It is the last week of the regular season. Week 17 is traditionally a crazy time for fantasy players, which is why we NEVER suggest having your championship this week.
But hey, sometimes that isn’t your choice, so we have your back!
And certainly, we know that #FANation gets into DFS no matter what week it is, so here are some surprising stats that will guide you towards your perfect lineup.
Washington Redskins at New York Giants
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Ryan Grant and Josh Doctson have both played in 15 games this season. Grant has 12 more catches and 85 more receiving yards on the year. Doctson has two more touchdowns than Grant.
Sterling Shepard did not play at Washington in Week 12. He is questionable this week with a neck injury. Also questionable: Evan Engram with a rib injury and Roger Lewis with an ankle injury. Tavarres King is doubtful and currently in concussion protocol. That leaves Travis Rudolph and Hunter Sharp as the possible wide receivers for the Giants on Sunday. Rhett Ellison would be the tight end of note.
New York Jets at New England Patriots
Robby Anderson is 61 yards away from 1,000 receiving yards. Last year as a rookie he caught 42 passes for 587 yards and two touchdowns.
Rob Gronkowski leads the team with 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. Only Gronkowski and Travis Kelce enter Week 17 with over 1,000 yards at the tight end position. However, Jimmy Graham leads all tight ends with 10 touchdowns.
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Howard currently ranks fifth in rushing yards among running backs, despite seeing 10 or fewer carries in three of his 15 games played. Only Mark Ingram has over 1,000 rushing yards on fewer carries.
Adam Thielen only totaled five catches for 54 yards over his last two games. Prior to Week 15, Thielen has less than five catches in only one game all season. The Minnesota Vikings have already won the NFC North, but they can clinch a first-round bye with a win.
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
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Over the last decade, 2015 was the only year that the Green Bay Packers didn’t have a 900+ yard receiver on their roster as the end of the season. If Davante Adams remains in concussion protocol, 2017 will be the second. If Adams does play, he will have to get 15 receiving yards to hit that mark.
Golden Tate needs 101 receiving yards to hit 1,000 yards on the season. In Week 9 he posted 113 receiving yards against the Packers. If he hits that mark, Detroit would be the only team in the NFL with two wide receivers over the 1,000-yard mark. Every other team would need well over 100 yards from another receiver to get into the 1,000-yard club.
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
DeAndre Hopkins leads all wide receivers with 13 touchdown catches. Davante Adams in second with 10 touchdowns, but he is currently in concussion protocol and unlikely to play. Antonio Brown and Alshon Jeffery are tied for third with nine touchdowns. Brown is already ruled out for Week 17, so Jeffery would have to score four touchdowns in a meaningless game against the Cowboys to tie.
Despite not playing with Andrew Luck all season, T.Y. Hilton is only 48 yards away from his fifth season in a row with 1,000+ receiving yards.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
DeShone Kizer’s 2,580 passing yards are the second most by a rookie in Browns’ team history. Brandon Weeden put up 3,385 yards in 2012. He’s the team leader.
Le’Veon Bell is the only player in Steelers’ history with over 1,900 scrimmage yards in two seasons. This week he will sit, and will be replaced by Stevan Ridley. Ben Roethlisberger will also sit. The Steelers can secure home-field advantage with a win and a New England loss.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Dez Bryant has gone 22 straight games without eclipsing 100 receiving yards. In Week 11, Bryant caught eight of his 14 targets for 63 yards.
The Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Watch the news for who they will sit in this meaningless game. Zach Ertz led the team with 72 catches for 800 yards. Alshon Jeffrey led the team with nine touchdowns. However, Jeffery didn't log a catch last week against Oakland. No word on whether or not either of them will sit or play this week.
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams
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Despite only starting five games this season, Jimmy Garoppolo will be the leading passer for the 49ers if he posts more than 162 yards. He will tie in touchdowns thrown if he throws three.
Cooper Kupp leads all rookies with 62 catches and 869 receiving yards. He needs 56 yards to set the rookie franchise record. The Rams clinched the NFC West for the first time since 2003, and this is basically a meaningless game. The team already announced that both Todd Gurley and Jared Goff will sit this one out.
Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers
Derek Carr hasn’t thrown for over 200 yards since Week 14. He hasn’t thrown for over 300 yards since Week 9.
Philip Rivers threw three interceptions in Week 15 at Kansas City, but those were the only interceptions he’s thrown since Week 10. The Raiders only have a league-low five interceptions on the season (tied with the Falcons).
