Raiders WR Davante Adams let you down big time with just 1 reception for 4 yards in Monday's loss to the Chiefs. His 6 targets marked the fewest he'd seen in a game since Week 6 and his third-lowest total of the season. But if your team survived that performance and advanced anyway, don't overrate Adams' rough day in making your Week 17 lineup decisions. The bad game came just a week after Adams delivered an 8-101-1 receiving line against the Chargers and marked the first time since Week 9 that he finished a game with fewer than 5 receptions. The Chiefs have been the fifth-toughest scoring matchup for WRs this season, by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. And the defense has been legitimately tough against the pass, ranking fifth in DVOA. Adams gets a more favorable matchup with the Colts in Week 17. Indy has also been a negative scoring matchup for WRs (ninth-toughest) but ranks just 14th in pass DVOA. Expect Adams to settle in WR2 territory of our Week 17 rankings.
Raiders RB Zamir White racked up 145 yards on 22 carries in Monday's win over the Chiefs. He had just seven rushes for 33 yards at halftime but loaded up in the fourth quarter, as Vegas ran out the clock. White tallied 64 of his yards on just his final three runs to get to the 2-minute warning. That followed his solid 17-69-1 effort (plus 3 receptions for 16 yards) in the Week 15 beatdown of the Chargers. But RB Josh Jacobs seems likely to be ready for Week 17. He was officially questionable for the K.C. game, though it didn't sound like he actually got close to playing. Jacobs managed just one limited practice for Week 16, sandwiched between two missed days. White belongs on a fantasy roster heading into Week 17, but don't expect him to be usable unless Jacobs remains out. White's past two weeks have made his dynasty outlook much more interesting, after he had basically done nothing through nearly his first two seasons. Consider White more of a "hold" than a "buy," though. He's no lock to take over the backfield even if Jacobs leaves in free agency.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker handled 16 of 19 team carries in Sunday's win over Tennessee. That’s strong volume, considering Walker's missed practices and questionable status (ankle) entering the weekend. Still, he managed just 3.4 YPC while matching Zach Charbonnet in targets (2). Walker’s now caught exactly 1 pass in five of his past seven matchups. Week 17 turns up a Steelers matchup that’s slightly favorable.
49ers QB Brock Purdy suffered a stinger in the fourth quarter of Monday night's game vs. the Ravens. He's been cleared to return, according to ESPN's Lisa Salters, but Purdy has remained on the sidelines with San Francisco trailing by 14. We'll look for more info on Purdy's status, but it sounds like we should expect him to be available for Week 17's game vs. the Commanders.
Ravens WR Zay Flowers (foot) is active for tonight's game vs. the 49ers. He put in full practices on Friday and Saturday, so we’re not expecting the foot to be a significant factor.
Giants QB Tommy DeVito was benched at halftime of Monday's game vs. the Eagles. He produced just three points and 55 passing yards in the game's first 30 minutes. After a few surprisingly competent starts, DeVito has bottomed out the past two weeks. QB Tyrod Taylor will play the second half vs. Philadelphia and figures to start the final two games of the season. He should bring a bit more stability to the Giants' offense.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence has been diagnosed with a sprained right shoulder, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "It’s not believed to be a major injury to his throwing shoulder, but it’s unclear how this affects his availability this week," Rapoport adds. Lawrence has yet to miss an NFL start through three years, including playing the week after a high-ankle sprain and a concussion this season. We'll track his status throughout this week, leading up to Sunday's game vs. the Panthers
The Browns signed K Riley Patterson to their practice squad. He'll step in if K Dustin Hopkins' hamstring injury costs him further time. Patterson was dumped by the Lions a week ago after missing a pair of XPs in a three-game stretch. But he connected on 15 of 17 FGs this year.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said Monday that WR Jaylen Waddle's injury, which was originally announced as a shin, is "more of a high-ankle sprain." If it's a true high-ankle sprain, Waddle will likely miss multiple weeks. We'll look for more on his status, but fantasy owners should plan on being without Waddle in Week 17.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco suffered a concussion in the second half against the Raiders and has been ruled out for the game. The timing (Monday afternoon) cuts down on Pacheco's chances of making it back for a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Bengals in Week 17. If Pacheco's out, that would leave Clyde Edwards-Helaire to lead the backfield against a soft Cincinnati defense. (Jerick McKinnon's on IR.) The Bengals allowed 397 total yards to the Steelers and 424 to the Vikings over the past two weeks. CEH would merit low-RB2 consideration if he's set to start for K.C. in Week 17. We'll watch Pacheco's status throughout the week.
