The Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons will close down the Week 17 NFL slate in a Monday Night Football matchup. Los Angeles has clinched a playoff opportunity, while the Falcons have been eliminated from contention. There are still some seeding implications on the line, and Atlanta would be happy to play spoiler, considering they traded their upcoming first-round pick to the Rams already.
In this pivotal Week 17 showdown, which lesser-known players will step up in primetime? Here are two Monday night football bargain plays worth consideration in all DFS contests.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL Showdown $1.2M Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (LAR @ ATL)
RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams ($4,600)
Kyren Williams still headlines the conversations surrounding the Rams’ rushing attack and deserves mention as one of the better running backs in football. But Blake Corum has seen his role grow as the season has progressed and will be in line to contribute tonight. Corum has rushed the ball 126 times on the season for 669 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He has generated 115.5 fantasy points based on DraftKings scoring, which ranks 43rd among running backs.
Corum enters this matchup with 11 or more carries in three consecutive games, and six of his last nine, after not reaching this total in any of the first six games. He broke free for 127 rushing yards against the Cardinals three weeks ago and has five touchdowns across the past four games.
In contrast, Williams has seen his workload cut down. He is averaging 15.6 rush attempts per game on the season, but just 14.6 across his past seven games. With Los Angeles no longer in contention for winning the division title, expect the team to be even more cautious with how much workload they ask from Williams. This will continue to result in Corum seeing more opportunities and expect him to have success against a Falcons’ defense that ranks 26th in rushing yards allowed and 25th in net yards per rush attempt.
TE Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams ($3,400)
After a quiet start to the season, tight end Terrance Ferguson has started to become a factor in the Rams’ offensive attack. On the season overall, Ferguson has tallied just nine receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns. His 3.0 fantasy points per game on DraftKings scoring ranks 58th among tight ends. But his outlook has shifted in recent weeks, and this is an interesting spot to capitalize on having Ferguson in your DFS lineups.
On the season, Ferguson has played an average of 37.9% of the offensive snaps. He was held to 30% or fewer of the offensive plays in six of his first nine games. But he is coming off back-to-back games in which the 22-year-old has played over 75% of the snaps. Ferguson pulled in three receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown last week. While he still plays a role as a blocker, Ferguson is primarily a pass-catching style of tight end. He has run a route on 67.4% of drop-backs over the past two games, which trails only Puka Nacua on the Rams.
Matt Stafford has done a nice job maximizing the talent level of each of his pass catchers and will continue to do the same with Ferguson. This will especially be the case with Davante Adams expected to miss due to his hamstring injury, and the Rams needing to make up for his league-leading 14 receiving scores. Of Ferguson’s 21 targets on the season, 15 have been more than 15-yards down the field. This allows some big play potential for the rookie tight end. Look for this trend to continue and capitalize before his price point continues to increase.
