Derrick Henry and Chase Brown Top Week 17 Fantasy Football Championship Leaderboard
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Week 17 of the NFL season went crazy in a way few expected on Sunday. Now, we still have the Sunday Night Football game to go. There will be news on that later as the fantasy football losers will encompass the entire weekend that was from Christmas until Sunday night.
Injuries and illness again proved to be vital. However, some players shined in the spotlight whole others cowered and froze in stagefright.
Always remember we use standard point scoring with PPR. Okay, let's begin with those quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks
Player | Points |
|---|---|
Drake Maye (NWE) | 32.44 |
Malik Willis (GB) | 31.52 |
Jaxson Dart (NYG) | 25.08 |
Josh Allen (BUF) | 23.18 |
Trevor Lawrence (JAX) | 23.12 |
Trevor Lawrence does not want to leave this list as Jacksonville found a way to hold on against a feisty Indianapolis squad on Sunday. Lawrence was not quite his best today but he ran for two crucial touchdowns as the Jaguars are one step closer to winning the AFC South. Meanwhile, Drake Maye and the New England Patriots are your AFC East Division Champions.
Maye only had two incompletions on the day as he threw for five touchdowns in a 42-10 demolition of the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Chants of MVP could be heard in New Jersey of all places as Maye was given some rest in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, he may have piled up more than 32.44 points on Sunday.
Running Backs
Player | Points |
|---|---|
Derrick Henry (BAL) | 45.6 |
Chase Brown (CIN) | 29.1 |
Rhamondre Stevenson (NWE) | 27.2 |
Zach Charbonnet (SEA) | 26.2 |
Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WSH) | 22.5 |
One just have to give Chase Brown a ton of credit. Brown nearly topped 30 points on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Brown broke the 100 yard barrier again on the ground and added 40 yards receiving. However, it was Derrick Brown who stole the show for Baltimore on Saturday night and propelled the Ravens to a winner-take-all game against Pittsburgh next weekend.
Honestly, it was a performance we saw in his early days with Baltimore. Henry ran the ball 36 times for 216 yards and four touchdowns against Green Bay. The Ravens just kept running the ball (307 yards total). The running back notched his seventh 200-yard performance on the ground setting an NFL record. With that, he probably singlehandedly won some players their championships.
Wide Receivers
Player | Points |
|---|---|
Chris Olave (NO) | 25.9 |
Ja'Marr Chase (CIN) | 25.0 |
Chris Godwin Jr. (TB) | 23.8 |
Christian Watson (GB) | 22.3 |
Wan'Dale Robinson (NYG) | 22.3 |
Chris Olave was one of the Saints players that appeared to be questionable but performed under fantasy pressure. Olave helped Tyler Shough have a career day as the Saints held on to defeat the Tennessee Titans in one of the more entertaining games on Sunday. Olave had 119 yards receiving and one touchdown.
Ja'Marr Chase had two touchdowns and 60 yards receiving as the Cincinnati Bengals cruised past the Arizona Cardinals. Wan'Dale Robinson was the only receiver to catch more than 10 passes as the New York Giants routed the Las Vegas Raiders 34-10. Robinson caught 11 passes for 113 yards. Christian Watson also had 113 yards and a score on Saturday night for the Packers.
Tight Ends
Player | Points |
|---|---|
Trey McBride (ARZ) | 23.6 |
Michael Mayer (LV) | 17.9 |
Greg Dulcich (MIA) | 16.1 |
Chig Okonkwo (TEN) | 14.5 |
Hunter Henry (NWE) | 13.9 |
Yes, it feels like a recurring pattern but Trey McBride bounced back big after a dud performance last week. McBride caught 10 passes, set a Tight End reception record, and found the endzone for Arizona. Chig Okonkowo got on our list for a second straight week. Meanwhile, Michael Mayer caught some late passes from Geno Smith (9 receptions, 89 yards) to sneak up the Top 5.
Kickers
Player | Points |
|---|---|
Joey Slye (TEN) | 18.0 |
Brandon Aubrey (DAL) | 16.0 |
Will Reichard (MIN) | 16.0 |
Cam Little (JAX) | 14.0 |
Charlie Smyth (NO) | 13.0 |
Charlie Smyth managed to battle through the flu and get 13 points with two 50+ yard field goals to boot on Sunday. The kicker saw across the field as Joey Slye led everyone with 18 points behind a 4-4 performance. In a losing effort, Slye came through a whopping 10.5 points above his projection.
We have to say that Brandon Aubrey is human though. The Dallas Cowboys kicker actually missed one against Washington on Christmas. Maybe, he really felt in the giving spirit. Aubrey still tied Will Reichard for second with 16 fantasy points.
Defense/Special Teams
Team | Points |
|---|---|
Minnesota Vikings | 22.0 |
New York Giants | 19.0 |
Seattle Seahawks | 12.0 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 12.0 |
New Orleans Saints | 12.0 |
These were the nine units that broke double digits in Week 17's afternoon slate. Minnesota and New York made this list for the second straight week. The Vikings' defense has had three Top 5 caliber weeks in the last four games. Minnesota became quite the streaming option that few seemed to pick up on.
The Seahawks and Eagles were teams one expected to be on here. However, the Saints seeing a second week on the list was a bit surprising even if the opponent was Tennessee. New Orleans did get a touchdown off a turnover and four sacks in their victory on Sunday. All five teams won their games this week which was pretty rare - even in fantasy football.
