Optimize your Week 17 fantasy football lineups with these favorable RB matchups.
Calvin Ridley vs. JAX
Ridley has had a solid week in the fantasy semifinals. In Week 16, Ridley was able to produce 78 yards and a score on five targets. He finished as the top-24 receiver of the week for the fifth time this season. He has now played five games this year with Mason Rudolph as his starting quarterback and in those games, Ridley is averaging 8.4 goals and 13.6 fantasy points per game. This is more volume and production than when Will Levis was his quarterback this season. Rudolph threw three interceptions last week, but as of now he is expected to have a big game in Week 17.
Ridley will face his former team, the Jaguars, this week. We saw Ridley in the exact same game in Week 14, when he earned a team-high 12 goals and produced seven catches for 59 yards. As of Week 17, the Jaguars are allowing the most receiving yards per game and the second-most receiving touchdowns this season. Last week, Jacksonville allowed 99 yards on 11 catches to Brock Bowers. Ridley is in a great spot to win you a Fantasy Championship in Week 17, start him.
Gus Edwards vs. NE
Edwards has mainly been a disappointment in fantasy this season. To start the year, he had an opportunity to take over the Chargers’ backfield, but quickly lost that opportunity to JK Dobbins in Week 1. Edwards would then miss four games with an ankle injury and did not return until Week 10. served as the Chargers’ backup behind Dobbins from weeks 10 through 12 until Dobbins landed on IR with a knee injury. Despite Dobbins being out, Edwards again failed to play a strong role in the offense from weeks 13 to 15. During this three-game stretch, Edwards averaged a weekly finish as the RB47 and only gained 30 total yards per competition.
But in Week 16, on Thursday night against the Broncos, Edwards finally broke through.
He racked up a season-high 71 yards on 15 touches and found the end zone twice. Edwards finished as a top-20 RB of the week for the first time this season. This was a strong performance and he carries this positive production into a strong matchup in Week 17. Edwards will face the Patriots as a four-point favorite this week. New England allows the ninth-most rushing yards per game, and over the past two weeks they have allowed a total of 126 yards to James Cook and 138 yards to James Conner. Edwards is a start this week, but keep an eye on the status of JK Dobbins as his practice window has opened.
Marvin Harrison Jr. vs LAR
Harrison Jr. has mainly been a failure for fantasy managers who took him in the second round of drafts this summer. When you draft a player at such a high level you hope for consistent production with the occasional monster performance, but for the most part we haven’t seen any of those traits from Harrison this season. He has just five top-24 finishes in 15 starts during this span, with only two games over 100 yards. According to Player Profiler, Harrison ranks 58th in yards per route and 68th in target speed. It was a combination of bad play and bad usage for the rookie. But congratulations if you’ve managed to survive this up-and-down season, because you might just be rewarded in your fantasy championship.
This week, Harrison will face the Rams. Not only is LA allowing the second-most receiving yards per game, but earlier this season Harrison had his best game against the Rams, all the way back in Week 2 when he totaled 130 yards and two touchdowns. All of this production came in the first half and Harrison finished as the WR1 overall that week.
Arizona now enters Week 17 as six-point underdogs in a must-win game for playoff hopes. As underdogs, expect a lot of passes for Kyler Murray this week and it could be even more than usual as James Conner is dealing with a knee injury and is at risk of missing Week 17. If Conner goes out, it could lead to a run for the Cardinals. the game was less efficient and the offense was more dependent on Murray and the passing attack. It’s been a tough season for Harrison, but he should start this week.
Brian Thomas Jr. vs. TEN
Thomas Jr. was one of the top fantasy receivers last month. Since the Jaguars in Week 12, Thomas has led the team with an elite target share of 32%, and during this four-game stretch he is averaging 11.5 targets, 100 yards, and 18.9 fantasy points per game. He ranks second in goals per game and ninth in fantasy points per game over the past month.
Perhaps most impressive is that he’s been able to do this despite his QB being Mac Jones, the Jaguars offensive line playing poorly and opposing defenses having no other threats to worry about in Jacksonville’s offense. Thomas leads all rookies with 1,088 receiving yards this season in one of the worst situations. Things should only get better for him going into 2025 and his strong play should continue in Week 17 in another great game.
Thomas will face the Titans this week, who have had one of the league’s worst defenses over the past six weeks. Tennessee ranks 10th in coverage during this span and we’ve already seen Thomas have success against the Titans this season. In Week 14, Thomas produced 86 yards on eight catches against Tennessee, finishing as a top-20 receiver that week. But in that game, Thomas had zero catches in the first half and dominated Tennessee’s defense in the second half. Expect Thomas to be involved all game long in Week 17. He’s a top-15 WR this week and a must-start.
Bucky Irving vs. CAR
Irving has been one of the real league winners in fantasy football this season. You probably selected him in the late rounds of your drafts this summer, or even signed him off your waiver wire early in the season. Regardless of how you acquired Irving, he has been an absolute star for you this season. Since Week 6, Irving has started and completed nine games. During this time, he averaged 17.9 points on 16.9 touches per game. He finished top-20 in eight of those nine games, including an overall RB1 finish in Week 13 against the Panthers, where he produced 185 total yards and a score on a whopping 28 touches. Irving enters Week 17 averaging 5.9 yards per touch and has been a top-12 RB in fantasy football since Week 6.
This week we see Irving turn it back against the Panthers for the second time this season. This is a dream matchup, and it couldn’t come at a better time considering it’s fantasy championship week. As previously mentioned, Irving had his best game of the season in Week 13 against the Panthers and now he gets to meet them again as a seven-point home favorite. The last time he faced Carolina, he averaged 6.6 yards per touch and was the RB1 overall of the week. We may be in for another huge workload for Irving, as his teammate Rachaad White lost a key fumble in Week 16 that cost the Bucs the game and currently leaves them on the outside looking into the NFC playoff picture.
Congratulations if you have Irving in your championship match. You officially have the player with the best match in week 17 in your squad.
