We’ve got an abbreviated main slate here. Three games on Thursday, two on Saturday, and one on Monday will do that. But it’s actually not all that bad if you really think about some of the bye weeks. In fact, we have fewer games on a slate when there are six teams on bye, a Thursday, and a Monday game. So we’ll be able to cobble something together here just fine. And we’ll have options at all three levels, as always!

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 17

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $7,500 | FanDuel: $8,000

This is about as chalk as chalk gets. And the write-up does not need to be long. We’ve got a tight end here who is on pace to finish with a top-five all-time tight end season. And he’s facing a Bengals defense that is arguably the worst of all time against the tight end. It’s the perfect storm. If you can afford him, get him in there.

Harold Fannin, Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $6,500

There are really only two elite options with Brock Bowers on IR and most of the other top tight ends off the slate. But they are both good options. Harold Fannin has easily been the top option for Shedeur Sanders ever since he took over - in every category. He even had a game with 14 targets and a carry. Every tight end struggles against the Bills, yet despite a down game in terms of receptions and targets, Fannin still delivered with a touchdown.

There is only one caveat here. And I’m not quite sure how much it matters for Fannin. But Mike Tomlin has already mentioned that, if the Packers beat the Ravens on Saturday, he might rest starters on Sunday. That could lead to a world where the whole game is kind of watered down, so just keep that in mind. 

 

 


 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For Week 17

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,500

Hunter Henry is our “old reliable” option. He’s not really a YAC machine by any means. But he’s good vs. man-to-man, which is helpful in the red area. Josh McDaniels has said on multiple occasions that he considers Stefon Diggs and Henry to be their top guys. And, in some weeks, Henry even leads the team in routes run.

Over the last five games, Henry has really just had one down week. And it was against the Buffalo Bills, who are one of our defenses that we avoid in the tight end world. This week, he has a great matchup against the Jets in a game the Patriots need to win in order to keep pace with the Denver Broncos for the top seed and the Buffalo Bills for the division. So he’s a viable DFS play for sure. 

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $5,200

Juwan Johnson was in our DFS article last week, too - and he delivered in a big way. With DeVaughn Vele out and the Jets struggling against the tight end, the situation made a lot of sense. During the game, in-line tight end Foster Moreau went down, and the setup became even better. Vele is on IR, and Moreau has already been ruled out for this week, so Johnson is once again on the radar for us. This Tennessee secondary has been ravaged by injury, as we’ve highlighted in this article for multiple weeks now.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For Week 17

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks - DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $5,200

This is the first time all year we’ve made this recommendation. And that’s because, for much of the year, AJ Barner was splitting snaps with rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo. But Arroyo was placed on IR, which has led Barner to play quite a bit more. Last week, he played 94% of the snaps and ran 87% of the routes. The only guys doing that are basically Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts.

The Seahawks still use other blocking tight ends as well as a fullback, which can highly consolidate the targets among the top two WRs, the tight end, and the running back. That’s seen Barner get six targets in back-to-back games. He’s got a decent matchup here with Jaycee Horn likely covering one of the wide receivers, so he’s not a bad play. 

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $6,800

I’ve pretty much only recommended Taysom Hill one time in my life. It was in Week 7 of 2023 when both Juwan Johnson and Jimmy Graham were out. The previous week, he actually played tight end and ran meaningful routes, so, for Week 7, we were in. Besides that, we really don’t like the randomness that comes with playing this guy.

But we are once again in a unique situation here. The Saints have lost their top three running backs. They lost Foster Moreau. They lost Rashid Shaheed, Brandon Cooks, and Devaughn Vele. That actually saw Taysom Hill playing meaningful snaps (35), running meaningful routes (21), and getting a bunch of carries (12). He even lined up at quarterback 3 times. He could absolutely pull the rug on us, as he has many times before. But, in DFS, we don’t really care about the floor. And he has an incredibly unique upside. How many other tight ends could realistically drop 30+ points? On FanDuel, they made him the second-highest priced TE, but on DraftKings, he’s basically free.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 17

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $4,300 | FanDuel: $5,700

We really don’t love Dallas Goedert in general. He’s not great vs. man-to-man, which doesn’t translate well to the redzone. His touchdowns this year have largely been on gadget plays like shovel passes and screens. And now he gets a bottom-three matchup for a tight end? No thanks.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills - DraftKings: $7,400 | FanDuel: $5,400

We’re facing the same problems this year with Kincaid that we did last year. He’s clearly not healthy with this knee issue. But the Bills are willing to roll him out there on a super part-time basis. He’s already a part-time guy most of the time when he’s fully healthy, so what exactly is the upside here? Oh, and the Eagles are also one of the best defenses in the league against the tight end. Skip both tight ends in this game.