Week 17 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Philadelphia Eagles vs New York Giants

Max Staley
Daniel Jones threw five touchdowns against the Redskins in Week 17.
Daniel Jones threw five touchdowns against the Redskins in Week 17. / Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
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Week 17 is always a tricky one for fantasy football. Not every team has something to play for, and we end up seeing a lot of high-profile players get rested. That shouldn't be much of a concern in this one though, as the Philadelphia Eagles can clinch the NFC East with a win, while the New York Giants would surely love to play spoiler.

With that in mind, here is some start 'em, sit 'em advice for the matchup between the Eagles and Giants.

Start Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Howard is back for the Eagles, but don't let that stop you from starting Miles Sanders. The Eagles' rookie is on a roll right now, averaging 164.0 yards from scrimmage per game across his last two, adding three total touchdowns during that span. Howard was out during that recent run, but Sanders has played at least 80 percent of the snaps in four of his last six, and shouldn't lose too much work with Howard back. Against a Giants' defense that checks in as the sixth-worst in the league per Football Outsiders' DVOA metric, Sanders is a solid play, even in a reduced role.

Start Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants: Like Sanders, Sterling Shepard is on fire. He's clearly established himself as the No. 1 target in the Giants' passing game, turning 17 targets into 15 receptions and 187 receiving yards across his last two. Against an Eagles' secondary that just lost Ronald Darby, and has given up the fifth-most PPR points to opposing wideouts, Shepard looks to be in line for a decent fantasy output here.

Sit Jordan Howard, RB, New York Giants: Howard is back, but as mentioned above, it seems like Sanders has taken control of this backfield. Sanders is averaging 105.9 yards from scrimmage per game across his last six, so it's tough to envision him taking too much of a backseat. Howard is a volume-dependent back, as he's not a particularly explosive player, so he's not a recommended start unless Sanders' workload is massively reduced in Week 17.

Sit Kaden Smith, TE, New York Giants: Kaden Smith had a massive game in Week 16, but it's tough to see him repeating that here. While Smith had two scores and 35 receiving yards last week, he's only had more than 40 receiving yards once since Week 10. Additionally, the Eagles have gotten torched by opposing wideouts, but they've surrendered the third-fewest PPR points to tight ends. Smith looks like a TD-dependent option against the Eagles, at best.


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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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