I hope everyone had a nice holiday and spent some quality time with family. It’s always fun getting together with friends and family and everyone asking who they should start or sit. As we all know, it’s a very important time of the year and football is coming to an end soon, but I am going to do my best to give picks to help you make an educated decision for your lineup in Week 17. Good luck everyone; close the season out strong!
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns: Week 17 vs New York Jets
There should be no need for an introduction regarding Joe Flacco and how he has been playing lately. He is 38 years old and has been playing some of the best football of any quarterback in the last four weeks.
Flacco has thrown the ball 175 times in the last four games. He has also thrown 10 TDs and scored over 22 fantasy points in three of the four games. We also have to be aware that he has thrown seven interceptions in the last four games, but he is still putting up great numbers.
This week, Flacco and the Browns are hosting the New York Jets, who happen to be his old team. This revenge narrative makes him even more exciting in this matchup. The Jets will also have to deal with the Dawg Pound in their house, and that is not going to make things as easy for them this week. I like Flacco and think he is absolutely a top-five QB to start in Week 17.
Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings: Week 17 vs Packers
I was torn between highlighting Ty Chandler or Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers, but Chandler has the better running game matchup. I know Chandler has not been great this season behind Alexander Mattison, but to be fair, neither back has excited anyone or helped any fantasy managers in a huge way.
In Week 16, everyone was ready to start Chandler after his Week 15 performance of 23 rush attempts for 132 yards and a TD, and then Mattison was cleared to start and I feel like he faded away instantly. It was a good decision to fade him last week against the Lions, but this week is a better matchup to start him in your league against the Packers.
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings: Week 17 vs Packers
Osborn gets a bump up this week with the ankle injury to Jordan Addison and a knee injury to T.J. Hockenson. He stepped up in Week 16 with five receptions on seven targets for 95 yards and a TD.
K.J. started the season off strong but then fell off after Week 4 as Addison emerged. It wasn’t until Week 16 that we remembered he even played for the team. I wouldn’t be confident starting Osborn as a WR1, but he is a viable WR2 and flex option in Week 17 against the Packers.
Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers: Week 17 @ Denver Broncos
With Easton Stick under center, Everett has been a reliable target, seeing eight targets in each of the last three weeks. He has put up 8.90, 9.10 and 11.20 fantasy points in the last three games, but we could use a TD to really solidify things. This week, the Chargers visit the Broncos in Denver. The Broncos are dead last against tight ends, so fire up Everett in all formats this week.
