Week 17 Matchups to Watch (2022 Fantasy Football)

We’re in the fantasy football playoffs, which makes every week a must-win for many fantasy managers. To help navigate these crucial moments, we asked some of our experts to break down some of the matchups they’re monitoring heading into Week 17 of the NFL season.

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Russell Wilson vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Russell Wilson’s first year with the Denver Broncos has been a disaster, averaging just 13.7 fantasy points per game. Last week he averaged a season-high 8.3 points in an embarrassing loss. However, Wilson had his best performance of the year in Week 14 against the Chiefs, throwing three passes and scoring 25.6 fantasy points before leaving the game with a concussion. After the Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett earlier this week, will Wilson have another strong performance against Kansas City or will he continue to struggle?
– Mike Fanelli (@Mike_NFL2)

Tyler Allgeier vs. Arizona Cardinals
Tyler Allgeier has established himself as the leader of the Atlanta Falcons offense in recent weeks. The rookie running back was without a career-high 22 touches in Week 16, and his increased workload has resulted in 40 touches and producing RB7 numbers in Weeks 15-16. His increased involvement in the passing attack, with four receptions on five targets, has yielded plenty of upside in a juicy Week 17 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals this week. The Cardinals have surrendered an average of 32.3 PPR points per week to runs over the past three games. They’ve also allowed the sixth most fantasy points per week on average, making Algeieir a must-start to win your fantasy championships.
– Dennis Sosic (@CALL_ME_SOS)

Aaron Rodgers and Christian Watson against the Minnesota Vikings
Is this a dangerous game because it’s a Thursday game? Yes. However, if you’re dealing with the Jalen Hurts situation, this could be the play that pays big dividends. The Jacksonville Jaguars rank 32nd in passing DVOA, worst in the NFL. With that set of weapons, Wilson should be able to pick apart a Jaguars defense that allows the sixth-highest fantasy points per game at the QB position.
– Scott Youngson (@jscottyoungson)

Terry McLaurin vs. Cleveland Browns

• The Washington Chiefs have made the transition at quarterback, switching from Taylor Heinicke to Carson Wentz.
• Terry McLaurin boasted a 30% target share from Weeks 7-15 with Heinicke as the full-time starter. With Wentz from Weeks 1-6, his target share was at 16%.
• Meanwhile, Curtis Samuel’s target percentage dropped from 22% with Wentz to 15% without him.
• In Week 16, we already saw Terry McLaurin’s target share drop to 14% in a game Wentz entered late. Wentz targeted TMC once. He favored Logan Thomas (6 targets) and Samuel (3 targets (3) more.
• With a tough game plan on deck against Cleveland, McLaurin doesn’t have huge upside in fantasy championships.
• The Browns are allowing the 7th fewest fantasy points to WRs and the 2nd fewest to slot WRs. Third-fewest receptions allowed (9) per game since Week 7.
• The Commanders are also at a huge disadvantage in pass protection with a bottom-4 pass blocking grade per PFF’s OL/DL matchup chart and the 33rd Team Trench matchup tool.

– Andrew Erickson (@AndrewErickson_)

note: Come back Thursday and Friday for Andrew Erickson’s Land Mines and Smash City installments for comprehensive breakdowns of matchups to avoid and target this week in your fantasy football matchups.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy footballbe sure to check out our award-winning list Fantasy football tools as you navigate your season. From ours Take-off/landing assistant – which delivers your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus forecasts – to us Waiver wire assistant – allowing you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

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