Week 17 action continues Saturday with a two-game NFL Yahoo DFS slate consisting of Texans-Chargers at 4:30 p.m. EST and Ravens-Packers at 8. Yahoo will also run its usual main slate NFL DFS contests Sunday, but Saturday's action offers a nice appetizer after NFL fans whet their appetites with a Christmas Day tripleheader.
Playing in guaranteed prize pool (GPP) Yahoo DFS football contests is about chasing upside, while lineups geared toward head-to-head, 50/50 or double-up formats should prioritize high floors. The players you want to target for these different contest types aren't mutually exclusive, but winning a GPP tournament usually requires finding a hidden gem or going against the grain in a spot or two while building a solid base of the same chalk plays you would use anywhere. Against-the-grain plays typically consist of big-name players in tough matchups or boom-or-bust types with uncertain roles.
Keep in mind that Yahoo DFS football contests use 0.5 PPR scoring rather than full PPR, which lowers the comparative value of wide receivers and running backs (in that order) while especially affecting high-volume pass-catchers. NFL DFS Yahoo lineups consist of one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and one D/ST unit.
QUARTERBACK
Tyler Huntley, BAL at GB ($20): Huntley is expected to make his second start of the season since Lamar Jackson (back) is listed as doubtful. In Huntley's only other start of the campaign, the affordable QB posted 16.74 fantasy points by supplementing his 186 yards and a TD through the air with 53 rushing yards. Huntley's mobility makes him a strong value play at the QB-minimum $20, especially considering that Saturday's action could have limited QB production, as it features three top-10 pass defenses. The only outlier unit is Baltimore's weaker secondary, but the Packers' top two QBs are both questionable due to injures.
Honorable Mentions:
Justin Herbert, LAC vs. HOU ($34); Malik Willis, GB vs. BAL ($22)
RUNNING BACK
Woody Marks, HOU at LAC ($21): Marks averaged 20 touches per game in his last five outings prior to an early exit in Week 15 due to an ankle injury and subsequent absence in Week 16. Now that he's off the injury report again, the rookie could reclaim a workhorse role ahead of Jawhar Jordan and Nick Chubb against a Chargers defense that's more vulnerable on the ground than through the air. The Chargers have allowed nearly as many rushing TDs to RBs (12) as passing TDs to QBs (14).
Emanuel Wilson, GB vs. BAL ($10): Wilson matched Josh Jacobs' ($34) 14 total touches in Week 16, as Jacobs is clearly at less than 100 percent due to knee and ankle injuries. The backup turned his 14 touches into 82 yards compared to Jacobs' 48, and Wilson is the far better value if Green Bay's backfield split is anywhere close to even again Saturday. The Packers will likely ride their rushing attack since they're banged up at QB against Baltimore's subpar defense, and Green Bay can afford to ease Jacobs' workload down the stretch, having clinched a playoff berth with the Lions' loss Thursday.
Honorable Mentions:
Derrick Henry, BAL at GB ($35); Omarion Hampton, LAC vs. HOU ($30)
WIDE RECEIVER
Nico Collins, HOU at LAC ($32): Collins has posted at least 85 receiving yards in five of his last seven games and is the clear No. 1 option in Houston's passing game. The Chargers have a stingy pass defense, but with the Packers and Ravens both possibly turning to backup QBs, Collins stands out among WRs in Saturday's Yahoo NFL DFS slate thanks to his high baseline level of production and the availability of starting QB C.J. Stroud. Collins has seen fewer than eight targets only twice in his last nine games.
Zay Flowers, BAL at GB ($28): Flowers has played his best football down the stretch as the Ravens make a playoff push, which would officially come up short with a loss Saturday. He has 18 catches for 276 yards and a TD, as well as 20 rushing yards and another TD, over the past three games. That production has come while working with Jackson, but Flowers showed decent chemistry with Huntley in Week 8 against the Bears, catching seven of nine targets for 63 yards in Huntley's only previous start of the campaign. The Packers have struggled to cover WRs, as they are tied for the fifth-most TDs allowed to the position with 17.
Quentin Johnston, LAC vs. HOU ($19): Johnston has been boom-or-bust this year, but that high ceiling makes him an appealing target in Yahoo DFS GPP contests. He has surpassed 70 yards and scored in the same game on four occasions this season and leads the Chargers with eight receiving TDs as Justin Herbert's top deep-ball target. Houston boasts one of the NFL's best pass defenses, having limited WRs to eight TDs all season, but the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Johnston is capable of winning a few well-placed jump balls against any defense, giving him some against-the-grain appeal on the heels of a season-high 104 yards in Week 16 at Dallas.
Honorable Mentions:
Romeo Doubs, GB vs. BAL ($17); Jayden Reed, GB vs. BAL ($16)
TIGHT END
Dalton Schultz, HOU at LAC ($17): Schultz has been by far the most productive of the TEs set to take the field Saturday. He's riding a two-game touchdown streak and ranks fourth among TEs in catches (75), as well as seventh in receiving yards (685) this season. Six of the 14 TDs the Chargers have allowed through the air this season have been scored by TEs, compared to eight by WRs and zero by RBs.
Honorable Mentions:
Mark Andrews, BAL at GB ($12); Luke Musgrave, GB vs. BAL ($10)
DEFENSE
Green Bay Packers vs. BAL ($10): Green Bay's defense is the most affordable unit taking the field Saturday at the minimum $10, and it also has the best matchup against a Ravens offense expected to be without Jackson. In the three prior games that Jackson missed this season, Baltimore scored just 14.3 points per game. The Packers proved capable of putting up a decent defensive performance without Micah Parsons (knee), as they held the Bears to three points through three quarters in Week 16 before collapsing for 19 points allowed between the fourth quarter and OT.
Honorable Mentions:
Houston Texans at LAC ($16); Baltimore Ravens at GB ($13)