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
The Kansas City Chiefs wont the AFC West title for the second year in a row. They already decided to sit Alex Smith, so Patrick Mahomes will get the start. Keep an eye on every other fantasy relevant player in this matchup.
Demaryius Thomas needs 108 yards to hit 1,000 yards. If he misses that mark, that will be his first season under since 2011. Thomas came into the season the only wide receiver with five consecutive seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards. The plan is to start Paxton Lynch, and Lynch only has 41 passing yards on the season.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
The Jacksonville Jaguars won a division title for the first time since 1999, and they are locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. Leonard Fournette is only 29 yards away from 1,000 rushing yards on the season.
The Tennessee Titans can clinch a playoff berth with a win or losses by both Buffalo and the Los Angeles Chargers. DeMarco Murray is dealing with a torn MCL, so Derrick Henry is likely to shoulder the bulk of the work. Henry has only one game on the season with more than 14 carries.
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The New Orleans Saints clinched a playoff berth, but they can clinch the division with a win. Michael Thomas needs five catches to pass Jarvis Landry with the most catches by a wide receiver in the first two years of their career in NFL history.
Mike Evans only need 54 more receiving yards to become the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first four seasons in the NFL. The other two are A.J. Green and Randy Moss.
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
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The Buffalo Bills can clinch a playoff berth with a win and either a Baltimore loss or losses by both Tennessee and the Los Angeles Chargers. Three running backs currently lead their team in rushing yards and total receptions: LeSean McCoy, Todd Gurley, and Carlos Hyde.
Miami is one of two teams with two wide receivers with over 800 receiving yards heading into Week 17. The other team is the Detroit Lions. The two wide outs with over 800 yards are Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills.
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
All of Jermaine Gresham’s touchdowns this season came against divisional opponents this season. There have only been two. One was against the Seahawks in Week 10.
The Seattle Seahawks can clinch a playoff berth with a win and an Atlanta loss. Russell Wilson has thrown two or more touchdowns in all but one game since their Week 6 bye.
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
The Panthers clinched a playoff berth for the fourth time in five years and can clinch the division with a win and a Saints loss. Greg Olsen has over 20 yards only one time this season. It was also his only game with a touchdown.
Atlanta can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a Seattle loss. Tevin Coleman has one more total touchdown on the season than Devonta Freeman. Neither or them scored a touchdown against the Panthers in Week 9.
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Giovani Bernard only has 124 less rushing yards than Joe Mixon on the season, despite only getting more than 15 carries in one game all year. Bernard also has 85 more receiving yards than Mixon.
The Ravens can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a loss by either the Bills or Tennessee. Flacco threw six interceptions in his first four games, but then he’s only thrown six interceptions in total over his last 11 games.
Player News
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports there are “multiple people in the league who believe the new regime is not so high on Travis Etienne.”
Fowler also noted Tank Bigsby’s fumbling issue but didn’t directly relate that to the feelings of the new brain trust in Jacksonville. The Jags clearly felt they were lacking at running back this offseason and addressed that opening via the draft with Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round and LeQuint Allen in the seventh. The pair of additions complicate an already-messy backfield by committee. Etienne is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is a long-shot to be brought back in 2026. The Jags could opt to move on early by trading him, clearing $6.1 million in cap space in the process. If the team does trade Etienne, Tuten would likely be the team’s top back in the long run, making him a high-upside bet in early fantasy drafts.
Broncos signed third-round pick WR Pat Bryant to a four-year contract.
The deal includes $1.4 million guaranteed and is worth $6.6 million in total. Sean Payton compared aspects of Bryant’s game to those of Michael Thomas in his post-draft press conference and there are at least a few similarities in their profiles. Bryant stands at 6'2/204 and ran a 4.61-second Forty at the combine. Thomas measured in at 6'3/212 and clocked a 4.57-second Forty. Though the two have similar physical characteristics, Thomas was known for his proficiency from the slot while Bryant primarily played on the outside as a field-stretcher at Illinois. Bryant’s transition to slot duties may take some time, but third-round draft capital makes him worth a shot in dynasty leagues.
Colts EDGE Samson Ebukam (Achilles) said he is expected to be cleared for training camp.
Ebukam suffered a torn Achilles in training camp last year and did not play in the 2024 season. He broke out in 2023 with a career-high 9.5 sacks in his first season with the Colts. He now has one year left on his deal and will be looking for a rebound season as he stares down free agency in 2026