5 DraftKings Bargains for Week 17

Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos

DraftKings Price: $3,500

Projected Points: 10.37

Projected Value (points per $1,000): 2.96

Denver Broncos starting running back Phillip Lindsay had his season end on Monday night after suffering a wrist injury. Lindsay was ruled out earlier in the week. His rookie teammate, Royce Freeman, is expected to slide into the backfield as Denver’s primary ball carrier. Devontae Booker, their third-down back, also projects for a small bump in touches this week. However, with it being a glorified exhibition game, this could be a chance for the Broncos to see Royce’s ability to handle a heavy workload.

The former third-round pick was the favorite by many to be Denver’s lead back coming into the season, but Lindsay ran away with the job.

Over the last three weeks, Lindsay has accounted for a 66% share of running back carries (to Freeman’s 29%), so Lindsay's absence opens up a ton of volume.

The concern with Freeman is his pass-catching ability, which is coveted on a full PPR site like DraftKings. Freeman has one game on the season with four targets, with most of his games coming with one or none at all. With Booker being the receiving back in Denver and the matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers currently projects for negative game flow for running, Booker could eat into more snaps than the projections show. Freeman did have receiving ability at the collegiate level, racking up 79 catches over his four-year career, so he isn't a total zero in the passing game.

The pass-game concerns are legit, but Freeman’s salary is hardly restrictive given he is $500 above the minimum price. Expected to see a good number of carries, Freeman is one of the better value backs on the board.