To be honest with you, if you asked me a few months ago I would have had some doubts that we’d get to where we are today. After the NCAA Tournament was cancelled and the NBA and NHL went into bubbles, I had my doubts we would get a whole football season in. But here we are in week 17! Most leagues had their championships last week, but I know there are still some out there who play to week 17. In addition to your season long leagues, I know some people use the Sexy Flexies article when building their DFS lineups as well. I’d like to hope that I’ve helped you along the way with some valuable flex plays in these Sexy Flexies articles and I want to do that again for you one more time this week.
As you know, every Thursday here on Razzball, I post the week’s “Sexy Flexies” to give you a couple of players to consider starting in your flex spot. The objective isn’t to point out the obvious guys you’re starting in your RB or WR slots, but to take a look at a couple of players who are a bit more under the radar. These will likely be guys that you don’t start every week but are good rotational pieces in the flex spot of your lineup based on matchup and opportunity.
What I do here is look at those matchups and opportunities and highlight for you a couple of guys who I believe will perform in the situation they are in for the given week. For this column, we look at players who are ranked 60th or later at the flex position for the week, according to Fantasy Pros Consensus Ratings, but will still get you double digit fantasy points in your flex spots. Let’s take a look at the players who will be the “Sexy Flexies” for week 17!
Michael Gallup – WR – Dallas Cowboys – at NY Giants
Its crazy how things can come full circle in this world. My first article on Razzball was back in draft season and was discussing why you should draft Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup (Giddy up! Should you be Galluping into the Sunset?). The article discussed how there was enough volume in the Cowboys offense to allow all 3 receivers to have productive seasons and we have seen that even without their starting QB. The past few weeks especially, Andy Dalton has been airing it out and it has put the Cowboys in a position that they could win the NFC East this week and make the playoffs, even without Dak Prescott and with a down season from Ezekiel Elliot. Gallup in particular is on a bit of a heater and has scored double digit fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games, including a 30 point performance last week when he finished as WR4 in a PPR league. He has salvaged his season, scoring four touchdowns in his last four games.
I fully expect Michael Gallup to continue his hot streak in a plus matchup this week. As I mentioned, the Cowboys are motivated to go all out this game with a playoff spot attainable with a win and a Washington loss. The Giants have one solid cornerback in James Bradberry, but he will likely be spending a lot of time on Amari Cooper in this game. That leaves Gallup on the other side against Isaac Yiadom who has struggled this season. I see this shaping out with Bradberry limiting Cooper’s production and Dalton looking towards Gallup and CeeDee Lamb when he needs to make plays. I can easily see Gallup catching another 6 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown to close out the regular season as a real nice Sexy Flexie.
Malcolm Brown– RB – Los Angeles Rams – vs Arizona
This Flexie isn’t that sexy, but it is a solid volume play this week. The Rams are fighting for their playoff lives and will be doing so without their starting QB Jared Goff (hand) and one of their stud starting WR Cooper Kupp (Covid). In addition, the RB room is banged up as well with Darrell Henderson now on IR and Cam Akers still dealing with a high ankle sprain. I don’t expect Akers to play and even if he does he will be limited. That will leave Malcolm Brown as the only healthy back of the once 3-headed monster that was driving fantasy managers nuts earlier in the season. Brown might the least talented of the backs, but he is a capable back who can run between the tackles as well as catch passes out of the backfield. He will be getting the bulk of the RB workload this week, making him a solid volume play.
The matchup against the Cardinals, who are also playing for their playoff lives, admittedly isn’t the best matchup for Brown. That said, you need touches to score fantasy points and touches will be abundant for Brown this week. With a backup QB making his first ever NFL start, the Rams will be relying on the running game and short passing game. Brown should have 20 plus touches and may have over 20 carries alone. When John Wolford does drop back to pass, he will likely look for short passes often, which would be to the tight ends and to Brown out of the backfield. With 18-20 carries and 5 receptions, Brown should be able to get you at least 60 yards from scrimmage, making him a boring but solid double digit scoring flex play in a PPR league.
As we wrap up the season, I want to thank you for hanging out with us here at Razzball and for reading my Sexy Flexies articles. Hopefully I have helped you along the way with some under the radar plays that have come through for you. Let’s wrap up the regular season with some solid performances! Both players have great double-digit point upside and should have significant roles in their team’s game plan this week. I always encourage you to follow me on twitter @fantasycoachjb and ask me all your questions there as well. Good luck in all your matchups or DFS contests this week!
