The Cleveland Browns will face the Miami Dolphins 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 QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Is Dorian Thompson-Robinson Playing in Week 17?
Updated at 2:35 PM ET on Sunday, December 29
Thompson-Robinson is active for today's game.
Making his first start of the season, Thompson-Robinson hurt his calf in the Cleveland Browns’ embarrassing offensive performance against the Cincinnati Bengals’ bottom-of-the-barrel defense. Head coach Kevin Stefanski already said DTR will start again if he is healthy enough to go. He was limited on Thursday and is reportedly feeling good.
We’ll continue to monitor the Browns’ 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 Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Week 17?
If you ever need to feel good about your quarterback (be it for your favorite team or your fantasy squad), throw on the game film from Cleveland’s loss in Cincinnati last week, and you’ll be in a better mental spot.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s sack count was higher than the yards he averaged per pass, and I’m not sure the box score (20-of-34 for 157 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions) even does it justice.
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
Could we get Jameis Winston back in our lives? DTR suffered a calf injury on Sunday and is being managed thus far. The Dolphins allow the third-highest deep completion percentage, a weakness that holds much more weight if it’s Winston under center.
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.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Thompson-Robinson is projected to score 9.6 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 150.3 passing yards, 0.1 passing touchdowns, and 2.7 interceptions. It also includes 5.2 rushing attempts for 57.2 yards and 0 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 Dolphins' Defense
The Miami Dolphins have had three different defensive coordinators in the last three years. Anthony Weaver replaced Vic Fangio, who in turn replaced Josh Boyer.
The net result of all that change has been virtually the same defense every season. Boyer's defense ranked 17th, Fangio's was 13th, and Weaver's is 12th after Week 16.
Miami's 76.5 (C) grade against the San Francisco 49ers represented the team's median performance to date, ranking eighth out of 15 games played. It's the seventh time the Dolphins have finished in the top 10 in Defense+ in a single week this season, tying their most in a single season since the metric began in 2019.
The Dolphins have been the third-best third-down defense this year (35%) and fourth-best red-zone defense (48.9% TD rate). Both those strengths came through again, with Miami holding San Francisco to 40% (2 of 5) in the red zone.
Overall, this unit executes better situationally than on a down-to-down basis. But that's still resulted in an above-average defense, which would have been enough for a third straight playoff appearance if the offense had maintained its level from the prior two seasons.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson’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 QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (vs. NYJ)
2) Lamar Jackson | BAL (at HOU)
3) Joe Burrow | CIN (vs. DEN)
4) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. ATL)
5) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. CAR)
6) Sam Darnold | MIN (vs. GB)
7) Kyler Murray | ARI (at LAR)
8) Jordan Love | GB (at MIN)
9) Bo Nix | DEN (at CIN)
10) Jared Goff | DET (at SF)
11) Brock Purdy | SF (vs. DET)
12) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at CLE)
13) Matthew Stafford | LAR (vs. ARI)
14) C.J. Stroud | HOU (vs. BAL)
15) Justin Herbert | LAC (at NE)
16) Patrick Mahomes | KC (at PIT)
17) Caleb Williams | CHI (vs. SEA)
18) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (at BUF)
19) Geno Smith | SEA (at CHI)
20) Bryce Young | CAR (at TB)
21) Cooper Rush | DAL (at PHI)
22) Joe Flacco | IND (at NYG)
23) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. KC)
24) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (at WAS)
25) Drake Maye | NE (vs. LAC)
26) Aidan O'Connell | LV (at NO)
27) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at CLE)
28) Mac Jones | JAX (vs. TEN)
29) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. DAL)
30) Mason Rudolph | TEN (at JAX)
31) Drew Lock | NYG (vs. IND)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (vs. LV)
33) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (vs. MIA)
Dolphins at Browns Trends and Insights
Miami Dolphins
Team: The dream remains—Miami hasn’t had a losing season since 2019 (they hadn’t had five straight winning seasons from 1997 to 2003).
QB: In 2022, Tua Tagovailoa averaged 9.6 air yards per throw. That rate dropped to 7.6 last season and sits at 5.7 through 16 weeks this season.
Offense: Over their past three games, 35.5% of Dolphin drives have resulted in a made field goal.
Defense: Miami has held their opponent out of the end zone in the majority of their red zone trips over their past three games (seven-of-13).
Fantasy: Tyreek doesn’t have a catch gaining more than 30 yards since Week 1 and has caught just five of 14 targets over the past two weeks (Week 14 vs NYJ: 10 catches on 14 targets)
Betting: Including the playoffs, the Dolphins are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 with a kickoff temperature under 40 degrees.
Cleveland Browns
Team: The Browns have locked in their ninth last-place divisional finish in 14 seasons.
QB: Dorian Thompson-Robinson posted a 63.5 (D) QB+ grade, the eighth-worst game by a Browns QB since 2019. Thompson-Robinson has only had five career qualifying games (15+ pass attempts), and yet, he has three of the eight worst games by a Browns QB since 2019.
Offense: The Browns have not scored in the first, second, or fourth quarters in consecutive games.
Defense: The list of quickest players to 100 career sacks now has Myles Garrett on it:
- Reggie White: 96 games played
- DeMarcus Ware: 113
- Bruce Smith: 115
- Myles Garrett: 115
Fantasy: Jerome Ford has seven games with 10+ touches this season and has produced 7.7% over expectations in the process.
Betting: The Browns are 0-4 ATS at home this season when not facing a divisional opponent (average cover margin: -13.8 PPG).