And just like that, another fantasy football season (for most of us) comes to a close. So much has happened in the landscape since things kicked off on Sept. 7 in Kansas City, Mo. Hopefully, it resulted in a championship victory or at least a memorable run. With the official end of leagues also came a fair share of fantasy football winners and losers of Week 17 that we’ll once again break down, only this time with analysis foreshadowing towards next season.
These were the highs and lows, followed by our panic meter!
Fantasy Football Winners & Losers: Week 17
Fantasy Football Winners
Lamar Jackson (QB, Baltimore Ravens)
Well, the debate is over. After a five-touchdown, perfect-passer rating game against Miami, Lamar Jackson is now -20000 courtesy DraftKings Sportsbook to win the NFL MVP. While Jackson’s season numbers are not gaudy (24 passing TDs, seven INTs), he’s set a career-high in passing yards (3,678) and completions (307). This performance, in particular, marked his fourth-straight QB1 finish and will allow him to finish as the QB3 overall, by far his best finish since his 2019 sophomore season, where he finished as the overall QB1.
It was an up-and-down season, but Jackson ultimately repays his ESPN Average Draft Position (ADP) of QB4, likely taken somewhere in the third or fourth round of redrafts. How far the former Heisman Trophy winner can carry the Ravens in the playoffs will further determine his 2024 ADP. Still, this late-season run makes him feel much more worthy of the higher-end price tag fantasy managers will have to pay for his services next season.
Kyren Williams (RB, Los Angeles Rams)
Scouts and fantasy football analysts seem to have missed on Kyren Williams, who was taken 164th overall in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. When Williams first popped off at the beginning of the season and supplanted incumbent starter Cam Akers as the lead-back, many thought it spoke more about Akers than Williams. We were wrong. When Williams was the Points Per Reception (PPR) RB4 through the first six weeks, some thought it had to do more with the workhorse role than the talent. We were wrong… again.
Evident in his 87-yard, three-touchdown Week 17 performance and 114.7-rushing yards per game average since returning from injury in Week 12, Williams is the real deal. He has both the elusiveness and explosiveness to compete at this level. Despite playing just 12 games, Williams is second in the NFL in rushing with 1,114 yards and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns. With a lack of high-end talent in the 2024 NFL Draft and two seasons left on his rookie contract, Williams projects as the Rams’ clear-cut RB1 for at least 2024 and likely 2025. Expect his ADP to be in the mid-to-early second round or even the first round come August.
CeeDee Lamb (WR, Dallas Cowboys)
CeeDee Lamb capped off a storybook fantasy football season with a career-high in receptions (13) and receiving yards (227). It marked Lamb’s fourth 30-plus PPR-point performance and his ninth WR1 finish of the season. Being taken in the late first or early second round of redrafts, Lamb was an immense value, finishing as the PPR WR2 on a points-per-game basis to only Tyreek Hill and WR1 overall.
The Cowboys have potential outs in Brandin Cooks‘s and Michael Gallup‘s contracts if they prefer to take the cap hit and get younger at the position. Still, unless the Cowboys somehow get a hold of Rome Odunze, Malik Nabers, Emeka Egbuka or Keon Coleman, Lamb will warrant a top-six pick in 2024 fantasy football drafts in the neighborhood of Hill, Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase.
Fantasy Football Losers
D’Andre Swift (RB, Philadelphia Eagles)
Even against the No. 1 matchup for opposing RBs on the season and the third-best offer the past month, D’Andre Swift still didn’t do enough to be fantasy-relevant against the Cardinals, totaling just 7.6 PPR points. This marked Swift’s sixth single-digit PPR point performance in the last eight games.
The Georgia product has had his moments of greatness, both with the Eagles this season and throughout his career. However, he doesn’t help managers win fantasy football championships due to his streakiness. Moreover, Swift becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) after this season. With how much money Philadelphia will owe both QB Jalen Hurts and WR A.J. Brown, it’s more than likely Swift’s homecoming stint is coming to an end. It’s hard to imagine him in a better situation than he was in this season, likely relegating him to the later single-digit rounds of fantasy drafts next season,
Derrick Henry (RB, Tennessee Titans)
In what is all but likely his final season in Tennesee, Derrick Henry finishes as the PPR RB16 on a points-per-game basis. While that’s not terrible for a 29-year-old, it won’t return his RB6 and early-to-mid-second-round ESPN ADP. Even worse, it’s hard to imagine that any managers won their league rostering him and his six single-digit PPR point performances, two coming in the fantasy football playoffs.
Henry still has some juice, totaling 1,014 so far this season. However, he’s not good enough anymore to command 20-plus touches and will likely remain a game script-dependent fantasy RB, no matter where he lands in NFL Free Agency.
Calvin Ridley (WR, Jacksonville Jaguars)
In his first and maybe only season in Jacksonville, Calvin Ridley has seen the second-most targets of his career (126). However, his inefficiency (55.6% catch rate) lands him between his rookie and sophomore year finishes of PPR WR21 and WR25, respectively. The Alabama product’s four-catch, 39-yard performance in Week 17 and season as a whole make you question whether his WR5 finish in 2020 was an outlier.
With Jacksonville already paying Christian Kirk and Evan Engram, plus a Trevor Lawrence payday coming soon, it’s hard to imagine they’ll lock in Ridley long-term. With uncertainty now lingering about whether he can be both an NFL WR1 and a fantasy football WR1, Ridley is a clear loser in Week 17.
Not What It Seems: Fantasy Football Panic Meter
The following players were fantasy disappointments in Week 17, but my concern is low for next season:
- Patrick Mahomes (QB, Kansas City Chiefs)
- C.J. Stroud (QB, Houston Texans)
- Saquon Barkley (RB, New York Giants)
- Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, Detroit Lions)
- James Cook (RB, Buffalo Bills)
- A.J. Brown (WR, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Michael Pittman Jr. (WR, Indianapolis Colts)
- Chris Olave (WR, New Orleans Saints)
- Ja’Marr Chase (WR, Cincinnati Bengals)
The following players were disappointments in Week 17, and I am concerned about for next season:
- Tony Pollard (RB, Dallas Cowboys)
- Javonte Williams (RB, Dallas Cowboys)
- Austin Ekeler (RB, Los Angeles Chargers)
- Stefon Diggs (WR, Buffalo Bills)
- Romeo Doubs (WR, Green Bay Packers)
- Quentin Johnston (WR, Los Angeles Chargers)
- Gabriel Davis (WR, Buffalo Bills)
- Tyler Lockett (WR, Seattle Seahawks)
- Travis Kelce (TE, Kansas City Chiefs)
Thanks for reading my Week 17 fantasy football winners and losers. And for more fantasy sports and sports betting content, you can find me on Twitter @Between_SethFF.
*Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck – USA TODAY Sports*