The Arizona Cardinals will face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Cardinals and Rams skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Kyler Murray, QB
Kyler Murray simply hasn’t been the fantasy asset we dreamt of this offseason. And while this matchup doesn’t scare me on the surface, the sheer fact that the Rams boast the fifth-best red-zone defense is enough for me to consider benching Murray if I have access to upside elsewhere.
We’ve seen Arizona’s signal-caller throw at least as many interceptions as touchdown passes in five straight games, and Murray’s TD pass rate over his past seven (2.2%) falls short of what passing savants like Daniel Jones and Deshaun Watson have put on film this season (both at 2.3%).
It goes without saying that Murray is always one long run away from saving his fantasy day, which is why he’s still hovering around that QB12 mark for me.
But even the numbers on the ground have been spotty. After reaching 45 rushing yards in five of seven games to open this season, he’s cleared 21 yards in just two of eight.
Matthew Stafford, QB
Matthew Stafford hasn’t been asked to do much lately, and that’s crushed his fantasy upside (46 pass attempts for 270 yards and one touchdown total over his past two games). His number also wasn’t called in a major way in the first meeting with the Cardinals (19 of 27 for 216 yards).
I worry that could be the case here. Arizona owns the second-worst third-down defense in the NFL through 16 weeks, so I’m not worried about what Stafford can do when given the opportunity. But without rushing potential, a low-volume game through the air is almost impossible to overcome.
There’s not much risk in starting Stafford if you have a loaded roster or play in a 2QB league. It’s the lack of upside that prevents me from slotting him higher than QB15.
Trey Benson, RB
Trey Benson was a logical pick-and-stash option all season long, but James Conner has stayed as healthy as ever, leaving the rookie on the bench.
Benson isn’t close to stand-alone value (no more than five carries in a game over the past month) and doesn’t need to be held if you need value out of every player. He sat out last week with an ankle injury, and I’m more than willing to move on from any player like this at less than full strength.
Blake Corum, RB
Blake Corum gets his drive or two a game, and that’s cute. It’s also infuriating for those holding Kyren Williams’ bags, but that’s all it is. It’s just a wrinkle, not a feature.
The rookie has posted a sub-20% snap share in three consecutive games and for the bulk of the season, outside of an outlier Week 13 win against the Saints in which he was on the field for 32.7% of the Rams’ plays.
Corum has yet to clear eight touches in a game this year. While holding a handcuff was a logical strategy up to this point, you’re in go-for-it mode now. You don’t need to cut ties with Corum, but if you’re trying to maximize the number of Flex options you have in a do-or-die situation, I’d much rather use that roster spot for a home-run-hitting receiver or a secondary RB where there are questions about the starter.
As things stand right now, we have no reason to think that Williams will see anything less than his standard workload this week, which means that Corum doesn’t project as a usable piece.
James Conner, RB
Conner has had consecutive games with a 40+ yard carry—he had one such run in his career with the Cardinals prior (794 rush attempts). That has fueled the veteran back being fantasy’s RB1 over the past three weeks (6.5 PPR points ahead of Jahmyr Gibbs).
I think most of us would have given better odds to Conner losing his role by December than pacing the position in scoring, but he looks great, and maybe we shouldn’t be surprised.
James Conner, Lord Of The (Fantasy) Rings
- Week 16, 2024 at Panthers: 26.6 FP (RB6)
- Week 17, 2023 at Eagles: 26.3 FP (RB4)
- Week 16, 2023 at Bears: 22.2 FP (RB4)
- Week 17, 2022 at Falcons: 14.0 FP (RB15)
- Week 16, 2022 vs. Buccaneers: 25.0 FP (RB4)
He’s the first RB aged 29 or older to have 100 rush yards, a touchdown, and 25 receiving yards in consecutive games since Latavius Murray (2019). He joined this list in the first half last week against the Panthers.
I could keep piling up the stats, but I think you get the picture. You’re playing Conner (21-122-1 against the Rams in Week 2) and loving the value he is providing you with at the perfect time.
Kyren Williams, RB
Kyren Williams has a league-high 15 games with 20+ carries since the beginning of last season, a run that includes each of his past three contests (81 carries). That volume is a pretty safe bet against a defense that has been taking on water since its Week 11 bye and just gave up 152 yards and two scores on 25 carries to Chuba Hubbard.
The Rams didn’t have a 10-yard carry in their first meeting with the Cardinals and Williams turned his 12 attempts into just 25 yards, but these are two different teams now. Even in a spot where he wasn’t effective, Williams ran for a touchdown and finished with 6.7 points in the passing game.
The efficiency concerns and limited target earning of late are things we can tackle in the offseason — you’re playing Williams this week as a top-12 back and feeling just fine about it.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR
There are 119 players who have cleared 60 receiving yards in a game from Weeks 9-16, over 3.5 per team, and yet, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s name is not on that list.
