WEEK 17 - FANTASYSCORE GPP OFFERINGS
FantasyScore is a USA Today Sports Media Group fantasy sports game that is powered by RealTime Fantasy Sports. It is a DFS site that can give you the excitement of playing fantasy football each week during the NFL season. FantasyScore offers Draft Leagues (Draft & Go) and Salary Cap leagues weekly during the NFL season.
In this feature we are going to look at the GPP contests and offer the top stacks, fades, and ownership projections for each upcoming week.
FantasyScore has a $1 First Down GPP this week with 600 total entries up for grabs and also a $5 TheHuddle.com GPP which has 300 entries for $1,350.00 total prizes.
TOP STACKS
Atlanta Falcons -- QB Matt Ryan ($5,900) and WR Julio Jones ($8,700)
Matt Ryan only has 4 multi-touchdown games through the teams first 15 games this season and has been under performing all season long. The suggestion this week is an obvious one as he plays the New Orleans Saints who make any opposing quarterback look like a top 5 option each and every week. The Falcons played the Saints back in Week 6 and Ryan completed 30 passes for 295 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The price of just $5,900 is a fantastic bargain for the matchup and if you pair him up with Julio Jones at the high price of $8,700 it averages the two out at a much more affordable price. There is not much to say about Jones, as he is one of the elite WRs in the NFL and continues to play hard win or lose for the Falcons. Jones has been targeted 192 times this season for a remarkable 127/1722/8 statline. Although the 8 touchdowns are not the best he could add a couple more this week and get his season total into the double digits.
New England Patriots -- QB Tom Brady ($8,400) and TE Rob Gronkowski ($7,900)
Tom Brady is continuing to show why he is one of the greatest of all time as he continues to put up incredible numbers with not a lot of weapons around him. He has 39 total touchdowns on the season and is nearing the 5,000 passing yards mark on the season. His go to option to target each week is Rob Gronkowski when healthy and Gronkowski has been fantastic with 70 catches for 1158 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games. The Patriots have to win this game to clinch top spot in the AFC and the Brady to Gronkowski combo already connecting for a big game once against the Dolphins back in Week 8 when the two connected for 6 receptions 113 yards and a touchdown.
New York Giants -- QB Eli Manning ($6,900) and WR Odell Beckham Jr ($8,700)
A Week 17 NFC East matchup against the Eagles and Giants looked to be one to circle earlier in the season as it would determine the winner of the Division but a lot has changed for both teams and now this once strong matchup is just a meaningless game of two irrelevant losing teams. The Eagles just fired head coach Chip Kelly this week so it is hard to know exactly how the players will react and perform on the field. If anything the defense has been one of the worst against the pass and to target both Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr it just makes sense. Manning has 33 passing touchdowns this season and the Giants don't have much of a run game at all so for Manning to pass 40+ times would be no surprise. The last time the two teams met in Week 6 the Eagles had their way with the Giants but Odell Beckham still managed to get his as he caught 7 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Beckham Jr has 91 catches for 1396 ayrds and 13 touchdowns in 14 games this season. A touchdown a game is what you get from Beckham Jr and a multi touchdown game here would get him to 15 for 15.
VALUE STACKS
Philadelphia Eagles -- QB Sam Bradford ($4,800) and TE Zach Ertz ($5,600)
The Eagles offense has struggled all season to find an identity as Bradford has not had the go to guy or guys this season and has struggled with just 17 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He recently has been connecting with TE Zach Ertz as he has targeted him 30 times over the past two weeks and the two have 21 receptions for 200 yards and a touchdown in that span. The prices are bargain bin level for the two this week and with the Eagles shaking things up with the firing of Chip Kelly the offense just may have a little more to offer in the last week of the season. If the pair do hit this week against the Giants you are only paying a total of $10,400 for the QB/TE duo.
New York Jets -- QB Ryan Fitzpatrick ($7,500) and WR Eric Decker ($7,000)
The Jets passing offense has been rolling this season and they are a big reason why they are in a win and you are in scenario in Week 17. Fitzpatrick continues to put the team on his back and has been targeting both Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker at huge rates. Fitzpatrick has 31 total touchdowns on the season and is almost a lock to score 2 each week with both Marshall and Decker in the passing game. In the 14 games that Eric Decker has played this season he has scored in 11 of them. The three games that he didn't record a touchdown he had 81, 94, and 101 yards. Fitzpatrick and Decker remain as one of the sneaky high upside QB/WR combos that score you fantasy points in big bunches every single week without question. At only $7,000 you have to like Decker over the higher priced Marshall this week.
