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 WR Jakobi Meyers.
Is Jakobi Meyers Playing in Week 17?
Meyers 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 Jakobi Meyers in Week 17?
There is next to no room for error for Jakobi Meyers. Early in the season, I was fine with betting on that profile because his aDOT was low enough to ensure some level of efficiency, even with below-average quarterback play, but that hasn’t been the case lately.
- Weeks 1-12: 8.9 aDOT
- Weeks 13-16: 13.2 aDOT
We know that the quality of the target is always going to be low, so I’m not interested in introducing the variance that comes with extending routes in the Vegas passing game.
Meyers is a good player but not good enough for me to trust him with the fate of my team, even in a plus matchup.
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.
Jakobi Meyers’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Meyers is projected to score 14.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.4 receptions for 61 yards and 0.4 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.
Jakobi Meyers’ 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)
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.