the top NFL Week 17 survivor picks. We’ve got work to do.

 

 

 As always, the best survivor pool strategy isn’t simply about picking the biggest favorite each week; it’s about understanding matchups and managing risk. There is very little planning ahead at this time with just two weeks left to go. Your options are limited and it’s a matter of picking your best option this week. You can deal with next week then. Those who are still in it are ready to scratch and claw their way to the final week, so identifying the best survivor pool strategy can be the key to outlasting the competition and claiming the prize. In this week’s article we'll take you through our process to help you make the most sensible picks to advance to next week and beyond.

Best NFL Survivor Pool Strategy for 2025 NFL Week 17

When it comes to lining up our top NFL Week 17 survivor picks, our mindset hasn’t changed regarding what the best survivor pool strategy should be. It continues to revolve around the "chalky" plays, if they are still available to you. You can look ahead, but with playoff scenarios being finalized and everyone wondering which starters will be sat, we’re still looking at the reliable favorites with the biggest spreads and hopefully, not overexposed in most pools. We prefer to have a home team and, in a lot of cases, avoid divisional matchups and short weeks if we can. Of course, the schedule-makers have a tendency to overload the back-end of the schedule with a lot of divisional match-ups, hoping to increase the drama. That’s great for TV ratings, but not for our survivor pool anxiety levels.

Here in NFL Week 17, the premium examples are the Denver Broncos who are a 13-point road-favorite over the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots who are a 13.5-point road-favorite over the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys who are an 8.5-point road-favorite over the Washington Commanders. They’re all divisional matchups, all on the road and two of them are Thursday (Christmas Day) games. Yeesh. Still, if you have any of the three available, our friends over at Pool Genius have them listed as their top-three for this week, though not necessarily in that order. Keep reading to see who else Pool Genius recommends among their top-five picks this week.

 

 

Dominate Your Survivor Pool with Pool Genius

Back in Week 3, you got a great introduction to Pool Genius and everything they have to offer. It doesn’t matter that it’s Week 17 -- there is still an opportunity for you to join at the last minute and still take advantage of everything they have to offer. If this is your first time hearing about them, please allow me to show you the way, because they have some exciting tools to help you make the right picks. What happens is, you load in all the information about your pool – how many total participants, cost per entry, specific rules to your pool regarding things like repeat picks or buybacks and since we are already here in Week 17, who you’ve taken so far. From there, they analyze all the data and make suggestions as to who to take, so it is a VERY personalized service.

To continue guiding you, I am using all the tools Pool Genius has to offer and making one of my picks based solely off their data and recommendations. The pick I had been tracking in this article series had Arizona in Week 5, so I had to shift gears. As I lost my final pick on Black Friday thanks to the Eagles, I am out personally, but still using the tools here to help guide you to a win. I will simply discuss the top few recommended picks overall and from there, you can determine who you want to take each week.

The top Pool Genius recommendations are as follows:

  1. Denver Broncos (at Kansas City Chiefs, 4% popularity)
  2. Dallas Cowboys (at Washington Commanders, 16% popularity)
  3. New England Patriots (at New York Jets, 9% popularity)
  4. Detroit Lions (at Minnesota Vikings, 1% popularity)
  5. Seattle Seahawks (at Carolina Panthers, 6% popularity)

According to Pool Genius the Cincinnati Bengals are actually expected to be the most popular pick this week (27%) as a 7.5-point home favorite with a -350 money line. If none of those top teams are available and neither are the Rams who are a 9-point home favorite a=over the Atlanta Falcons on Minday Night Football, then maybe the Bengals are a wise pick. Our friends at Pool Genius also list the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars as better options, but again, it’s all about who you have left.

Now before I get to my favorite picks to use, I do want to remind you that Pool Genius is a paid service, but for the Fantasy Alarm #Family, they have some discounts available to you. The data and service they provide has been fantastic thus far and I feel confident using their suggestions. 

Now let’s get to my three favorite options for NFL Week 17:

 

 

NFL Survivor Pool Picks for Week 17

Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Pick Denver Broncos

Our friends over at Pool Genius list this one as their favorite this week, and it’s very difficult to not invest in them. Sure, the heartstrings are being tugged as this is the final Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium and could be the final home game for Travis Kelce, but the Chiefs are simply over-matched. They lost Gardner Minshew last week and are rolling out Chris Oladokun at QB again. He’s got no Rashee Rice, no Tyquan Thornton, the offensive line is banged up and their team total is sitting at 10.5 right now and Vegas is saying the take the under. Bo Nix and the Broncos really won’t have to do much to grab this victory.. 

Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders: Pick Dallas Cowboys

This one is my second-favorite and the folks at Pool Genius agree completely. Dallas has their full arsenal of offensive weapons while the Commanders are starting Josh Johnsn under center. Johnson is a journeyman who you don’t hear much about because, deep down, no one ever wants to see him lay, especially the teams for whom he plays. Neither team has any sort of huge incentive, but CeeDee Lamb has some statistical milestones he wants to hit and George Pickens is playing for a new deal. The Commanders are just drifting along like a ship with no rudder. 

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets: Pick New England Patriots

Pool Genius lists this game as their third-favorite on the slate and it’s pretty obvious as to why. The Jets are a hot mess with nothing but a better draft pick next year to think about while the Patriots are still fighting with Denver for that No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Drake Maye, Rhamondre Stevenson and Stefon Diggs should all be primed and ready to beat up on the hapless Jets.

These are the picks in my order of preference this week. If you don’t have any of them available to you this week, then my next three favorites are the Detroit Lions, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks. 

Best of luck to you all in your survivor pool contests. 

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