15 Fantasy Football Transactions for Week 17
This fantasy football season has objectively been like no other. Early-round picks seemed to bust at a higher rate than normal, we had historic seasons out of seemingly nowhere, and, oh yeah, there's this pandemic happening. Each week as a manager -- especially in December -- was an absolute roller coaster.
But you made it.
Hopefully.
Typically, Week 17 isn't a big deal for fantasy football. Nowadays, it is. With the extended season, most championships are this week. So with that in mind, we'll focus solely on adds and drops in this 15 Transactions column, the final one of the year.
Thanks for another great season. Let's get the gold.
Note: Transactions are in no particular order.
Drop Terry McLaurin
Sending Terry McLaurin to the waiver wire may seem like a spicy thing to do, but it's not even that bold of a take. McLaurin's averaged just 5.7 PPR points over his last five, and his target share per game isn't even that impressive at 16.5%. It's a fine enough target share, but within this Washington Football Team offense? That's not going to cut it.
In Week 17, McLaurin gets Philadelphia. The Eagles are the second-toughest matchup in fantasy football when looking at adjusted fantasy points allowed to wide receiver, and McLaurin caught just 2 balls for 51 yards against them a couple of weeks ago, which included a 46-yard reception.
Of course McLaurin's good, and of course this could backfire. But he's the type of name that could entice your opponent in a championship matchup, when, really, he'll likely be ranked as a WR3 to WR4. So whether you need the roster space, or whether you're looking to sabotage your opponent, McLaurin's someone you can logically let go of this week.
Add Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, and Kenneth Gainwell
It sounds like Miles Sanders has a broken bone in his hand, which is why he missed a large chunk of Sunday's game against the Giants. He's going to be sidelined this weekend. That means we could see a lot more Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, and even Kenneth Gainwell this week.
In Week 16, Scott actually out-attempted Howard 12 to 9, while Howard saw 4 targets to Scott's 0. Howard played two more snaps, too.
Keep in mind that Scott saw a lot of work towards the end of that game -- 7 of his 12 rush attempts came within the final four minutes in garbage time. Howard's played ahead of Scott in recent weeks, and he would be the one to play sort of a 1A role in the backfield without Sanders.
As long as he's healthy. Howard apparently had an injury himself in Week 16 (a stinger), but an MRI didn't reveal anything bad. The hope is that he'll go.
That means all players in this backfield should probably be added. Philly gets Washington this week, and when we saw these two teams play in Week 15, Eagles running backs rushed for 200 yards. If that repeats, more than one running back in the backfield could eat this week.
Add Darrel Williams
I know, I know, Darrel Williams is already rostered in your league. I just have to play it smart here in Week 17 -- it's a huge week, and Williams is still out there in 40% of Yahoo! leagues.
Why add him? Because Clyde Edwards-Helaire left Sunday's game against the Steelers with a collarbone injury. X-rays were fortunately negative, but there's always a chance he's unable to go in Week 17. And if he doesn't, Williams gets elevated big time. In five games without CEH this year, Williams averaged 17.8 PPR points per game while managing a running back rush share per game of nearly 77%. The Chiefs get the Bengals this week, and Cincinnati's been a plus matchup for running backs this year.
If Williams is out there, he needs to be added.
Add Dare Ogunbowale
The biggest injury to hit the fantasy football world in Week 16 was James Robinson's Achilles tear, which will sideline him the rest of the season. Dare Ogunbowale performed as Jacksonville's lead back for the majority of their game against New York, handling 81% of the team's running back rushes while seeing a target share north of 11%.
He should probably be added this week, but keep in mind that the Jags face the Patriots in Week 17. New England's not a bad matchup for running backs or anything, but Jacksonville could just generally struggle to post points against one of the better units in football. That would limit Ogunbowale's already-limited upside.
Add Ke'Shawn Vaughn
Was Ke'Shawn Vaughn's Week 16 performance a little fluky? Yes, for sure. He finished with 13 PPR points, but he also scored 11 of those points on one play. In the end, he still carried the ball just seven times against the Panthers and only saw one target.
In most cases, I wouldn't recommend picking up Vaughn this time of year. But it's hard to ignore the fact that the Buccaneers get the Jets this week. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Bucs are 13.5-point road favorites. And according to my adjusted fantasy points allowed numbers, no matchup in fantasy football is as good -- across all positions -- as a running back versus New York.
If the Bucs get ahead early, Vaughn could clean up in garbage time.
Add Rex Burkhead
The perfect storm hit for Rex Burkhead in Week 16. The Chargers have been bad against running backs all year, so the matchup was there. Houston had a positive game script, too, so they were able to run the ball more. That led to Burkhead carrying the ball 22 times for 149 yards and a pair of scores.
