Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks
Date/Time: Sunday January 2, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Seahawks -6.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 42.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Seahawks 24.5, Lions 18
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff: Goff should be cleared from the COVID list for this matchup against Seattle and he’s at least worth considering for starting lineups due to his recent play. Over the course of the previous four games, Goff has two top-10 fantasy finishes in there and he’s been throwing touchdowns at an impressive rate. With that being said, he’s still in the streaming QB conversation due to the supporting cast around him and his track record. He can be viewed as a mid-range/low-end QB2 against the Seahawks. Update: Goff is now listed as doubtful and we’re likely to see Tim Boyle step in at QB for the Lions again.
Russell Wilson: Did you know that Wilson has played in 12 games so far this season, but he has finished with more than 250 passing yards in just four of them? He certainly has not produced the way that fantasy managers have come to know and appreciate here this season and he’s no longer in the must-start category. With that being said, Wilson should be considered for starting lineups this week against the Lions’ defense. They’ve tightened things up recently, but they’re still a susceptible defense that talented QBs can take advantage of week in and week out. We’ll see if Wilson can rise to the occasion and put up a better performance than what he’s done lately. He can be viewed as a low-end QB1/high-end QB2 this week.
Running Backs
D’Andre Swift: It’s unclear as of right now whether or not Swift is going to be able to make it back to the lineup this week against Seattle. At this point of the season, it makes sense for Detroit to completely shut Swift down and let him rest up for 2022, but they continue to leave the door open. I wouldn’t expect Swift to suit up, but if he does he can be viewed as a high-end RB2. Update: Swift is now cleared to play in Week 17 and he should receive a significant workload in his first game back. He can be viewed as a high-end/mid-range RB2.
Jamaal Williams: Williams stepped back into the starting lineup this past week against Atlanta and he carried the ball an impressive 19 times. While that only resulted in 8 Half PPR fantasy points due to no involvement in the receiving game, it’s encouraging to see that type of workload for Williams in his first game back. Against Seattle, we should see Williams remain the lead option in this offense and receive a significant workload. With the Seahawks allowing the 5th most fantasy points to opposing RBs this year, Williams belongs in the high-end RB3 conversation if Swift doesn’t play.
Craig Reynolds: Reynolds saw 14 touches this past game, but he was the clear second option behind Williams in this offense. For an offense that doesn’t profile as high-powered, it’s not worth considering the second option out of the backfield. Reynolds can remain on your bench for championship week.
Rashaad Penny: Penny had a down week in Week 15 against the Rams, but he rebounded in a big way this past week against the Bears. Penny saw 17 carries and he turned that into 135 rushing yards and a touchdown, which was solid enough to finish as a top-10 fantasy RB on the week. Looking ahead to Week 17, Penny should have plenty of room to run on this Lions defense that’s allowing the 3rd most fantasy points per game to the position. He can be viewed as a mid-range RB2.
Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown: It’s confirmed, ladies and gentlemen. St. Brown is good at football. Even with Tim Boyle at QB last week, St. Brown was able to deliver another top-tier fantasy performance and build upon his recent momentum. Since Week 12, ASB is the WR5 in all of fantasy football in Half PPR scoring and he’s helping lead fantasy rosters to a championship. The Seahawks are allowing the 6th fewest fantasy points to opposing WRs this season so far, but the target volume St. Brown is seeing makes that essentially irrelevant. He can be viewed as a solid mid-range/low-end WR2. Update: Goff is now listed as doubtful for this matchup, which bumps down St. Brown slightly in the rankings but he’s still a solid low-end WR2 play.
D.K. Metcalf: Well, Metcalf finally produced more than 10 Half PPR fantasy points last week for the first time since Week 8! It’s odd that it took an all-out blizzard in Seattle for it to happen, but he was finally able to work his way back into the end zone and reward fantasy managers that played him. With that being said, it’s important to note that Metcalf still only had just two receptions for 41 yards otherwise in that game against the Bears. While we’d love to confidently start Metcalf as a top-10 option this week against Detroit, it’s important to exercise caution yet again. He can be viewed as a mid-range WR2.