Yikes.
We saw him targeted with three of Kyler Murray’s first four passes a week ago, and commitment like that this week should pay off against the seventh-worst yards-per-play defense in the league, if sustained.
Half of Harrison’s receptions for the entire game last week came in that first wave of passes, and that, too, was in a very favorable spot (at Panthers). The Rams allow deep touchdown passes at the seventh-highest rate, which is another flaw that Harrison has the potential to exploit. If we are being honest, this is the only reason I’m still ranking him as a viable Flex play.
If you have Harrison on your roster and are still playing impactful games, the odds are good that you’ve settled on a replacement. Whether it is a Jalen McMillan type that has come on lately or a high-floor option like Adam Thielen, you’ve probably moved on, and at large, I think that’s 100% the right play.
This season, Chris Godwin has more finishes inside the top 20 than Harrison — he dislocated his ankle in Week 7.
This season, Quentin Johnston has more finishes inside the top 40 than Harrison — we still think that he may have been lying on his NFL résumé with the “can catch” sentence.
There might be a post-hype price tag that sucks me in next season, but for the remainder of 2024, you’re willfully ignoring all of the data points we have if you’re playing him with confidence.
Cooper Kupp, WR
The Jets are a top-10 defense in terms of pressure rate, and that was the driving factor behind fading Cooper Kupp in Week 16:
Kupp’s yards per route when his QB is pressured by season:
- 2021: 2.58 yards
- 2022: 2.05
- 2023: 1.80 (Nacua: 1.64)
- 2024: 0.72 (Nacua: 3.00)
That worked out, and while I think that Kupp’s best days are behind him, the non-pressured numbers are plenty usable, and that’s the version we should get this week. For the season, the Cardinals rank 25th in pressure rate, and assuming that they are reading this, why wouldn’t they? They may try to correct that by ramping up the aggression.
Doesn’t scare me.
Arizona ranks 27th in pressure rate when blitzing this season, leaving Matthew Stafford in a spot to pick apart this secondary for the better part of 60 minutes. None of my concerns around Kupp apply for this matchup, and I have him locked in as a top-20 asset, checking in ahead of budding stars like Malik Nabers and Garrett Wilson.
Puka Nacua, WR
Remember when Puka Nacua threw a punch against the Seahawks back in early November? Since that game, his 17-game pace is for a cool 138 catches. It’s become clear that the NFL has no answer for him, and instead of him fading as the league gets film on him, he’s getting better.
Nacua has caught 87.1% of his targets over the past three weeks, up from 64.6% in his previous five games. As long as Matthew Stafford is under center, this is as safe of an asset as there is in the game. Depending on your draft slot next season, you might not get the chance to roster Nacua next season – make the most of it this year!
Demarcus Robinson, WR
Matthew Stafford is the receiver elevator, but even his powers are limited. As Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua soak up all meaningful usage in offense, there is no meat left on the bone for the remaining Rams.
In Robinson’s case, literally no meat.
His 60 routes over the past three weeks have netted exactly zero receptions. This is just the latest example of a third pass catcher having an awfully difficult time sustaining any level of fantasy value. The Jets, Bears, Eagles, Buccaneers, and Seahawks are all other examples of this.
Be careful in assuming that such a role can thrive (I’m looking at you, Minnesota fans, who want Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson to all grade as must-starts).
Michael Wilson, WR
Am I ready to get sucked in again?
The Cardinals have turned back to Michael Wilson as a full-time receiver, but the counting numbers haven’t followed suit. There’s not a world in which you’re going this low in the rankings for your Flex, so if you’re reading this section, it’s because you have some interest either in Dynasty or the 2025 redraft.
Cautious optimism.
I continue to believe that the way for Wilson to shift from afterthought to Flex-y is to be used as a vertical threat. His aDOT over his past five games is up 37.4% from where it stood in his previous three games. If we see that stick as 2024 comes to an end, I’ll be investing late-round draft capital in him again next season.
Trey McBride, TE
Nobody is perfect. Once a month, we get duds from Trey McBride, and that’s simply the price of doing business.
- Week 3 vs. Detroit Lions: Three catches for 25 yards
- Week 9 vs. Chicago Bears: Three catches for 35 yards
- Week 16 at Carolina Panthers: Three catches for 20 yards
There’s nothing in McBride’s profile to sweat, and he remains one of the best in the game. In the Week 2 meeting with the Rams, he hauled in all six of his targets for 67 yards.
That’s on par with what you should expect, and maybe Regression Claus can come to town with a score. McBride is going to be a lineup staple for years to come and will be on the shortlist for TE1 honors this summer in terms of ADP.
