Week 17 is here, and you are still going strong. First of all, congratulations. Secondly, this is it. It’s the last week. Time to prepare.
If you are still playing you will need to know about the different things going on this week such as Covid-19, injuries and, of course, which teams that are going to be resting players in Week 17. It’s important to think about which teams are fighting for a playoff spot or seed and which teams have nothing for which to play. This is important because it is the difference between players playing hard and possibly taking a play, series or half off.
It shouldn’t happen in a perfect world but it does. Kansas City, for instance, has the AFC No. 1 seed locked up so it will be resting some big names. Sorry Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill managers. Teams that are fighting for playoff spots or seeding are Tennessee, Miami, Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Buffalo in the AFC; Washington, Dallas, New York Giants, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago, Arizona, Green Bay, New Orleans, Seattle and Tampa Bay in the NFC.
As for the other 14 teams, your guess is as good as anybody’s. That is why I primarily try to only take players off of teams that have something to play for in Week 17. The only other option is picking up a player, on a team that is done, who is new. This is because a player like that in a week that doesn’t matter often gets good playing time because the coach is trying to see what it has before the start of next season to help in their decision-making process for next season.
I know that is a lot to take in, but for better or worse, your whole season has come down to this week. So, with that in mind, let’s go ahead and jump into Week 17, and, as always, let’s start with..
Quarterback
Brandon Allen is a quarterback who has the waiver wire pundits talking. It makes sense to think of him as potentially a good pick up in Week 17. He threw for a staggering 371 yards and two touchdowns against Houston last week. He has a great rapport with young stud Tee Higgins and he is available in 99 percent of leagues. If you need a quarterback, Allen just may be your waiver wire guy, right?
On second thought.. No.
Allen does not have much experience. Four games to be exact, and only one good fantasy one at that. Coupled with the fact that Cincinnati has absolutely nothing to play for and playing against Baltimore, which is much better and has everything to play for, and it seems like a bad choice. This whole match up reeks of “not good sauce.”
Mitchell Trubisky, however, has the faint undertone of victory marinade. The Chicago quarterback is available in 76 percent of leagues and he plays for a team that is fighting for a playoff spot. Trubisky completed 24 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 10 yards and a touchdown on the ground, on Sunday against Jacksonville. Many people would look at next week’s matchup against Green Bay and worry that it is not good. I believe that for the quarterback on a fantasy team it will be good as Green Bay is going to have Chicago in a negative game script from the beginning. This means that Chicago will most likely be slinging the ball around for the majority of the game which translates to a lot of opportunity for Trubisky.
If that matchup scares you too much, consider Andy Dalton. The Dallas backup-turned-starter is available in 95 percent of leagues and just may be on a lot more championship teams than most would think. Dalton is in the very enviable position of being on a team that is fighting for playoff spot. He is going up against a team, the New York Giants, that is also fighting for a playoff spot and is also very fantasy friendly. Dalton completed 22 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia. He has a good thing going with both Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper right now. You could absolutely capitalize on this and put him in your championship lineup if you need the help.
Running Back
If you happen to need running back help, Samaje Perine is a back who many are turning to on the waiver wire this week.
On second thought.. No. Not so fast.
Yes, the Cincinnati running back had a great week last week. He rushed 13 times for 95 yards and touchdowns. He also is available in 99 percent of leagues. However, he is playing for Cincinnati, which we already told you has nothing for which to play. He is playing Baltimore, which is fighting for a playoff spot and has a good defense. Perine has the ability to be great, but this week is just a matter of bad timing in the schedule. He is going to run up against a team with its back against the wall that is not going to let him get out of the backfield all day long. He is really not deserving of a championship rooster spot in Week 17.
One running back who just might be deserving of a spot on your roster is Green Bay’s A.J. Dillon. The Green Bay running back is on a team fighting for a playoff seed and going against a team it dismantled fairly easily earlier in the season. Dillion is available in 96 percent of leagues and looked like an aged veteran in Sunday’s win over Tennessee. He rushed 21 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns last week. He looks strong and is a perfect candidate to lead the team in rushes in a week where Green Bay wants to win but also wants to give some of its players some rest if possible. Dillon fills these needs and could fill your need at running back in Week 17.
Kansas City’s Darrel Williams is another incredibly interesting pickup in Week 17. At 98 percent available the Kansas City running back is playing on a team that would love him to carry the ball all day long this week. Kansas City has nothing to play for and will be sitting many of its starters. So if the team can just establish a run game and pound out a win where it runs lots of time off the clock and gets the team on and off the playing field, it will gladly do that. This is where Williams comes in. Williams got some playing time last week where he collected 46 yards on 10 carries and caught four balls for 27 yards during Sunday’s 17-14 win against Atlanta. Williams’ workload was more than Le’Veon Bell on Sunday with Clyde Edwards-Helaire inactive for the Week 16 matchup. With Edwards-Helaire expected to sit Kansas City’s regular season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams’ workload looks to rise even further. This could be a huge surprise week for the owners of the third-string Kansas City running back.
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