The Minnesota Vikings will face the Green Bay Packers 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 Sam Darnold.
Is Sam Darnold Playing in Week 17?
Darnold is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Vikings’ 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 Sam Darnold in Week 17?
Darnold was great last week in Seattle (246 passing yards with three passing scores), has been great most of the season, and didn’t stumble in Lambeau (275 passing yards with three scores).
He’s thrown multiple touchdown passes in five of his past six games, and nothing in his profile suggests that regression is coming. With T.J. Hockenson proving healthy, Jordan Addison emerging, and Justin Jefferson Justin Jefferson-ing, this Vikings squad is a dangerous one to bet against at this point.
The Packers rank 27th in blitz rate this season (18%), a strategy that has been picked at by Minnesota lately. Since Week 12, Lamar Jackson is the only QB with a higher passing touchdown rate when not blitzed than Darnold — this could be a highly entertaining game that paves the way for another fun NFC North battle next week with the Lions and Vikings.
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.
Sam Darnold’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Darnold is projected to score 20.5 fantasy points in Week 17. This includes 265.5 passing yards, 1.7 passing touchdowns, and 1 interceptions. It also includes 5.7 rushing attempts for 20.9 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 Packers' Defense
The Green Bay Packers surge into the top 10 after delivering the NFL's first shutout of the season. Surprisingly, Defense+ actually "only" graded it as Green Bay's second-best game of the year at 85.4 (B), trailing last week's 89.7 grade in the win over Seattle.
Green Bay's shutout in Week 16 didn't grade as highly as its Week 15 performance because PFN's metrics weigh pass defense more than run defense. The Packers were just a little bit better defending the pass against the Seahawks, averaging more EPA per dropback (0.41 vs. 0.30) and a higher pass-defense success rate (71% vs. 63%).
Still, this unit has risen steadily thanks to a pass rush that has suddenly come alive. A week after posting a season-best 50% non-blitz pressure rate, Green Bay topped that with a new season-best rate of 51.4% vs. the New Orleans Saints.
It's only the third time this season a team has posted back-to-back games of at least a 50% non-blitz pressure rate (Chiefs did it Weeks 4-5, Commanders in Weeks 7-8).
The Packers are headed for a Wild Card spot with both the Lions and Vikings at 13-2. Still, if this level of pass rush can travel on the road in the playoffs, Green Bay will have a meaningful chance at a postseason upset.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Sam Darnold’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)
Packers at Vikings Trends and Insights
Green Bay Packers
Team: Since the beginning of October, the Packers are 0-2 against the Lions (-13 point differential) and 9-0 against the rest of the NFL (+124 point differential)
QB: Jordan Love’s average QB+ is a point higher this season on the road than at home – he’s the only quarterback among the four NFC favorites with a split favoring the road games.
Offense: In the first half on Monday night, Tucker Kraft (63 yards) had more receiving yards than the Saints had passing yards, and Josh Jacobs had as many catches as New Orleans had completions (four).
Defense: Green Bay has taken a double-digit lead into the halftime locker room in four of their past five games – in those four games, they’ve allowed a total of 13 points in the first 30 minutes.
Fantasy: Josh Jacobs has 108 first-quarter touches this season, the third most through 16 weeks of a season over the past decade (Adrian Peterson had 112 in 2015, and so did David Johnson in 2016).
Betting: Over tickets have come through in seven of Green Bay’s past 10 road divisional games.
Minnesota Vikings
Team: The Packers were the last team without a tie to Matthew Stafford to have defeated the Vikings (Week 17 of last season).
QB: Since Week 11, Sam Darnold is 29-of-38 with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions when in the red zone.
Offense: Minnesota has cashed in nine of 10 red zone trips over their past three games.
Defense: Over the past two weeks, the Vikings have held the Bears/Seahawks to three conversions on 22 third downs (13.6%).
Fantasy: Over the past two weeks, none of Jordan Addison’s 12 catches have gained 20 yards (career prior: one of every 4.2 receptions picked up 20 yards).
Betting: The Vikings are 6-2 ATS at home this season (previous two seasons: 6-12 ATS).