Tyler Lockett: Lockett had been on a roll recently before missing Week 15 against the Rams and he came back this past week unable to pick up where he left off. Lockett saw six targets, but he reeled in just three of them for 30 yards and no score. Looking ahead to Week 17, Lockett should be able to get back on track in this matchup against Detroit. He’s expected to draw coverage from Will Harris primarily, which is a massive advantage for Lockett. He can be viewed as a mid-range WR with upside.
Tight Ends
Gerald Everett: Everett hasn’t been exactly soaking up targets in this offense recently, but it’s hard to ignore what he’s done the past two weeks. Everett has now reeled in eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks combined and he’s finished as a top-15 TE now four out of the past five weeks. He needs to find the end zone to push into the top-5, but he’s producing enough that fantasy managers can look his way as a streaming option against the Lions.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys
Date/Time: Sunday January 2, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Cowboys -5.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 52 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Cowboys 28.75, Cardinals 23.25
Quarterbacks
Kyler Murray: Murray had had a couple of down performances from a fantasy perspective prior to Week 16, but he rebounded against the Colts and was able to finish as the QB6 on the week. While he wasn’t able to do a ton through the air – just 245 passing yards and one total touchdown – he was able to tack on his highest rushing yardage output of the season with 74 yards on the ground. With this threat and ability always in his back pocket, Murray’s a consistent starter in fantasy lineups still. It hasn’t been stellar through the air here as of late, but we know that Murray has tremendous upside each and every week. The Cowboys are a tough matchup as they’re allowing the 5th fewest fantasy points to the position this season, but Murray should be viewed as a safe start. He can be viewed as a mid-range QB1.
Dak Prescott: Welcome back, Dak! After finishing outside the top-20 QBs each of the previous three weeks, Prescott shredded the Washington defense in Week 16 for 330 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, which resulted in 31 total fantasy points and his best fantasy outing of the season. Looking ahead to Week 17, Prescott and the Cowboys have a matchup against the Arizona secondary that has given up 8 passing touchdowns over the past three games to Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, and Matthew Stafford. Dak might not be able to throw for four touchdowns again here, but he should have enough production to be viewed as a viable starter again.
Running Backs
James Conner: As the week continues to progress, Conner is still missing practice and his status is now in doubt for Sunday’s matchup against the Cowboys. We’ll need to continue to update as more information becomes available.
Chase Edmonds: Edmonds was stellar last week stepping in for Conner in this Arizona backfield. He put up 23 Half PPR fantasy points, which was good enough for a top-10 finish at the RB position in Week 16. As of right now, it’s unclear whether or not Edmonds will have this backfield to himself again in Week 17. If he does, he’s worth firing up as a low-end RB1 due to his scoring upside and involvement in the receiving game. However, if Conner is able to make it back, Edmonds can still be viewed as a low-end RB2. We’ll continue to update as more information becomes available on this situation.
Ezekiel Elliott: Zeke certainly isn’t doing much from a yardage production standpoint here recently, but he continues to find the end zone to boost his fantasy stock. We have to be concerned this week that Zeke might continue to see a limited workload and be touchdown-dependent, but he should still be in starting lineups due to the offense that he plays in. He can be viewed as a mid-range/low-end RB2 for Week 17 against the Cardinals.
Tony Pollard: Either Zeke or Pollard did much last week from a production standpoint with the game quickly getting out of hand in Dallas’ favor. With that being said, Pollard should be needed more this week against the Cardinals, which puts him back in the FLEX conversation. With his talent and ability, Pollard can be viewed as a mid-range RB3 with upside.
