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It's championship week in the majority of fantasy football leagues, and teams who don't have their quarterback situation 100% clear are rightfully wondering who they should start. You started Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson if you had him, but we don't intend to only give slam-dunk picks.
It's not brave, interesting, or even useful to say that you should leave Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in your starting lineup, because there was no reason to ever bench him anyway. Instead, we'll cover some that might warrant some questioning -- even if they're already good, some players can have huge boom or huge bust weeks.
We'll try to identify them here. Keep in mind that some recommendations will be tailored to different league types and sizes.
Week 17 Starts - Fantasy Football Booms
Bo Nix - QB, Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
Sure, most teams won't have any better options than Nix, but we think he has legitimate league-winning potential in Week 17, mostly due to the matchup. He's the QB10 this season, and he'll face a terrible defense in a game that could be a shootout on Saturday.
ANOTHER BENGALS DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS🔥🔥🔥:
44 POINTS💥
520 YARDS💥
410 PASSING💥
110 RUSHING💥
4 TOUCHDOWNS💥
3 FIELD GOALS💥
31 FIRST DOWNS💥
1 PUNT FORCED💥
(…allowed) pic.twitter.com/hDntCzChuI— Bengalsinc🌵 (@Bengalsinc) December 1, 2024
They've allowed the sixth-most points per game to opposing defenses this season, and were it not for plenty of games against very bad offenses, it could have been even worse for them. Nix has been a great fantasy asset after getting off to a slow start. Good QBs in shootouts against terrible defenses are some of the best possible bets you can make.
Mason Rudolph - QB, Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
He's a good recommendation for deep leagues, and in our opinion, a must-start in 2QB leagues this week. He's already proven that he can be serviceable, having scored 16.8 and 17.4 fantasy points in Weeks 15 and 16. In Week 17, he gets a golden matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the last 25 years.
Mason Rudolph doing what Mason Rudolph does… making the deep ball look easy! LFG pic.twitter.com/MwRkBO7g1F
— Zach (@ZPSteelers2) December 22, 2024
And he'll be plenty motivated to be productive. Backup quarterbacks need to ensure that teams still believe they are good enough to roster. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy has a chance to leave an impression in an incredibly favorable matchup. And Titans head coach Brian Callahan has a shot at impressing the team's ownership after a miserable season.
We wouldn't be surprised if Rudolph scored at least 20 fantasy points in leagues with standard QB scoring rules.
Tua Tagovailoa - QB, Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns
INJURY UPDATE: Tua Tagovailoa was downgraded to DOUBTFUL for Week 17 early Saturday afternoon.
Another recommendation for deeper leagues and 2QB leagues is Tagovailoa (hip). He's still dealing with a hip injury, but if he's removed from the injury report before his team's game on Sunday, he could be a good start against a Browns defense that has fallen off substantially since last season.
Happy Victory Monday
Your Cleveland Browns defense is currently:
-1st in yards per game (163.7)
-1st in passing YPG (111.7)
-1st in rushing YPG (52)
-1st in points allowed per game (10.7)Dominance #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/g3eRryTOCa
— Throck (@JThrock45_) September 25, 2023
You can see above that they were dominant last season. This year, they haven't been. They've allowed 25.3 points per game (7th worst), rank in the bottom half in total yards per game allowed, and have only snagged 12 takeaways, which is 5th-worst in the league in 2024.
NFL leaders in completion percentage:
1. Tua Tagovailoa (72.9)
2. Jared Goff (71.4)
3. Baker Mayfield (70.9)Our star. pic.twitter.com/s2yVW7RRmX
— Dolphin Nation (@Dolphin_Nation) December 24, 2024
He's not been great the past few games, likely in part due to the injury to his second-string wide receiver, Jaylen Waddle (knee). But we think he will bounce back against a team that's in disarray, and the Browns offense is liable to turn the ball over multiple times and fail to put together good drives, allowing Miami to dominate time of possession. That helps their offense produce more.
Week 17 Concerns - Fantasy Football Busts
Aaron Rodgers - QB, New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills
Try as he might, usually Rodgers (knee) hasn't been able to do much in garbage time when his team faces a stiff defense. And that's exactly what they'll do in Week 17. The Jets will take on the fearsome Buffalo Bills, who have been pretty solid against opposing quarterbacks this year, allowing just the 10th-most fantasy points.
Was the Bills defense bad yesterday?
After they gave up 14 points on the first two drives
The defense forced 3 turnovers
Scored a TD
Only gave up 7 points
That’s called making adjustments #BillsMafia | #GoBills
pic.twitter.com/eErhcupOGN— Peter DiBiasi (@DibiasiPeter) December 23, 2024
ARod still has only surpassed 20 fantasy points just three times this season. The 30-point effort against the Jaguars in Week 16 was... against the Jaguars, so that makes it less impressive. The 41-year-old is also dealing with multiple injuries and has been through the majority of the season.
#Jets QB Aaron Rodgers said he's dealing with an MCL injury but he's going to play through it on Sunday vs. the Bills.
“There’s no way that I’m not playing.” pic.twitter.com/cl1Z5moZoR
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 24, 2024
Such is life for players that are this old. The other positions -- aside from kicker and punter -- require much more full-body explosiveness and durability. But a lifetime of taking sacks, being tackled, and enduring the other brutal aspects of the sport likely has his body in a very poor place.
On the road against Buffalo isn't a place we favor him.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson - QB, Cleveland Browns vs. Miami Dolphins
This one is pretty obvious -- however, you shouldn't consider starting him even in deep 2QB leagues, like those with Superflex spots. Thompson-Robinson has been irredeemably bad this year, having tossed zero touchdowns and five interceptions in three games with 20% or more of snaps played.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson on passes thrown 15+ yards this season: 0-11 with 3 interceptions pic.twitter.com/lFzMzsSJHM
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 23, 2024
Cleveland can make the excuse that they want to evaluate the second-year pro they drafted in 2023, but they simply can't be competitive with him unless a miracle happens. He has minor rushing upside that doesn't move the needle enough to change our minds.
You're probably better off putting a free-agent pickup in Superflex spots that you don't have another QB for. It's that bad.
Cooper Rush, QB - Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
Despite being better than expected over the past few weeks, Rush will now go on the road to face one of the league's toughest defenses. The team has a ton of injuries on both sides of the ball, and Rush's best WR, CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) has played through a shoulder injury for weeks now and has now been ruled out for the season.
Cowboys are shutting down WR CeeDee Lamb for the remainder of the season due a shoulder injury
Finishes the 2024 season with 101 REC, 1,194 Yards, 6 Rec TDS pic.twitter.com/FCchQkPb3x
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 26, 2024
In addition to Lamb being out for the upcoming game, the offensive line is also battered, and WR2 Brandin Cooks might still not be 100% due to his knee infection and surgery earlier in the year. And they'll have a nightmare matchup.
Nolan Smith was a MENACE on Sunday in a game where he played 95% of the snaps
✅ Pass Rush
✅ Coverage
✅ Run Defense
✅ Fanatical EffortOne of my favorite players to study on this #Eagles defense pic.twitter.com/gl7QQzuRGb
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) December 16, 2024
The Commanders game last week was an oddity -- Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion) got hurt and was forced to exit the game. Typically, that leaves teams in disarray, and the game plan gets destroyed. But although they gave up 36 points, they forced five turnovers.
It might not be pretty for the Cowboys.
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