The Dallas Cowboys will face the Philadelphia Eagles 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 WR Brandin Cooks.
Is Brandin Cooks Playing in Week 17?
Cooks is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Cowboys’ 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 Brandin Cooks in Week 17?
Cooks’ playing time is inching up, but he’s simply going to run out of time. We saw signs of decline last season; even if you think there is gas left in the tank, this Cooper Rush-led offense doesn’t have much of a path to accessing that.
In his eight appearances this season, Cooks is averaging just 0.80 yards per route. He’s well off of fantasy radars in all formats at this point and might have a hard time finding a suitor when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season wraps.
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.
Brandin Cooks’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Cooks is projected to score 7.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2.7 receptions for 31.5 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 Eagles' Defense
The Philadelphia Eagles remain the second-ranked defense despite collapsing at the end of the Week 16 loss to the Washington Commanders, which snapped their franchise-record 10-game win streak. But while the ending was disappointing, the Eagles' overall performance continued some encouraging trends.
The Eagles had their best defensive EPA per rush (0.74) all season, thanks to forcing two fumbles on Brian Robinson Jr. Philadelphia leads the league in defensive EPA per rush (0.18) for the season while still ranking third in pass success rate.
However, Sunday was not the pass defense's best day, with the Eagles recording -0.31 EPA per dropback. That was their second-worst performance all season, which nullified the unit producing its highest takeaway rate (38.5%) in any game as well.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson's mid-game ejection hurt the defense tremendously. Following the safety's ejection early in the third quarter, the Eagles averaged a horrendous -0.64 EPA per dropback. Philly had been treading water with -0.11 EPA per dropback prior to his departure.
The good news is that circumstance won't have any residual effect on the defense beyond Sunday, though it doesn't speak well to the safety depth. With upcoming matchups against backup quarterbacks for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, Philadelphia's defense is still well-positioned for a strong finish to the regular season.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Brandin Cooks’ 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 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (vs. DEN)
2) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. ARI)
3) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (at SF)
4) Justin Jefferson | MIN (vs. GB)
5) Mike Evans | TB (vs. CAR)
6) Nico Collins | HOU (vs. BAL)
7) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. ATL)
8) Davante Adams | NYJ (at BUF)
9) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at CLE)
10) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. DAL)
11) Tee Higgins | CIN (vs. DEN)
12) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
13) Courtland Sutton | DEN (at CIN)
14) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at NE)
15) Drake London | ATL (at WAS)
16) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at CHI)
17) Malik Nabers | NYG (vs. IND)
18) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. ARI)
19) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (at BUF)
20) Jauan Jennings | SF (vs. DET)
21) Zay Flowers | BAL (at HOU)
22) Keenan Allen | CHI (vs. SEA)
23) DJ Moore | CHI (vs. SEA)
24) Jakobi Meyers | LV (at NO)
25) Jordan Addison | MIN (vs. GB)
26) DK Metcalf | SEA (at CHI)
27) George Pickens | PIT (vs. KC)
28) Calvin Ridley | TEN (at JAX)
29) Adam Thielen | CAR (at TB)
30) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. NYJ)
31) Jameson Williams | DET (at SF)
32) Josh Downs | IND (at NYG)
33) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (vs. DET)
34) Jayden Reed | GB (at MIN)
35) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. DAL)
36) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at PIT)
37) Xavier Worthy | KC (at PIT)
38) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (at LAR)
39) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. CAR)
40) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at CLE)
41) Darnell Mooney | ATL (at WAS)
42) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (vs. MIA)
43) Hollywood Brown | KC (at PIT)
44) Rome Odunze | CHI (vs. SEA)
45) Romeo Doubs | GB (at MIN)
46) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (at NYG)
47) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Rashod Bateman | BAL (at HOU)
49) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at NE)
