NFL Fantasy Football Reactions: Week 17

Fantasy championship weekend! Obviously, many teams were eliminated before this week. But for those who survived, there's no greater fantasy football experience than feeling the range of emotions that are a part of this weekend. For those who didn't make it to their title games, we'll expect next year to be better! 

I'll always try to give actionable advice at the end of each reaction, but with this being the end of the fantasy season for most, there may be more of a  look ahead to 2023 than usual. In addition to the fantasy takes, hopefully, some of these observations can also give you some ideas if you're thinking about placing some Week 18 NFL bets https://www.rotowire.com/betting/nfl/odds/week-18. Let's take a look at the Sunday afternoon action. 

Sunday Takeaways

• Mike Evans came into this week's game having posted 10 or fewer PPR points in seven of his last eight games. In the game he went over that number, he had 13 fantasy points. As a result, many people benched Evans in the fantasy championship. And I was unable to argue with those who felt that way. Of course, he had his best fantasy game of the season. It was the second time all year that he had over 18 fantasy points. In PPR leagues, he was the week winner that many needed. He posted an incredible 48.7 points. Much of the problem he's had is that Tom Brady has struggled to get him the ball, even when Evans was open. Today, Brady just let it rip and it paid off with amazing success. Still, we can't pretend as if this season didn't happen. During the offseason, we'll take a close look at the situation Evans will be in before determining how to project him as he goes into his age-30 season. 
• After having three disappointing fantasy performances in a row, Davante Adams was not looking like a good fantasy option. And then when Derek Carr got benched for Jarrett Stidham, the outlook seemed even more bleak. But at the end of the day, a superstar player can perform at a high level, even in terrible circumstances. Despite the concerns, Adams went over 100 yards with multiple touchdowns against the incredible 49ers defense. Obviously, those who started Adams were rewarded for their faith. Those who sat him had to deal with the disappointment. 
• For those who are able to get past the goose egg that DJ Moore had in Week 14, they were paid  back with an amazing fantasy playoff season. In each of his last three games, he posted at least 73 yards and a touchdown. I still find it impossible to think that Sam Darnold will be able to get consistent production out of Moore if he's the quarterback next year. But I'll definitely need to keep my mind open as I go through my preparation process, since Moore is an elite player who's been consistently in difficult situations. 
• James Conner went over 100 scrimmage yards for the fourth time in his last five games. However, this was the first time in seven games that he was unable to find the end zone. After a disappointing start to the fantasy season, he was excellent after returning from injury in Week 9. Now that he's performed behind a poor offensive line in consecutive seasons, it may be hard to rank him outside of the top-20 running backs in 2023.
• For the third game in a row, Tyler Allgeier was the clear lead back for the Falcons. He's posted at least 95 scrimmage yards in each of those games. In addition, he's found the end zone twice during that span. Although the Falcons could certainly bring in competition during the offseason, if they don't, an argument will certainly be made for him to be a top-20 RB next year.
• Last week, we were able to blame the weather. With this week's game being played in a dome against an opponent that he smashed earlier this season, there was no such excuse. Justin Fields had a great first quarter with over 100 rushing yards. But in the last three quarters of the game, he was unable to account for 100 scrimmage yards. it seemed as if the Lions learned some valuable lessons from their Week 10 meeting when Fields rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing for two scores. The defense definitely made some adjustments to keep the QB contained with some regularity. With two disappointing fantasy performances in a row, we'll now have questions about where Fields stacks up as a fantasy quarterback. Obviously, he's nearly devoid of weapons. But unless the Bears make a serious move to address that, Fields may not be the automatic top-five quarterback that I thought he was a few weeks ago
• Fantasy managers who invested in D'Andre Swift this season haven't been pleased with coach Dan Campbell. With Justin Jackson sitting this game out, Swift was able to see a few more snaps than usual. As a result, he touched the ball 15 times. And we all know what tends to happen when Swift gets opportunity. He went over 100 scrimmage yards with two touchdowns against the Bears. But the bigger question is how to approach him when drafting next year. Obviously, Campbell will still be the coach. And unless something in his mindset changes in how he utilizes his star running back, he'll never be able to consistently pay off his ADP. It'll be an interesting offseason for Swift to say the least. 
• One of the more disappointing developments in fantasy championship weekend was that Raheem Mostert had more targets than either Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle. We all knew that Bill Belichick could always come up with a game plan to take away a team's top weapons. But with three of New England's top four cornerbacks missing this game, it seemed unlikely that they'd have any realistic answer for Hill and Waddle. Of course, it didn't help that Teddy Bridgewater got knocked out of the game in the second half with a finger injury and Skylar Thompson had to finish the contest. Fortunately, Hill did score a rushing touchdown to salvage his fantasy day. Meanwhile, Waddle ended up with a floor performance. It'll be interesting to see the potential new and creative ways that coach Mike McDaniel will be able to use this great receiving duo next year after getting greatness out of them for much of this season. 
