Vanek's Views: DraftKings NFL DFS Picks for Week 17

by Jordan Vanek (vanekjordan) Last Updated 2025-12-26 22:17:18 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

Using his experience as a former scout and staff member at Central Florida under Josh Heupel, Jordan Vanek takes an in-depth look at the upcoming NFL DFS main slate on DraftKings for Week 17. Formerly of The 33rd Team and 4for4 Fantasy Football, Jordan’s deep dive into the best stacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends is a must-read before you start building your lineups.

There are a ton of games this week that mean absolutely nothing for the playoffs but a lot for draft positioning — and Raiders–Giants looks like a full-on tank-off. Maxx Crosby is being shut down, Andrew Thomas is out, and it feels like these teams are in an arms race to see who can tank harder.

Our NFL DFS projections are going to adapt a lot to this news and be able to point to the chalk. There are a few games with high point totals that I am focusing on this weekend.

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NFL DFS DraftKings Picks: Top Stacks, RBs, WRs, & TEs for Week 17

Game Stacks

Drake Maye ($6,800, QB, New England Patriots)

Kyle Williams ($3,300, WR, New England Patriots)

Hunter Henry ($4,500, TE, New England Patriots)

Adonai Mitchell ($4,500, WR, New York Jets)

I believe over 70% of Drake Maye lineups will include Stefon Diggs this weekend, and I want to take a different approach. With the injuries in the WR room, I think Kyle Williams could be utilized more in the “Diggs role” while Diggs himself operates more like Boutte or Hollins in this matchup. The numbers against man coverage do point heavily toward Diggs, but Williams has been an excellent separator and big-play threat for Maye in his limited snaps versus man. The other man-coverage beater is Hunter Henry, and these Jets linebackers are terrible in coverage. If Maye gets there, I think you’re looking at 3+ passing touchdowns, and Henry has a real chance to come down with multiple of them.

I think the Jets will need some points in the first half to get us where we need to be with Drake Maye playing an extended period of time. The player I would count on to make that happen is Adonai Mitchell. Mitchell has been the best deep threat for the Jets over the last month, and it doesn’t take much at $4,500 for him to pay off.

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