Wide Receivers
Christian Kirk: Kirk remained heavily involved in this offense last week with DeAndre Hopkins sidelined, but it didn’t necessarily amount to top-tier production. Kirk was able to reel in 7 receptions for just 48 yards and no score, but it’s encouraging to see that he was one of the main targets in this receiving corps. Looking ahead to Week 17, the Cowboys are allowing 20.9 fantasy points per game to opposing WRs, which means that Kirk should be able to capitalize enough on his consistent target opportunity to be viewed as a low-end WR2/high-end WR3.
Antoine Wesley: Wesley has become involved in this offense in the wake of Hopkins’ injury and he’s seeing enough involvement in the red zone to warrant fantasy consideration now. However, it’s a little bit too late in the season for us to trust Wesley as anything more than a boom-or-bust FLEX option in deeper formats.
A.J. Green: Green was expected to step up in Hopkins’ absence, but that simply hasn’t been the case. Green has seen his production take a dip here as of late and he’s now merely just a low-end FLEX option. With Zach Ertz and Christian Kirk dominating the target share in this offense, there’s not much left over for us to trust Green in our starting lineups.
Amari Cooper: Cooper had been struggling to make much of an impact for fantasy football prior to Week 16. Over the course of his previous five games, Cooper had scored more than 7 Half PPR fantasy points just once and things seemed bleak moving forward. However, he exploded in Week 16 against Washington for 7 receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. Against the defense that’s allowing the 5th most fantasy points to opposing WRs this year, Cooper can be plugged back into your starting lineup as a low-end WR2.
CeeDee Lamb: Lamb wasn’t able to come through in a big way for fantasy managers last week in a fantastic matchup against Washington. While he certainly didn’t hurt your lineup, he had to watch Cooper put up a dominant performance and he’s now gone three straight weeks finishing outside the top-30 WRs in fantasy football. With so many other talented receiving options in this offense, Lamb is going to struggle to see enough volume to view him as a locked-in top-15 play. He can be viewed as a mid-range/low-end WR2 in Week 17.
Michael Gallup: Gallup was a solid fantasy asset back in Weeks 12 and 13 when the offense opened up a bit, but with everyone back and healthy here in Dallas it’s hard to find the necessary target volume for Gallup to be a viable fantasy option. In this matchup, Gallup can be viewed as a FLEX option that will need to find the end zone to crack the top-30.
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz: Ertz has settled in as one of the safest fantasy options at the TE position here in recent weeks. Over the past two games, Ertz has seen 24 targets and he’s taking advantage of the opportunity. With two top-10 fantasy finishes under his belt recently, Ertz can be plugged into starting lineups in championship week as a mid-range TE1.
Dalton Schultz: After struggling to make much of an impact in the Dallas offense for a few weeks, Schultz has moved back to a focal point over the past two weeks. He’s now had 16 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns combined over that time frame and he’s finished as a top-5 TE both games. In this matchup against Arizona, we can continue to view Schultz as a mid-range TE1.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers
Date/Time: Sunday January 2, 8:20pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Packers -6.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 47.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Packers 27, Vikings 20.5
Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins: Cousins rebounded nicely in Week 16 from his abysmal performance against the Bears in Week 15. Cousins threw for 315 yards against the Rams and finished with one touchdown to one interception, which was good enough to finish as a top-12 option in fantasy. Looking ahead to Week 17, Cousins has a decent enough matchup on paper in front of him for us to view him as a high-end QB2. We might not see a blow-up performance from him, but he should provide a high enough floor for fantasy managers in championship week. Update: Cousins has tested positive for COVID-19 and is out for Sunday’s matchup due to the fact that he is unvaccinated.
Kellen Mond or Sean Mannion: With the news that Cousins is out for Week 17, we’re likely going to see one of Mond or Mannion step in as the starting QB for this team. Mannion is currently on the COVID list at the time of writing, but he could be cleared as early as Friday. Either way, none of these options are good for the Vikings offense and they shouldn’t be considered for starting lineups in 1QB leagues.