FADES
Quarterback -- Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars ($8,100)
Blake Bortles has been one of the hottest quarterbacks over the second half of the season and has 37 total touchdowns through 15 weeks. Picking him as a fade this week doesn't make much sense but playing a Houston Texans defense on the road will be a tough task for the young QB. With a high price of $8,100 there is just too many better options at the position to roll with Bortles this week.
Running Back -- Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($8,000)
It will be a tough matchup against the Panthers on the road to end Doug Martin's 2015-16 season. Martin has had a nice rebound year overall with 1,354 rushing yards and 7 total touchdowns but he hasn't had a 100+ rushing game since Week 11 and it would be hard to see him get over that number against the Panthers defense this week.
Wide Receiver -- Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills ($6,700)
The last time the Bills played the Jets, Sammy Watkins was targeted 7 times for just 3 catches and 14 yards receiving. This is one of the biggest games in Week 17 as far as the Jets securing a playoff spot and letting Watkins break free down the field will be one thing the Jets will be game planning on stopping all week long. Look for the Jets to only limit Watkins to short passes in very tight coverage and for Watkins to put up the big fantasy stats he depends on the long ball and that will be the Jets defense top priority in stopping this week.
Tight End -- Julius Thomas, Jacksonville Jaguars ($6,000)
Julius Thomas has made the most of his limited games this season with a 44/443/5 statline but after being only targeted twice in a plus matchup against the Saints last week I have a hard time recommending him this week against a much better Texans defense. He will be a fade for me right along with Blake Bortles this week as I think the prices are high and you have plenty of better options to pivot to.
Defense and Special Teams -- Seattle Seahawks ($3,300)
The Seahawks defense is often recommended on reputation alone but this week against the Cardinals in a game that has some big meaning for the number one seed you have to think the Cardinals will use all their weapons on offense and drive the field several times. The Seahawks defense just gave up 23 points to the Rams and didn't record a single turnover or sack in the game.
OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGE
FantasyScore just announced this week that they will share the percentage owned for all their contests going forward. Now we don't have to guess at which players will be highly owned or which players will be low owned as we will have the current percentage to go off of. I will list the top 3 players at each position below with their ownership percentages as of the time I write this article.
HIGHEST OWNERSHIP
Quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets ($7,500) = 20.47%
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons ($5,900) = 14.41%
Sam Bradford, Philadelphia Eagles ($4,800) = 10.43%
Running Back
Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams ($7,400) = 25.40%
Tim Hightower, New Orleans Saints ($6,000) = 34.22%
DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers ($7,700) = 23.32%
Wide Receiver
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers ($8,800) = 31.47%
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons ($8,700) = 37.06%
Odell Beckham Jr. New York Giants ($8,700) = 21.80%
Tight End
Owen Daniels, Denver Broncos ($2,700) = 17.73%
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles ($5,600) = 11.00%
Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints ($3,500) = 10.24%
Defense and Special Teams
Tennessee Titans ($1,500) = 23.03%
Indianapolis Colts ($1,600) = 11.37%
Pittsburgh Steelers ($2,000) = 8.34%
LOW/VALUE OWNERSHIP
Quarterback
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears ($5,900) = 0.09%
Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins ($5,400) = 0.09%
Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos ($6,200) = 0.47%
Running Back
Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals ($5,800) = 0.28%
Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($8,000) = 0.38%
Chris Ivory, New York Jets ($6,100) = 0.47%
Wide Receiver
Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys ($6,500) = 0.09%
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals ($7,500) = 0.38%
Donte Moncrief, Indianapolis Colts ($4,900) = 0.19%
Tight End
Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts ($3,200) = 0.19%
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys ($4,900) = 0.28%
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($5,100) = 0.47%
Defense and Special Teams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($1,900) = 0.09%
Green Bay Packers ($2,400) = 0.09%
Miami Dolphins ($1,700) = 0.09%