Adam Levitan projects ownership for every NFL DFS player each week in the FantasyLabs Player Models. Gauging ownership is important in tournaments so you can try to gain leverage on the field. You don’t need a team of 1%-owned players to win a tournament, but it’s also unlikely you’ll win a tournament with an abundance of highly-owned players.
The goal of this article is to give a brief rundown of the players we project to be the highest owned heading into the week, along with how they can affect roster construction. And just to get you thinking about the slate and roster construction in general.
Be sure to check the ownership projections throughout the week, as breaking news can cause these to fluctuate.
Week 17 is a different animal when it comes to DFS. We have a motivation factor to worry about, teams resting starters, and our usual injuries on top of that. So, let’s dive in.
Note: Ownership percentages as of Saturday morning.
Quarterbacks
We have five or six quarterbacks projected for 9-12% ownership on both DraftKings and FanDuel. All of them are either involved in must-win games, or games where we feel comfortable they’ll be playing it like business as usual. Those quarterbacks are Matt Ryan, Jameis Winston, Ryan Tannehill, Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, and then Daniel Jones on FanDuel.
None of these quarterbacks offer much leverage in tournaments, but in a Week 17 where there are a lot fewer options in play to feel comfortable with, they’re all usable.
If Dak Prescott were healthy, I’m fairly certain he would be one of the highest owned quarterbacks on the slate in a must-win game against the Redkins. Despite his AC joint sprain, the Cowboys let him throw it 44 times last week. I doubt they need to throw that much against Washington, but he could be worth some tournament exposure if you’re more risk-averse.
Running Backs