Eagles LB Nicholas Morrow (abdomen) is inactive for today's game against the Giants. That leaves Philly down its top two LBs, with Zach Cunningham already ruled out. Expect Shaquille Leonard to lead the position in playing time. Undrafted rookie Ben VanSumeren looks like the next guy up. He has yet to play a snap on defense this season, though, so shouldn't be in anyone's IDP plans. Leonard makes for a solid LB3-level play.
The initial outlook on Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson's injured knee is "not good," a source tells ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Hockenson is getting an MRI on the knee today, so we should learn more soon. Fantasy owners should be planning on Hockenson missing the rest of the season.
Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon (groin) has been placed on IR. He's out for at least the final three games of the regular season, plus Kansas City's playoff opener. RB Isiah Pacheco is in for a heavy workload while McKinnon is out.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (quad, illness) is inactive for today's game vs. the Chiefs. That leaves the backfield to Zamir White and Ameer Abdullah. See where those guys sit in the Week 16 RB Rankings.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport labeled Vikings WR Jordan Addison "week-to-week" with the ankle injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Vikings. The rookie is scheduled for additional testing on Monday. It's worth noting that HC Kevin O'Connell said after yesterday's game that Addison might be able to push through this injury. But, at least for now, fantasy owners should plan on being without Addison in Week 17 lineups.
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's right shoulder injury is not believed to be serious, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Lawrence is scheduled for additional testing on Monday, so we should get another update on his status soon. It doesn't sound like he'll be out long, but Lawrence certainly isn't a lock to play in Week 17. Stay tuned.
Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (quad, illness) won't play vs. the Chiefs today, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. That will again leave the backfield to Zamir White and Ameer Abdullah. White racked up 85 total yards and a score on a 70% snap rate last week -- but that came with positive game script in an easy win over the Chargers. The Raiders are 10.5-point underdogs today, so White is at risk of losing more snaps to Abdullah. See our updated projections for the Raiders backfield.
Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott tallied 12 carries for 27 rushing yards in Week 16 vs. the Broncos. Though the veteran didn’t shine as a runner, he did thrive in the receiving game on Sunday night. Elliott concluded the contest with 9 catches on 11 targets (both team-highs) for 33 yards and a score. All said, he finished the week with 21 PPR points and turned in a fourth-straight game with at least 16 touches. Assuming Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) is out of the lineup again in Week 17, Elliott will be in a position to be an RB2 candidate going up against a Bills defense that ranks as the 13th-best RB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
There was a lot of chatter entering Week 16 surrounding the potential increase in Vikings RB Ty Chandler’s workload. Sunday’s game against the Lions didn’t see the second-year back dominate in the box score (8 carries, 17 rushing yards), though there is some good news that came from the contest. Chandler did find the end zone, which salvaged his fantasy contributions to a small degree, and teammate Alexander Mattison was almost completely uninvolved (2 carries, -1 yard). It’s clear that HC Kevin Stefanski’s comments from earlier in the week proved to be truthful. Chandler has certainly become the Vikings' RB1. Fantasy managers who survived and advanced to Week 17 should be comfortable going back to Chandler in lineups. The Packers rank 23rd in run defense DVOA this season and as the 10th-best RB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. It’s a good spot for him to net low-end RB2/flex-level value.
Browns QB Joe Flacco completed 27 of 42 passes for 368 yards with 3 TDs and 2 INTs in Week 16 vs. the Texans. This is the third consecutive game in which he’s thrown for at least 300 yards with multiple scores. Since becoming the starter in Week 13, Flacco ranks first among QBs in passing yards per game (326.8) and attempts per game (43.8). That’s the kind of volume that leads to fantasy production you can rely on, even though he’s thrown 7 INTs in that span. Next week’s game presents a tough challenge against the Jets (third in pass defense DVOA), but that should not dissuade you from tossing Flacco out in superflex/2QB lineups.
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