With fantasy football managers looking forward to their championship games, the Week 17 start/sit considerations will already be swirling. Using fantasy points allowed to the position over the past four weeks, we examine some intriguing start ’em and sit ’em considerations. Let’s take a look at the Week 17 matchups for Tyler Allgeier, J.K. Dobbins, Devin Singletary, Gabe Davis, and More.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Start ’ems
While this advice is primarily for helping with setting lineups in season-long leagues, it can also be useful advice when planning for Underdog Fantasy Best Ball drafts. All of the data below is from half-PPR scoring, which works perfectly with Underdog Fantasy’s standard scoring system.
Daniel Jones, QB | NYG vs. IND
At the time of writing this article, we have not seen the Colts’ defense in Week 16. However, against Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15, they completely capitulated, allowing a record comeback and 32.4 fantasy points to the QB position.
Daniel Jones has a ton of potential for fantasy production this week. He has scored 19 or more fantasy points in two of the last three weeks and has only dipped below 12 points into “bust” territory twice.
Jones has utilized his legs well this season, averaging 41.1 rushing yards and 0.33 rushing touchdowns per game. That gives him both a solid floor and an enticing ceiling for this week.
Tyler Allgeier, RB | ATL vs. ARI
We’ve really seen Tyler Allgeier establish himself as the lead back for the Atlanta Falcons in the past couple of weeks. Allgeier has carried the ball 35 times in the last two games, with four straight games seeing double-digit carries. It was also good to see him utilized more in the passing game in Week 16, with five targets and four receptions.
MORE: Week 17 Waiver Wire Pickups
This week, Allgeier gets a favorable matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have allowed an average of 32.3 fantasy points to opposing running backs in the last four games. In the last two weeks, they’ve allowed 35.2 and 35.1 fantasy points, respectively.
Gabe Davis, WR | BUF at CIN
Gabe Davis has been such a frustrating fantasy option this season. Trusting Davis on a week-to-week basis has been extremely tough, leaving him very much as a matchup-based streaming option. He found the end zone last week to finish with 12 fantasy points in half-PPR scoring.
This week, Davis gets a nice matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals’ pass defense. Despite facing relatively mediocre passing games in the form of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots, Cincinnati has allowed an average of 46.8 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers in the past two weeks. Both Davis and Stefon Diggs could have big days this week.
DJ Chark, WR | DET vs. CHI
DJ Chark has had a ton of success in the last few weeks. He’s gone over 90 receiving yards in three of the last four, registering four or more receptions in each from an average of six targets. Chark had a down week against the Jets in Week 15, but on either side of that, he’s been really good.
The matchup this week with the Chicago Bears is worth taking notice of. A bad weather forecast in Chicago helped them limit the Bills’ WRs to just 18.6 fantasy points last week. However, in the three weeks prior to that, they had allowed an average of 38.57 fantasy points per game. With the weather not a concern this week, Chark has the potential to deliver for fantasy managers.
Darren Waller, TE | LV vs. SF
Darren Waller has now put together two solid weeks back to back. After 48 yards and a touchdown in Week 15, he backed it up this past week with 58 receiving yards on four receptions. It was also good to see Waller’s target number jump from three to five, despite the less-than-ideal weather in Pittsburgh.
This game is a make-or-break one for the Raiders, so expect them to throw the kitchen sink at the 49ers in this rivalry game. With the 49ers one of the best teams against the run, we could see the Raiders passing a lot as they search for a crucial victory.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Sit ’ems
J.K. Dobbins, RB | BAL vs. PIT
It’s close to impossible to trust anyone in the Baltimore Ravens’ backfield right now. J.K. Dobbins managed another double-digit carry day last week, making it three straight. However, he saw his efficiency drop back down to earth with 59 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
Even then, 4.9 yards per attempt is a solid return. The problem is that with just 12-15 touches, Dobbins either needs to score or average close to eight yards per attempt to be a starting option in 12-team leagues.
This week, the Ravens face a Pittsburgh Steelers team that has stifled the run in the past two weeks. It is somewhat confusing because the Steelers were gashed by Dobbins and the Ravens back in Week 14.
In that game, Dobbins averaged eight yards per carry and found the end zone as Baltimore rushed for 215 yards in total. In the two weeks since then, Pittsburgh has allowed a total of 79 rushing yards.
Devin Singletary, RB | BUF at CIN
It might be tough to contemplate sitting Devin Singletary as he comes off a two-week stretch that has seen him score a total of 28 fantasy points, including 19.5 this past week against the Bears. It seems as though Buffalo has made a real effort to get the run game operating more in the past two games.
That has translated into 12.5 carries and 2.5 targets per game for Singletary. While that is a solid number, it leaves him needing to either be hyper-efficient or find the end zone to return top-25 value at the position.
MORE: Early Fantasy RB Rankings Week 17
This week, the Bills’ run game faces a really tough matchup with the Bengals. In the last four weeks, Cincinnati has allowed an average of 14.03 fantasy points per game to RBs. A big part of that was their 28.2 fantasy points allowed to the Chiefs’ running backs in Week 13.
Since then, the Bengals have held opposing run games to an average of 74.7 rushing yards and 9.3 fantasy ppg to RBs. If it were just Singletary working in the run game, then he would at least have decent value this week in 14-team formats. However, with Josh Allen and James Cook both seeing a significant amount of work, there’s a tough path to Singletary being a starting option this week.
Mark Andrews, TE | BAL vs. PIT
The thought of benching Mark Andrews in fantasy championships is hard to consider. However, if Tyler Huntley is the starting QB, it’s a huge risk to ride Andrews this week and expect him to be a stud again. In the past three weeks with Huntley, Andrews has an average of six targets, 2.67 receptions, and 31 receiving yards per game.
If Lamar Jackson is back under center, then this changes a little. In the two games that Jackson started after Andrews got back during the bye week, he finished with five receptions and 56.5 receiving yards per game. While that is not exactly convincing, it would be hard to bench Andrews with his starting QB back.