Welcome back to my trust or bust series, brought back for 2022, here we look at the Week 17 matchups.
Here we are, the week we all play for. This is the week we dedicate hours of our lives to get to, the week that separates the good teams, from the bad, and the bad from the great; it’s championship week! When it comes to winning the championship, what is most important to you: the money, the title, the respect from your league mates, or the satisfaction of knowing your hard-earned work and time paid off?
For me, it’s the satisfaction of knowing my hard-earned work and time paid off. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to any title games this year. I will be playing for 3rd place and a little bit of money, which is good. But knowing I have to wait another year to play for what matters most to me sucks!
To be honest, even though I’m not playing for any league titles this year, knowing I helped someone else win one would be as equally satisfying. Congratulations to those of you playing for the title of ‘league champion’. Good luck this week. Hopefully, this week’s article will help make those final lineup decisions easier.
Accountability Report
QB Tua Tagovailoa (MIA)
Week 16 Ranking 6th
Prediction- Bust
Week 16 Finish 15th
After all the hate Tua had received prior to this season, Tua has been a player I’ve rooted for since his rookie season. For fantasy purposes, Miami has been a great team to invest in and a fun team to watch. Seeing them crumble like this at the end of the year and their playoff hopes fade away is unfortunate.
RB James Conner (ARI)
Week 16 Ranking 11th
Prediction- Bust
Week 16 Finish 4th
What a disaster of a season it’s been for the Cardinals. James Conner has been the only saving grace, which is somewhat ironic when you consider the off-season narrative about him. When healthy Conner has shown us time and time again he’s one of the better running backs in the NFL.
WR Ja'Marr Chase (CIN)
Week 16 Ranking 5th
Prediction- Bust
Week 16 Finish 27th
It must be hard being Ja’Maar Chase. Being one of the best players in the league after only two years, playing the game you love with one of your best friends, who you just so happened to win a national title with in college. Man doesn’t that suck! I’m sure his Week 16 performance keeps him up at night.
TE David Njoku (CLE)
Week 16 Ranking 10th
Prediction- Bust
Week 16 Finish 36th
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Browns. Some might say the trade and signing of DeShaun Watson was a mistake. It’s too early to tell, but Cleveland has the pieces to be a contender next year and beyond. Week 16’s loss to the Saints is just another blemish on what is a lost season. Njoku and the Browns’ receivers are players I’m targeting in all my leagues moving forward though.
T’was a good week, not a great week. The numbers shall be ran.
Week 15 Results- 3 for 4 75%
13
Correct
29
Wrong
Week 17 Inside/ Outside Picks
QB Trevor Lawrence (JAX)
@HOU
Current Ranking 6th
AVG Points per Game 19.2
Week 17 ranking 7th
One team making a late-season surge for a playoff spot is the Jacksonville Jaguars and with back-to-back wins and victories in 5 of their last 7, a division title is now in their sights. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, they face yet another tough test versus the Houston Texans’ defense that’s allowed only one QB1 finish since Week 10.
Who I like More
QB Mac Jones (NE)
v MIA
Week 17 ranking 21st
Winning only two of their last 6 games Mac Jones and the Patriots are somehow still in the playoff race. A fantasy stud, Mac is not. Still, he’s scored double-digit points in 4 of the Patriots last 6 games, and in two of those games, he was a QB1 for the week. Looking to make it three QB1 games, Mac has a chance to not only redeem his fantasy value but NFL value against a Dolphins defense that allows over 21 PPG to quarterbacks over the last 4 weeks.
RB Nick Chubb (CLE)
@WAS
Current Ranking 7th
AVG Points per Game 16.4
Week 17 ranking 9th
With only one RB1 finish in the last 6 weeks and zero touchdowns in his last 4 games, Chubb is another Browns player that has fallen victim to the tough end-of-year schedule Cleveland has had to face. Things don’t get easier this week with a matchup against the stout Commanders run defense that’s allowed only 3 rushing touchdowns in the last 4 weeks.
Who I like More
RB Miles Sanders (PHI)
v NO
Week 17 ranking 17th
Miles Sanders might not care about our fantasy teams, but as long as he scores fantasy points we care about him. In his first game without Jalen Hurts this season, Sanders was given the rock 21 times! That’s the tenth time this season Sanders had 15 touches or more in a game. With that kind of volume, it’s hard not to get excited about his matchup against the Saints’ defense that is getting trampled by running backs as of late to the tune of 28 points per game over the last 4 weeks.
WR Davante Adams (LV)
v SF
Current Ranking 4th
AVG Points per Game 19.3
Week 17 ranking 9th
Jarrett Stidham is starting at quarterback. Need I say more?
Who I like More
WR Gabe Davis (BUF)
@CIN
Week 17 Ranking 33rd
Davis has done a nice job of being a consistent contributor to the Buffalo offense. Averaging over 11 points and over 6 targets per game in his last 7 games a ‘blow up’ game is brewing. The matchup of Buffalo and Cincinnati has the second-highest projected point total for the week at 49 and to make things even sweeter for Davis, the Bengals’ defense is allowed the eighth-most receiving yards and the third-most receiving touchdowns. It’s wheels up for Gabe Davis this week.
TE Tyler Higbee (LAR)
@LAC
Current Ranking 7th
AVG Points per Game 10.0
Week 17 ranking 9th
After the mauling of the Denver Broncos on Sunday night, the Rams are wanting to finish the season on a high note. Not many things have gone right for the Rams this season, except for one, that being Tyler Higbee. We’ll have to wait until next week to give Higbee his flowers though. The Rams are “on the road” to face the stifling Chargers defense that held opposing tight ends to a measly 7 points per game the last 4 weeks.
Who I like More
TE Noah Fant (SEA)
v NYJ
Week 17 ranking 17th
With their 2022 playoff hopes still alive, Noah Fant and the Seahawks’ matchup versus the New York Jets is one to watch. Now that quarterback Mike White has been named the starter, this game has much more fantasy appeal. That bodes well for Noah Fant, seeing as how the Jets defense has been beaten like a drum when facing tight ends. Allowing over 15 points per game, Fant will look to continue his TE1 streak of games to three in a row.
That’s gonna do it for this week’s piece. I hope you found the info useful and actionable.
Thank you for reading. Just a reminder, my fantasy podcast: The ATB Fantasy Show records a new episode every Thursday. You can find the podcast on most major platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. Here’s a link to the most recent episode.
If you use the hashtag #AskATB or send us a DM, we’ll be sure to answer any and all of your fantasy questions.
There you have it! Any questions, or want some more specific help for your league on who to drop, just reach out. Reach out on social media, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or jump into our Discord server. And checkout out rankings for each Week.
Image Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie – USA TODAY Sports
