Week 17 Matchups to Watch (2022 Fantasy Football)

We’re into the fantasy football playoffs, which makes every week a must-win for many fantasy managers. To help navigate these crucial times, we asked some of our experts to break down some of the matchups they’re monitoring heading into Week 17 of the NFL season.

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Russell Wilson vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Russell Wilson‘s first year with the Denver Broncos has been a disaster, averaging only 13.7 fantasy points per game. Last week he scored a season-low 8.3 fantasy points in an embarrassing loss. However, Wilson had his best performance of the year in Week 14 against the Chiefs, throwing three touchdown passes and scoring 25.6 fantasy points before leaving the game with a concussion. After the Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett earlier this week, will Wilson have another strong performance against Kansas City or continue to struggle?
– Mike Fanelli (@Mike_NFL2)

Tyler Allgeier vs. Arizona Cardinals
Tyler Allgeier has established himself as the lead back in the Atlanta Falcons offense in the past few weeks. The rookie running back saw a career-high 22 touches in Week 16, and his workload rise has resulted in 40 touches and producing RB7 numbers through Weeks 15-16. His increased involvement in the passing attack, with four receptions on five targets, has provided plenty of upside in a tasty Week 17 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals this week. The Cardinals have surrendered an average of 32.3 PPR points per week to running backs across the last three games. They have also allowed the sixth-most fantasy points on average weekly, making Algeieir a must-start to win your fantasy championships.
– Dennis Sosic (@CALL_ME_SOS)

Aaron Rodgers and Christian Watson vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Packers have won four of six since Christian Watson’s breakout game against the Cowboys in Week 10 and are back in the playoff picture. Every game is crucial for Green Bay at this juncture, who can’t afford another loss. They host the Vikings on Sunday, who humiliated them in Week 1. However, Green Bay’s offense has improved much since then. The Vikings have been torched by opposing wideouts lately, allowing 71 receptions and nearly 900 yards receiving over the last four games. Assuming Watson is healthy enough to play (he’s day-to-day with a hip injury), he could feast on Sunday. Even if he’s out, Aaron Rodgers has an opportunity to salvage the season if he can pull out the win.
– Scott Youngson (@jscottyoungson)

Terry McLaurin vs. Cleveland Browns

The Washington Commanders have made the switch at quarterback, going from Taylor Heinicke to Carson Wentz.
Terry McLaurin boasted a 30% target share from Week 7-15 with Heinicke as the full-time starter. With Wentz from Weeks 1-6, his target share was at 16%.
Meanwhile, Curtis Samuel‘s target share fell from 22% with Wentz to 15% without him.
In Week 16, we already saw Terry McLaurin‘s target share fall to 14% in a game that Wentz entered in late. Wentz targeted TMC once. He favored Logan Thomas (6 targets) and Samuel (3 targets (3) more.
With a run-heavy game plan on deck versus Cleveland, McLaurin doesn’t have major upside in the fantasy championships.
The Browns are allowing the 7th-fewest fantasy points to WRs and 2nd-fewest to slot WRs. 3rd fewest receptions allowed (9) per game since Week 7.
The Commanders are also at a big disadvantage in pass protection with a bottom-4 pass-blocking grade per PFF’s OL/DL matchup chart and the 33rd Team’s Trench matchup tool.

– Andrew Erickson (@AndrewErickson_)

Note: Check back on Thursday and Friday for Andrew Erickson’s “Land Mines” and “Smash City” pieces for comprehensive breakdowns of matchups you should be avoiding and targeting this week in your fantasy football matchups.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.