The Las Vegas Raiders will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 17. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Alexander Mattison.
Is Alexander Mattison Playing in Week 17?
Mattison is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Raiders’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Alexander Mattison in Week 17?
Mattison punched in a short score last week as the starting tailback against the Jaguars and even managed to earn seven targets in this offense that has far more questions than answers at this point.
The usage was nice, and the inefficiencies were predictable (2.3 yards per carry and a 57.1% catch rate). You can chase the role and Flex Mattison in deeper formats, but the problem is that I am more confident that the struggles to consistently gain yardage are more sticky than a role that saw him get 19 opportunities (12 carries and seven targets).
I’m giving him a 4-6 touch advantage edge to Ameer Abdullah, but at 3.2 yards per carry this season, you’re leaning heavily on the passing game where Abdullah is the preferred option and/or scoring chances, something that isn’t exactly the norm in Vegas these days.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Alexander Mattison’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Mattison is projected to score 12.2 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 12.9 rushing attempts for 47 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 2.7 receptions for 20.1 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Saints' Defense
Although the Saints had an ugly season overall before Dennis Allen's firing, the defense stood out as an issue. Allen was the former DC under Sean Payton, and when his defense ranked well below its sixth-place finish from last year (and 13th in 2022), the writing was on the wall.
Since his firing, New Orleans had alternated top-six weeks with bottom-15 performances. However, they finally had two poor performances in a row after recording another stinker on Monday night vs. the Packers.
The Saints recorded a 65.7 (D) grade at Lambeau Field. That was their second-worst of the season and the worst by any defense in Week 16. Only the 51-point catastrophe in Week 6 vs. the Buccaneers graded out worse for New Orleans this season.
The Saints got run over again and now rank 31st in EPA per rush (-0.06) and 30th in success rate (53.6%) with two weeks remaining. They still stay in the top 20 thanks to a top-10 pass defense by success rate and EPA per play, though they post their fifth-worst pass defense game of the season by EPA per dropback (-0.11).
Ultimately, the cellar-dwelling run defense places a pretty firm cap on New Orleans' defensive ceiling, particularly since the injury-riddled offense isn't strong enough to force defenses to play from behind and abandon the run.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Alexander Mattison’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:25 AM ET on Sunday, December 29. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. DAL)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (at SF)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (at HOU)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at WAS)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (at MIN)
6) Jonathan Taylor | IND (at NYG)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. DEN)
8) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. ARI)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at CLE)
10) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. CAR)
11) James Conner | ARI (at LAR)
12) James Cook | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Tyjae Spears | TEN (at JAX)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (at BUF)
15) Joe Mixon | HOU (vs. BAL)
16) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at CHI)
17) Aaron Jones | MIN (vs. GB)
18) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. MIA)
19) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
20) D'Andre Swift | CHI (vs. SEA)
21) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at PHI)
22) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (vs. IND)
23) Isaac Guerendo | SF (vs. DET)
24) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. LAC)
25) Rachaad White | TB (vs. CAR)
26) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at NE)
27) Alexander Mattison | LV (at NO)
28) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. KC)
29) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at PIT)
30) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at NE)
31) Tank Bigsby | JAX (vs. TEN)
32) Javonte Williams | DEN (at CIN)
33) Kendre Miller | NO (vs. LV)
34) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. KC)
35) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
36) Ameer Abdullah | LV (at NO)
37) Kareem Hunt | KC (at PIT)
38) Devin Singletary | NYG (vs. IND)
39) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at WAS)
40) Audric Estimé | DEN (at CIN)
41) Ray Davis | BUF (vs. NYJ)
42) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at CLE)
43) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. LAC)
44) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. DAL)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (at SF)
46) Cam Akers | MIN (vs. GB)
47) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. ARI)
49) Roschon Johnson | CHI (vs. SEA)
50) Braelon Allen | NYJ (at BUF)
51) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (vs. DET)
52) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (vs. ATL)
53) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (at BUF)
54) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (at CIN)
55) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (vs. MIA)
56) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. LV)
57) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. KC)
58) Emanuel Wilson | GB (at MIN)
59) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (at LAR)
60) Chris Brooks | GB (at MIN)
61) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (vs. MIA)
62) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (vs. DET)
63) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at HOU)
64) Trey Benson | ARI (at LAR)
65) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at TB)
66) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. CAR)
67) Israel Abanikanda | SF (vs. DET)
68) Michael Carter | ARI (at LAR)
69) Samaje Perine | KC (at PIT)
70) Ezekiel Elliott | DAL (at PHI)
71) Mike Boone | CAR (at TB)
72) Khalil Herbert | CIN (vs. DEN)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (vs. BAL)
74) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at CLE)
75) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (vs. DET)
76) Trey Sermon | IND (at NYG)
77) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
78) Sione Vaki | DET (at SF)
79) Hunter Luepke | DAL (at PHI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (vs. BAL)
81) Alec Ingold | MIA (at CLE)
82) Tyler Goodson | IND (at NYG)
83) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at NE)
84) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at CHI)
85) Jordan Mims | NO (vs. LV)
86) Rasheen Ali | BAL (at HOU)
87) Ty Chandler | MIN (vs. GB)
88) C.J. Ham | MIN (vs. GB)
89) Michael Burton | DEN (at CIN)
90) Julius Chestnut | TEN (at JAX)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (vs. IND)
92) Dylan Laube | LV (at NO)
93) Adam Prentice | NO (vs. LV)
94) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at HOU)
95) Carson Steele | KC (at PIT)
96) Keilan Robinson | JAX (vs. TEN)
97) Darrynton Evans | BUF (vs. NYJ)
98) Blake Watson | DEN (at CIN)
99) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at PIT)
Raiders at Saints Trends and Insights
Las Vegas Raiders
Team: The Raiders are seeking their first winning streak since Weeks 15-16 last season.
QB: Aidan O’Connell averaged a season-best 10.7 yards per first down pass last week against the Jaguars (13-of-18 for 193 yards).
Offense: After picking up eight-of-14 third downs against the Dolphins in Week 11, the Raiders are just 19-of-67 since (28.4%).
Defense: Las Vegas forced Jacksonville to punt on 58.3% of their drives, their best defensive showing of the season.
Fantasy: Brock Bowers, on Sunday, joined Evan Engram (2023) and Zach Ertz (2018) as the only tight ends in the 2000s to have four double-digit catch games in a season.
Betting: Seven of Vegas’ past eight road games have finished at least seven points off of the closing spread.
New Orleans Saints
Team: In Week 11, the Saints scored 21 points in the final quarter prior to their Week 12 bye. In the 16 quarters since that point, they’ve totaled 47 points.
QB: Spencer Rattler is dealing with a skeleton roster and spreading the ball out. Of his first nine targets, four different players saw multiple opportunities.
Offense: The Saints have been out-scored 35-0 in first halves over their past two games (they held the lead at halftime in each of their five games prior).
Defense: The Saints are 4-1 this season when holding a team to a sub-36% conversion rate on third downs (1-9 otherwise).
Fantasy: The Saints had four players get 3-8 carries, and five players catch 2-5 passes – this is a small offensive pie that is being cut into far too many pieces.
Betting: The Saints are 4-4 ATS at home this season – they haven’t had a winning ATS year at home since 2017.