His peripheral numbers weren't spectacular, though, which is why he's more of a deeper add this week. Burkhead saw 64.7% of the Texans' running back rushes and a 7.4% target share this past Sunday, which is almost identical -- it's actually slightly worse -- than what he saw in Week 15 against Jacksonville. Considering he was more of a sleeper play in past weeks, we should consider him the same during championship week.
Drop Chuba Hubbard
Hubbard has been featured in this column as a sell candidate over the last month, partially because he's been losing work to Ameer Abdullah, but also because the Panthers have a brutal schedule. They'll finish off their fantasy season against the Saints this week, one of the toughest teams against running backs in adjusted points allowed. Hubbard has averaged a 68.3% running back rush share per game over his last three, but that's resulted in three straight single-digit PPR performances. You can let your opponent have him.
Add Josh Palmer
With Mike Williams and Jalen Guyton on the COVID list, rookie Josh Palmer got a bigger opportunity in Week 16. Against Houston, Palmer saw 17.6% of LA's targets, turning them into 5 catches for 43 yards and a late-game touchdown. According to Pro Football Focus, Palmer ran five more routes than any other Chargers wide receiver against the Texans.
Since Williams is unvaccinated, he's going to miss Week 17's game against the Broncos, as well. That means Palmer has a good shot to play starter snaps in a Justin Herbert-led offense.
Add Jaret Patterson
The Washington-Dallas game got out of hand on Sunday night, leading to some Antonio Gibson rest in the second half of the contest. That's why Jaret Patterson finished with more rush attempts than Gibson.
The thing is, Gibson was iffy leading up to Sunday night -- he's been dealing with a turf toe injury. In turn, it's worth holding onto Patterson in deeper formats just in case things go south during the week with Gibson.
Add Isaiah McKenzie
Without Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis on Sunday, Isaiah McKenzie did work. He played Beasley's slot role, and he finished the day with a 27.9% target share. That turned into 11 receptions for 125 yards and a score.
As we know, Beasley is unvaccinated, but Davis is, too. Because of when Davis tested positive, he'll miss Week 17. But after McKenzie's performance, it wouldn't be surprising if we see him get the slot role since Beasley, if he plays this weekend, won't get practices in.
Add Taysom Hill
As it stands, Taysom Hill is rostered in 42% of Yahoo! leagues. That number's likely a little low because of his being put on the COVID list, but he's got a shot to play in Week 17 against the Panthers. If he goes, consider him a strong option off the waiver wire -- he's finished as a top-six option in two of his three starts this year after running the ball 11 times in each contest. So far this year -- and this extends to when he was a starter last season -- Hill has added 12.2 points per game through rushing alone.
Add Trey Lance
Jimmy Garoppolo has been featured in this column about 19 times over the last month and a half thanks to a nice schedule and decent-enough performances over the second half of the season. He was going to be called out as a streaming option once again, but then news broke on Monday that he's dealing with a right thumb sprain.
It could finally be Trey Lance's time.
The 49ers get a plus matchup against the Texans where they'll be a favorite no matter who is under center. If it's Lance, then you're looking at a lot of upside. In his lone start this year, Lance ran the ball 16 times for 89 yards. He didn't have a huge fantasy day, but he scored almost 15 fantasy points without a touchdown through the air and on the ground. He's the top streaming option this week if he ends up starting.
Add Carson Wentz
Another streamer you could look at this week is Carson Wentz. To be fair, he's not the most traditional streamer in the world with a percent rostered number of 48% over on Yahoo!, but it's Week 17, and we've got to cover our bases.
Las Vegas, Indianapolis' opponent, has been decent against opposing passers this year, ranking 21st in adjusted points allowed to the position. The Colts, though, have an implied team total over 26 according to FanDuel Sportsbook, which is tough to find these days. That alone makes Wentz at least somewhat intriguing.
Add the Chicago Bears Defense
The Bears haven't been a very good defense this year in fantasy, ranking 21st in scoring after 16 weeks. But they get the Giants this week. New York ranks as the 10th-best opponent for opposing defenses in adjusted fantasy points allowed, and they've allowed three top-five defensive performances over their last six games. Since Daniel Jones' season-ending injury, New York's defensive opponents have scored 11.8 fantasy points per game. That's better than what Dallas, the first-ranked defense in fantasy, has averaged this year.
Add the Cleveland Browns Defense
You should prioritize the Bears over the Browns off the waiver wire this week, but Cleveland's not a terrible option. They'll be in Pittsburgh against a Steelers offense that's been on the favorable side for defenses in adjusted points allowed this year. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Browns are three-point road favorites in a game with a low 41.5-point over/under. They should be able to provide some sort of floor, but do keep in mind that Cleveland didn't do a whole lot for fantasy purposes when these two teams met in Week 8. It's just that there aren't many low-rostered options out there, so Cleveland makes some sense.
