The Tennessee Titans will face the Jacksonville Jaguars 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 RB Tyjae Spears.
Is Tyjae Spears Playing in Week 17?
Spears is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he will play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Titans’ 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 Tyjae Spears in Week 17?
Spears has set a season-high in snap share in consecutive weeks (55.4% in Week 15 against the Bengals and 59.6% on Sunday in Indianapolis), clearing 21 PPR points (and 15 expected) in both of those contests.
Predictive?
I’d be careful. Both of those games saw north of 50 points scored, and, as of this writing, you’d get +280 odds to see this game do that. Without such a positive game-script environment, I have my doubts that a Titans committee can give fantasy managers usable production, even against a soft defense.
Spears isn’t out of the question if you’re lacking an option; he’s sitting at RB30 in my rankings, but if it came down to him or a Darnell Mooney type, I’d side with the pass catcher.
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.
Tyjae Spears’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Sunday morning, Spears is projected to score 15.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 17.7 rushing attempts for 79.7 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 1.6 receptions for 29.5 yards and 0.1 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 Jaguars' Defense
The Jaguars didn't look awful against the Raiders, but that's a fairly low bar to clear. Jacksonville's 75.3 grade in Week 16 was the team's fifth-best in 2024, but it was also the third-lowest by any defense in a game vs. Vegas this season.
The Jaguars don't rank above average in a single metric that goes into Defense+. They're close on defensive EPA per rush (0.07), which ranks 16th and technically better than the league average of 0.05.
Last year, Mike Caldwell's firing was viewed as a sacrificial lamb for Doug Pederson, and the defense has gotten considerably worse. It seems highly unlikely Pederson and Ryan Nielsen can make a case that things will only get better in Year 2 of their partnership.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Tyjae Spears’ 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 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. DAL)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (at SF)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (at HOU)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at WAS)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (at MIN)
6) Jonathan Taylor | IND (at NYG)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. DEN)
8) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. ARI)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at CLE)
10) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. CAR)
11) James Conner | ARI (at LAR)
12) James Cook | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Tyjae Spears | TEN (at JAX)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (at BUF)
15) Joe Mixon | HOU (vs. BAL)
16) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at CHI)
17) Aaron Jones | MIN (vs. GB)
18) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. MIA)
19) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
20) D'Andre Swift | CHI (vs. SEA)
21) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at PHI)
22) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (vs. IND)
23) Isaac Guerendo | SF (vs. DET)
24) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. LAC)
25) Rachaad White | TB (vs. CAR)
26) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at NE)
27) Alexander Mattison | LV (at NO)
28) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. KC)
29) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at PIT)
30) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at NE)
31) Tank Bigsby | JAX (vs. TEN)
32) Javonte Williams | DEN (at CIN)
33) Kendre Miller | NO (vs. LV)
34) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. KC)
35) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
36) Ameer Abdullah | LV (at NO)
37) Kareem Hunt | KC (at PIT)
38) Devin Singletary | NYG (vs. IND)
39) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at WAS)
40) Audric Estimé | DEN (at CIN)
41) Ray Davis | BUF (vs. NYJ)
42) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at CLE)
43) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. LAC)
44) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. DAL)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (at SF)
46) Cam Akers | MIN (vs. GB)
47) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. ARI)
49) Roschon Johnson | CHI (vs. SEA)
50) Braelon Allen | NYJ (at BUF)
51) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (vs. DET)
52) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (vs. ATL)
53) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (at BUF)
54) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (at CIN)
55) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (vs. MIA)
56) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. LV)
57) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. KC)
58) Emanuel Wilson | GB (at MIN)
59) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (at LAR)
60) Chris Brooks | GB (at MIN)
61) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (vs. MIA)
62) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (vs. DET)
63) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at HOU)
64) Trey Benson | ARI (at LAR)
65) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at TB)
66) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. CAR)
67) Israel Abanikanda | SF (vs. DET)
68) Michael Carter | ARI (at LAR)
69) Samaje Perine | KC (at PIT)
70) Ezekiel Elliott | DAL (at PHI)
71) Mike Boone | CAR (at TB)
72) Khalil Herbert | CIN (vs. DEN)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (vs. BAL)
74) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at CLE)
75) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (vs. DET)
76) Trey Sermon | IND (at NYG)
77) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
78) Sione Vaki | DET (at SF)
79) Hunter Luepke | DAL (at PHI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (vs. BAL)
81) Alec Ingold | MIA (at CLE)
82) Tyler Goodson | IND (at NYG)
83) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at NE)
84) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at CHI)
85) Jordan Mims | NO (vs. LV)
86) Rasheen Ali | BAL (at HOU)
87) Ty Chandler | MIN (vs. GB)
88) C.J. Ham | MIN (vs. GB)
89) Michael Burton | DEN (at CIN)
90) Julius Chestnut | TEN (at JAX)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (vs. IND)
92) Dylan Laube | LV (at NO)
93) Adam Prentice | NO (vs. LV)
94) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at HOU)
95) Carson Steele | KC (at PIT)
96) Keilan Robinson | JAX (vs. TEN)
97) Darrynton Evans | BUF (vs. NYJ)
98) Blake Watson | DEN (at CIN)
99) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at PIT)
Titans at Jaguars Trends and Insights
Tennessee Titans
Team: Tennessee has lost consecutive games when scoring at least 27 points – they had two such losses in their previous 86 games.
QB: Mason Rudolph isn’t leading an offense, but he’s getting rid of the ball – he has more touchdown passes (eight) than sacks this season (seven).
Offense: The Titans are seven-of-seven in the red zone over their past two games, which is great, but they have only converted one fourth-down pass since the beginning of November.
Defense: The Titans have allowed over 38 yards per drive three times this season – they’ve all come in December.
Fantasy: Calvin Ridley is the third Titan receiver over the past 20 years to have seven receptions and three touchdowns, gaining 30+ yards. The others? A.J. Brown (2019-20) and DeAndre Hopkins (2023).
Betting: Tennessee is 2-13 ATS. Unless they cover each of their final two games, they will finish as the worst ATS team of the 2000s up to this point (the 2007 Ravens and the 2014 Titans both finished 3-13 ATS).
Jacksonville Jaguars
Team: Jacksonville was embarrassed in Detroit (Week 11: 52-6 loss), but every Jaguar game since has been decided by seven or fewer points.
QB: Mac Jones completed his first 20+ yard pass of the season last week, which traveled 21+ yards in the air. It was a 62-yard Brian Thomas Jr. score.
Offense: Since Week 8, the Jaguars have turned the ball over on 18.1% of their offensive drives.
Defense: The Jaguars have not forced a turnover in five straight games (10 such performances this season).
Fantasy: Brian Thomas Jr. is one of three receivers since 2000 to post 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns through 16 weeks of his rookie season – and all came from LSU (Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 and Ja’Marr Chase in 2021).
Betting: The Jaguars are just 3-9-1 ATS in their past 13 home December games.