50) Jalen Coker | CAR (at TB)
51) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. LAC)
52) Xavier Legette | CAR (at TB)
53) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (vs. IND)
54) Christian Watson | GB (at MIN)
55) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (at JAX)
56) Elijah Moore | CLE (vs. MIA)
57) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (vs. NYJ)
58) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. KC)
59) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at NE)
60) Robert Woods | HOU (vs. BAL)
61) Parker Washington | JAX (vs. TEN)
62) Tim Patrick | DET (at SF)
63) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (at WAS)
64) John Metchie III | HOU (vs. BAL)
65) Keon Coleman | BUF (vs. NYJ)
66) David Moore | CAR (at TB)
67) Devaughn Vele | DEN (at CIN)
68) Michael Wilson | ARI (at LAR)
69) Tre Tucker | LV (at NO)
70) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. LAC)
71) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. KC)
72) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (at CIN)
73) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (vs. DEN)
74) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (vs. ATL)
75) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. LAC)
76) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (at PHI)
77) Malik Washington | MIA (at CLE)
78) Brandin Cooks | DAL (at PHI)
79) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at CHI)
80) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. ARI)
81) Adonai Mitchell | IND (at NYG)
82) Alec Pierce | IND (at NYG)
83) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (at MIN)
84) Allen Lazard | NYJ (at BUF)
85) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. KC)
86) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (at PHI)
87) Darius Slayton | NYG (vs. IND)
88) Ricky Pearsall | SF (vs. DET)
89) Jamison Crowder | WAS (vs. ATL)
90) Tyler Boyd | TEN (at JAX)
91) Troy Franklin | DEN (at CIN)
92) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (vs. LV)
93) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. NYJ)
94) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. ARI)
95) Jalen Nailor | MIN (vs. GB)
96) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at PIT)
97) Michael Woods II | CLE (vs. MIA)
98) Justin Watson | KC (at PIT)
99) Devin Duvernay | JAX (vs. TEN)
100) Greg Dortch | ARI (at LAR)
101) Dante Pettis | CHI (vs. SEA)
102) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (at CIN)
103) Curtis Samuel | BUF (vs. NYJ)
104) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. DAL)
105) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (vs. LV)
106) Tylan Wallace | BAL (at HOU)
107) DJ Chark | LAC (at NE)
108) River Cracraft | MIA (at CLE)
109) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (vs. ATL)
110) Jalin Hyatt | NYG (vs. IND)
111) Ja'Lynn Polk | NE (vs. LAC)
Cowboys at Eagles Trends and Insights
Dallas Cowboys
Team: The Cowboys are 10-3 in their last 13 regular season games played on or after November 19 (they are 9-10 otherwise).
QB: The Cooper Rush experience may not be perfect, but the numbers don’t lie -- in 2024, the splits by starting QB:
- Win%: Rush (57.1%), Dak Prescott (37.5%)
- Non-TO%: Rush (87.8%), Prescott (85.1%)
- Red Zone TD%: Rush (55%), Prescott (45.5%)
Offense: Dallas has scored on at least half of their drives in consecutive games after having one such performance this year prior.
Defense: Opponents have scored a touchdown against Dallas on 26-of-29 goal-to-go trips this season and are a perfect 13-of-13 since Week 9 in such situations.
Fantasy: Brandon Aubrey has more 55+ yard made field goals this season (six) than the Cowboys have 55+ yard plays during the regular season since the start of 2023 (five).
Betting: Over tickets have cashed in four of Dallas’ past five road covers
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: Can they get lucky win #13 this week? This franchise has hit that total three times, and they’ve won the NFC in each instance (2004, 2017, and 2022)
QB: Philadelphia’s one-seed shots took a huge shot on Sunday – none of the QBs on the three favorites in the NFC have a greater drop in QB+ from home to road than Jalen Hurts.
Offense: Philadelphia was just three-of-16 on third down against Washington (18.8%), their second-worst rate of the season.
Defense: The Eagles forced a turnover on 38.5% of Commander drives last week and found a way to lose. In their first seven games this season with a double-digit forced turnover percentage, Philadelphia was 7-0 and had outscored their opponents by 93 points.
Fantasy: Saquon Barkley ran for 109 yards in the first quarter against the Commanders on Sunday, giving him the most in a first quarter since 2011. Who did he unseat? Saquon Barkley in 2019 – against the Commanders – on December 22 (2019).
Betting: Overs are 8-3 in Philadelphia’s past 11 home divisional games.