• Despite Rhamondre Stevenson having dominated snaps over Damien Harris in the recent games in which both were healthy, they were in an almost even timeshare this week. Harris had three more touches than Stevenson. And in a matchup against an excellent Miami run defense, the Patriots decided to go with a pass-heavy approach. It certainly worked out for them as they got the victory. However, the fantasy results for these running backs were disappointing. We've seen Stevenson perform as a top fantasy option this year. But if he remains in a backfield with competition, this is always something that can happen to him. And his ADP could be sky high next year, and that's something we'll need to factor in.
• Fantasy managers who rostered Saquon Barkley ended up disappointed this week. If anyone would have said that the Giants would win this game 38-10, the natural conclusion would be that Barkley would have had a ceiling performance. However, Daniel Jones took up 11 carries. And then with the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell combined for 14 rushing attempts. That left Barkley with just 12 rushing attempts. He ran for nearly five yards per carry, but the volume ultimately doomed his day. And although he did catch two passes, those resulted in negative yardage. Overall, he had an excellent fantasy season. And I'll definitely have him ranked near the top of my draft board next season.
• For the third week in a row, Cam Akers recorded over 100 scrimmage yards. It's almost as if he's had three separate seasons this year. In Weeks 1-9, he ran for about 2.5 yards per carry. Then in weeks 11-14, he ran for over 3.5 yards per carry. But in the last three weeks, he's been well over five yards per carry, and he looks like the dominant back that we saw at the end of the 2020 season. I'm not sure where his ADP will land for next year. But based on his strong finish to the season, I think I'll be willing to take the plunge and draft him after 15-18  running backs are off the board.
• We all know that the tight end position can be very fickle from year to year. But I think Juwan Johnson has done enough this season to be a player we'll consider as a potential starter in 12-team leagues next year. In most of his games over the last couple months, he's posted at least 42 yards. He's also been a force in the red zone. He was a hot name in previous seasons, as he was a converted wide receiver. Now that he's broken out in his third season, he probably won't fly under too many people's radar in 2023.
• Seattle is not an easy venue to play at. But Mike White was terrible against the Seahawks. In a game the Jets were desperately in need of a win, he let them down. In his first two games in 2021, White got the fantasy world excited. But then he quickly came back down to earth. This year, he had an excellent game against a terrible Chicago defense. But in his three games since, he's failed to throw a single touchdown pass while throwing four interceptions. He's still a young quarterback, so the book definitely is not complete in terms of his future. But I think the Jets have to take a hard look at trying to find a quarterback who can help them compete for a title next year.
• Over the last three weeks, Kirk Cousins was playing very well. In each of those games, he had at least 27 fantasy points. It didn't appear as if his matchup against Green Bay was very difficult. We've seen all year that the Packers defense has underperformed, as they often allowed good passing offenses to be very productive. It's so difficult to ignore the narratives we consistently hear about Cousins. For the third time since week 11, he had an implosion-type game. I thought it was bad when he threw for 105 yards and no touchdowns against Dallas. But at least he didn't throw an interception. He had a similar performance against the Jets. But he was at his absolute worst against the Packers this week. He tossed three interceptions and fumbled twice, although he lost just one of those. Fortunately, the Vikings left him in with the team down 41-3, and he threw a garbage-time TD that also got him over 200 yards. As the season ends, his fantasy numbers were excellent. But knowing that the terrible games can pop up at any time, it makes him very difficult to trust in elimination games like the fantasy playoffs. Despite the progress I've seen this year, I will rank him outside of my top-12 quarterbacks next year.
• Although their performances were inconsistent throughout the game, we may have gotten a glimpse of what we might expect from the Cleveland offense next year. Playing at Washington, Deshaun Watson threw three touchdown passes, Nick Chubb rushed for 100 yards and Amari Cooper went over 100 yards with two touchdowns. There's an excellent chance that Watson is still shaking off the rust from not having played football in a very long time. If he comes back next year and performs at the level he did during his time in Houston, this could be a very fun offense to watch. And Amari Cooper could be in line for a massive season.

Injuries 

• James Conner picked up a shin injury in the fourth quarter and didn't return.
•  Teddy Bridgewater injured his finger and was unable to return to action. 
• Jakobi Meyers sustained a shoulder injury late in the fourth quarter, though he downplayed the seriousness of the injury after the game.