Aaron Rodgers: Rodgers has been absolutely picking apart opposing defenses recently. Over Rodgers’ last five games, he has 17 total touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s playing like a man on a mission to get the NFL MVP and that’s good news for his fantasy managers as they head into championship week. The Vikings’ defense derailed Matthew Stafford last week, but Rodgers is going to be able to throw the ball all over the yard here in Week 17. Fire him up as a top-5 QB.
Running Backs
Dalvin Cook: Cook is expected to be back in action here this next week against the Packers and he belongs right back in starting lineups as a top-5 play. With his guaranteed workload, plus his talent and ability, Cook can be locked into starting lineups.
Aaron Jones: This backfield has absolutely turned into a full-on committee, but that doesn’t mean that Jones still can’t provide fantasy value. Last week against Cleveland, he averaged 5.5 YPA on 12 carries and he also added 5 receptions for 21 yards on 6 targets. While he wasn’t able to find the end zone, which would’ve vaulted him into the top-12, he still provided a high floor for fantasy managers as they attempted to make the championship game in their league. Looking ahead to Week 17, Jones belongs back in your starting lineups as a mid-range RB2 due to the matchup against Minnesota. The Vikings’ defense is allowing 100.7 rushing yards per game and Jones and Dillon should be able to rack up yardage.
AJ Dillon: Dillon looked like he might be taking over this backfield just a few short weeks ago, but that’s now changed back and he’s playing second fiddle to Jones again. With that being said, that doesn’t mean that Dillon is completely off the redraft radar and he can be considered for starting lineups in championship week. Dillon’s seeing enough volume to be viewed as a high-end RB3, especially in this matchup, but he’ll need to find the end zone to crack the top-15.
Wide Receivers
Justin Jefferson: Jefferson is coming off of a game in which he broke an NFL record for the most receiving yards by a player through their first two seasons. After an 8 catch/116 yard performance, Jefferson now has 2,851 receiving yards through his first two years in the league, which broke Odell Beckham Jr.’s previous record. He’s a true superstar in today’s NFL and he promises to be a top-tier fantasy asset for years to come. In this matchup specifically, he’s going to have his hands full with Jaire Alexander potentially working his way back into the lineup off of IR. Regardless though, Jefferson’s talented enough to overcome essentially any matchup. He can be viewed as a mid-range WR1 for Week 17. Update: With Cousins out for Week 17, Jefferson needs to be downgraded in rankings. He can now be viewed as a mid-range WR2 with a wide range of outcomes.
K.J. Osborn: With Adam Thielen done for the year after having surgery this week, Osborn’s elevated back into a prominent role in this offense. While he certainly has been hit-or-miss when Thielen’s been out of the lineup, he does come with plenty of upside. Green Bay is middle of the pack when it comes to defending opposing WRs this season, but with Osborn’s guaranteed target volume and potential to hit the big play over the top, he can be viewed as a low-end WR3 this week. Update: With Cousins out this week, Osborn is no longer in consideration for redraft lineups. He’s nothing more than a low-end FLEX play in deeper formats.
Davante Adams: Adams is playing lights out yet again and he continues to rack up ridiculous statistics with Rodgers as his QB. There’s very little to say about the star wideout at this point…fire him up as a top-3 option in Week 17.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling: MVS has yet to clear the COVID list at the time of writing, but the expectation is that he’ll be back and active for this matchup against Minnesota. If he is ready to go, he’s worth considering in starting lineups as a low-end WR3 with massive upside. There are still some concerns about which second WR behind Adams will have a good game any given week in this offense, but Rodgers is making it a point to get MVS involved. With the Vikings defense struggling to contain opposing passing games, MVS is a solid upside play if he clears the COVID list in time. Update: MVS has been activated off the COVID list and will play.
