The Baltimore Ravens will face the Houston Texans 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 Rashod Bateman.
Is Rashod Bateman Playing in Week 17?
Bateman is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play on Christmas.
We’ll continue to monitor the Ravens’ 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 Rashod Bateman in Week 17?
Bateman has eight touchdowns in 15 games this season, not bad for a player who had four in 35 games through his first 35. Has anything really changed, or is he just running hot?
His catch rate (61.9%) is in line with his career norm (61.4%), while his on-field target share is actually at a career low. The low volume is, naturally, the result of his routes extending further downfield (15.8-yard aDOT), and while I spent time earlier walking you through what I like about Lamar Jackson’s growth, this is too thin of a profile to bet on this time of year in this spot.
The Texans are the fourth-best yards-per-play defense in the league, a ranking that has been buoyed by them being the best defense against deep passes. Through 16 weeks, they’ve coughed up just 8.3 yards per deep pass, a mark more than three yards below the league average and removing any level of stability for a player who relies on those splash plays to pay off.
Every summer, we get hype videos and optimistic quotes about Bateman. He’s returned enough value this season because of the touchdown rate, but I’m still not sold on him as a viable weekly option. That goes for the final two weeks of this season and, barring significant changes, into next season.
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.
Rashod Bateman’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
As of Thursday, Bateman is projected to score 10.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.6 receptions for 53 yards and 0.3 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 Texans' Defense
The Houston Texans defense has become the team's backbone this season, but the unit delivered one of its worst performances in the Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Houston had its second-lowest Defense+ grade of the season (70.4, C-), with the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts being the only lower grade.
The Texans' pass defense had arguably its worst game of the year, posting season-lows in pass success rate (46.7%) and EPA per dropback (-0.34). Houston’s ferocious pass rush has carried the unit for much of the season but couldn’t take advantage of a Chiefs offensive line that has been leaky for most of the year.
The Texans recorded their fourth-lowest sack rate (2.4%) all season, bringing down Patrick Mahomes just one time.
Overall, any unit led by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. up front will generate strong sack totals, so this shouldn’t be a weakness that carries over into the postseason. But Houston has the lowest Offense+ grade of any team in the field, leaving this unit with very little margin for error when its strengths aren’t clicking.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Rashod Bateman’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 AM ET on Wednesday, December 25. 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) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. DAL)
8) CeeDee Lamb | DAL (at PHI)
9) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. ATL)
10) Davante Adams | NYJ (at BUF)
11) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at CLE)
12) Tee Higgins | CIN (vs. DEN)
13) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
14) Courtland Sutton | DEN (at CIN)
15) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at NE)
16) Drake London | ATL (at WAS)
17) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at CHI)
18) Malik Nabers | NYG (vs. IND)
19) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. ARI)
20) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (at BUF)
21) Jauan Jennings | SF (vs. DET)
22) Zay Flowers | BAL (at HOU)
23) DJ Moore | CHI (vs. SEA)
24) Jakobi Meyers | LV (at NO)
25) Keenan Allen | CHI (vs. SEA)
26) Jordan Addison | MIN (vs. GB)
27) DK Metcalf | SEA (at CHI)
28) George Pickens | PIT (vs. KC)
29) Calvin Ridley | TEN (at JAX)
30) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. DAL)
31) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. NYJ)
32) Adam Thielen | CAR (at TB)
33) Jameson Williams | DET (at SF)
34) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (vs. DET)
35) Jayden Reed | GB (at MIN)
36) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at PIT)
37) Xavier Worthy | KC (at PIT)
38) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (at LAR)
39) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at CLE)
40) Darnell Mooney | ATL (at WAS)
41) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (vs. MIA)
42) Josh Downs | IND (at NYG)
43) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. CAR)
44) Hollywood Brown | KC (at PIT)
45) Rome Odunze | CHI (vs. SEA)
46) Romeo Doubs | GB (at MIN)
47) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (at NYG)
49) Rashod Bateman | BAL (at HOU)
50) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at NE)
51) Jalen Coker | CAR (at TB)
52) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. LAC)
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) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. LAC)
75) Malik Washington | MIA (at CLE)
76) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (vs. ATL)
77) Brandin Cooks | DAL (at PHI)
78) Sterling Shepard | TB (vs. CAR)
79) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at CHI)
80) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. ARI)
81) Adonai Mitchell | IND (at NYG)
82) Dyami Brown | WAS (vs. ATL)
83) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (at MIN)
84) Alec Pierce | IND (at NYG)
85) Allen Lazard | NYJ (at BUF)
86) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. KC)
87) Darius Slayton | NYG (vs. IND)
88) Ricky Pearsall | SF (vs. DET)
89) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (at PHI)
90) Jamison Crowder | WAS (vs. ATL)
91) Tyler Boyd | TEN (at JAX)
92) Troy Franklin | DEN (at CIN)
93) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (vs. LV)
94) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. NYJ)
95) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. ARI)
96) Jalen Nailor | MIN (vs. GB)
97) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (at PHI)
98) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at PIT)
99) Michael Woods II | CLE (vs. MIA)
100) Justin Watson | KC (at PIT)
Ravens at Texans Trends and Insight
Baltimore Ravens
Team: Since the start of the last regular season, no team has had more double-digit point wins than the Ravens.
QB: Lamar Jackson has set a career-high for touchdown passes in a season and now has tossed multiple scores in eight of his past nine games (three TD passes in his first three games this season).
Offense: Baltimore was 0-of-2 in terms of turning goal-to-go drives into touchdowns in Week 1 – they are 28-of-30 since
Defense: In Weeks 1-10, Baltimore allowed 7.9 yards per pass – that rate sits at 5.9 since.
Fantasy: Derrick Henry has failed to score a touchdown in four straight games, the first time he has done that since opening the 2018 season with six-in-a-row. Marcus Mariota led that Titans team in passing and Corey Davis in receiving – yea, it’s been a minute.
Betting: The Ravens blew out the Dolphins in Week 17 last season. Since then, they are 0-4 ATS on short rest, failing to cover by an average of 7.4 points in those games.
Houston Texans
Team: The Texans haven’t won a game in consecutive weeks since Weeks 5-6 (their wins in Week 13 and 15 were separated by their bye).
QB: C.J. Stroud has weapons around him, but the loss of Tank Dell is impactful in more ways than one.
- Yards Per Attempt with Dell: 8.0
- Yards Per Attempt without Dell: 7.0 (down 12.5%)
- Air Yards Per Non-Pressured Pass with Dell: 8.8
- Air Yards Per Non-Pressured Pass without Dell: 6.6 (down 25%)
- Deep Passer Rating with Dell: 107.4
- Deep Passer Rating without Dell: 90 (down 16.2%)
Offense: The vertical game this season simply hasn’t been clicking. In his first 19 games, Stroud didn’t throw an interception on 147 deep pass attempts – he has six INTs on 97 such attempts since.
Defense: Houston sits at 8-1 when holding opponents to a sub-40% conversion rate on third down (1-5 otherwise).
Fantasy: Dalton Schultz has scored at least 15 PPR points in two of his past three games and posted a 21.6% target share on Saturday against the Chiefs – his role could be as favorable this week as any up to this point given the matchup and injury to Dell.
Betting: Unders are 9-3-1 in Houston’s past 13 home games, most recently was Week 15’s 20-12 win over the Dolphins (closing total: 46.5 points).