Week 17 builds to a crescendo with a great NFC matchup set on Monday Night Football to close out the week as the Lions visit the 49ers. If you are looking for more fantasy football action on Monday night, get your DFS entries ready for Showdown contests like the NFL Showdown $1.25M Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (DET @ SF). My favorite two options are Jahmyr Gibbs ($17,400 as Captain’s Pick) of the Lions if you’re not afraid of going chalky and Deebo Samuel Sr. ($11,400 as Captain’s Pick) of the 49ers if you want a more contrarian play.
Here’s a deeper look at why I like these Captain’s Picks and how I’d fill in the rest of the lineup from top to bottom.
Jahmyr Gibbs as a Captain’s Pick
Gibbs has been an absolute fantasy stud over the last few weeks and is carrying even more of the workload with David Montgomery (knee) out. The emerging star is the most expensive option in the player pool for Monday night’s DFS, but he’s still a great option to build around as long as you differentiate your roster with other plays in other spots on your roster.
Gibbs has shown he can put up huge points as both a rusher and receiver in the last two weeks. He posted identical totals with 28.4 fantasy points in each of the last two weeks but got there in two very different ways. Against the Bills in Week 15, he had just 31 rushing yards but added five catches for 83 yards and scored a rushing and receiving touchdown. Last week against the Bears, he did more of his work on the ground, racking up 109 yards and a touchdown on the ground and adding four catches for 45 yards as well.
Even before those two big games after Montgomery’s injury, Gibbs was rolling. He has at least 19 fantasy points in five of his last six games to raise his average on the season to 20.0 fantasy points per game. He has scored a total of 15 touchdowns in 15 games with 1,156 rushing yards and 440 receiving yards.
Gibbs also makes sense as a strong play since his matchup against the 49ers is a very favorable one. Running backs have totaled 17 touchdowns in 15 games against San Francisco while averaging 97.8 rushing yards and 34.8 receiving yards per game. In four of the last five weeks, the 49ers have given up 100+ yards to the opposing RB1, which should set Gibbs up for a monster week.
Deebo Samuel Sr. as a contrarian play
Deebo hasn’t had a great season, but he’s extremely cheap and flashed his upside last week. The veteran has been playing through a variety of injuries this season, but he looked healthy last week, catching seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown while adding 25 yards on five carries.
Samuel finished with a season-high 25.1 fantasy points in that contest, but it was his first game with more than seven fantasy points since Week 10.
If he’s fully healthy and has a similar role this week, he could end up being a great Captain’s Pick. He’ll be a boom-or-bust play due to his volatility lately, but the upside is definitely there, especially in this matchup. The Lions have allowed the third-most fantasy points to receivers, who have averaged 187.6 receiving yards per game against Detroit this season.
Lineup Advice
If you build around Gibbs, you’re going to have to go cheap at least with one spot. I like including either George Kittle ($9,000) or Isaac Guerendo ($8,400) on the other side, and then going with a cheap mix after that using some of the value plays mentioned below.
With Samuel as your Captain, you have much more salary flexibility and can go Brock Purdy ($9,400) and either Lions’ star Jahmyr Gibbs ($11,600) or Amon-Ra St. Brown ($10,600). You can even squash all three of those stars into flex spots with $3,500 for each of your value picks.
Value plays
One top bargain play that can save a ton of salary is Craig Reynolds ($3,000), who is the Lions’ second running back. He had four carries and one catch last week while stepping into a larger role after Montgomery’s injury. He only had 3.3 fantasy points, but he has the potential for more if he stays in the mix this week. If the game gets lopsided, he could also help clean up garbage time.
You could take a total flier on Kyle Juszczyk ($2,400), who always has upside since the Niners love mixing him in whenever they can. If you’re looking for a safer value play from San Francisco, Ricky Pearsall ($3,600) is very affordable and is coming off four catches on four targets for 37 yards last week. He has only had an inconsistent workload since returning from his shoulder injury, but he has flashed a high enough ceiling that he makes a lot of sense as a play under $4,000 to make your lineup hold as many of the fantasy stars in this matchup as possible.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