Allen Lazard: Lazard wasn’t heavily involved in the offense last week, but he made the most of his limited opportunity by cashing in and finding the end zone. If MVS is unable to suit up this week again, Lazard can certainly be considered as a high-upside FLEX play. However, if MVS does return off the COVID list, Lazard moves back to just a deep league dart throw that you’re hoping finds the end zone.
Tight Ends
Tyler Conklin: Conklin had one of his better weeks this season in Week 16 and that resulted in just 6 Half PPR fantasy points. There’s the potential that he sees an uptick in work again with Thielen out for this week and next, but we already know how that played out before. He’s nothing more than a mid-range/low-end TE2 for Week 17. Update: With the news that Cousins is out for Week17, Conklin is nothing more than a low-end TE2.
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Date/Time: Monday January 3, 8:15pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Browns -3.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 41 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Browns 22.25, Steelers 18.75
Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield: Mayfield may not be fully healthy, but the product on the field lately is just simply not good. Over the course of his last five games, he has 7 touchdowns to 8 interceptions and he hasn’t finished higher than the QB18 from a fantasy perspective over that time frame. Pittsburgh’s defense has been bleeding fantasy points recently, but there’s no way we can trust Mayfield in our starting lineups in 1QB leagues. He can be viewed as a low-end QB2.
Ben Roethlisberger: This Steelers offense has completely capsized at this point and Big Ben may be walking into his final game at Heinz Field as a Steeler this week. There’s absolutely no reason that we should be considering Ben for our 1QB lineups and he’s nothing more than a low-end QB2/high-end QB3 in Superflex leagues.
Running Backs
Nick Chubb: At one point this season, the Steelers defense was a tough unit to run against and fantasy managers feared playing RBs that were going up against it. However, they have now plummeted down the rankings here in recent weeks and they are now allowing the 6th most fantasy points on the entire season. With Chubb ranking as the RB2 in fantasy football over the past three weeks, he’s a top-5 play at the RB position this week against the Steelers.
Kareem Hunt: Hunt has been cleared off of the COVID list, but sounds unlikely to play given the current state of his ankle injury. We’ll continue to update as more information becomes available, but fantasy managers should be prepared to not have Hunt in their lineups this week.
Najee Harris: Harris had an atrocious outing in Week 15, but he was able to bounce back in Week 16 and provide a solid performance for fantasy managers. He had 93 yards on the ground on 19 carries and added 17 yards on 5 receptions as well. With the offense struggling around him, there’s very little upside with Harris at this point, but he should still continue to see enough volume to provide a high floor. He can be viewed as a low-end RB1 in this matchup against Cleveland.
Wide Receivers
Jarvis Landry: Landry had started to get on a roll from a fantasy perspective before missing Week 15, but he fell flat in his first game back against the Packers. The state of the passing game certainly didn’t help and Landry was only able to finish as the WR51 last week. Looking at this matchup against the Steelers, Landry can be played as a high-floor FLEX option, but there’s very little upside with Mayfield struggling the way that he is currently.
Diontae Johnson: Johnson continues to be one of the sole bright spots in this Steelers offense this season. In Week 16 against the Packers, he saw 9 targets and he reeled in 6 of them for 51 yards and a touchdown. Against the Browns this week, who are allowing 19.7 fantasy points per game to opposing WRs, Johnson can be started as a low-end WR1.
Chase Claypool: Claypool has plenty of talent and big-play ability, but this offense in Pittsburgh is struggling to take advantage of his talent at this point. Claypool should continue to do enough to be a decent WR3 option, but the days of us hoping he would be a WR2 with upside are essentially over.
Tight Ends
Austin Hooper: Hooper’s had some moments of relevancy this season, but he’s simply stayed in the same category for the majority of the year. He’s a touchdown-or-bust option each and every week.
Pat Freiermuth: Freiermuth has been practicing this week, and it appears he’ll be able to return from a concussion. Consider him a lower-end TE1 this week vs. the Browns.
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