Fantasy Football Takeaways: Week 17

A majority of fantasy seasons come to an end tonight after the Bills and Bengals, and it’s crazy to think we are already here. It has been a roller coaster of a season, and this week was no different. 

We saw quite a few massive performances which helped carry people to championships this weekend. Let’s take a deeper look at a few of these performances. 

Austin Ekeler is back at it again

Austin Ekeler for the second week in a row topped 20 PPR points. This time he posted an RB1 finish with 32.1 PPR points. He managed this on 14 touches for 161 scrimmage yards and two scores. A majority of these points and yards came on the ground, as he posted 122 rushing yards – the most since Week 5 when he topped 170 yards. He also scored both touchdowns on the ground, which was the second week in a row he scored two rushing touchdowns. 

If you drafted Ekeler this year you were likely in the championship, as he finished the year as RB1 with 331.6 points – 23 more than the next running back. Ekeler is the main cog in the Chargers offense and has rewarded his fantasy managers all year, but especially the past two weeks with massive performances. 

Mike Evans has a league-winning performance

Mike Evans has a real chance to go down as the biggest disappointment of the year in fantasy, as he entered the week with only 176.7 PPR points – WR23 on the year. However, if you made it to championship week with him on your roster and were bold enough to start him, he likely won you the week. This week we saw his connection with Tom Brady flourish. He grabbed 10 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns for a league-leading 48.7 PPR points. This was only his second double-digit performance since the Buccaneers’ Week 11 bye and the first time he caught 10 passes all year. Additionally, this was the first time he scored a touchdown since Week 4 – he also doubled his season total this week. Sadly, this performance was too late for many of his drafters this year and only impacted a few matchups. 

D’Andre Swift has a big day

D’Andre Swift exploded this week, finishing as a top-five option at the running back position. He had 15 touches for 117 yards and two touchdowns (27.7 PPR points). This was only his third 20+ point performance this season and his first since Week 13. Normally this would be great news, but he still failed to out-touch fellow running back Jamaal Williams, who saw 22 carries and a reception. The 22 carries were double the amount of Swift’s 11 carries, but Swift led in receptions this week. 

This performance likely helped only a few managers, as he has been a tough start all year with more games under 13 PPR points than over it. If you rostered him, this was a breath of fresh air, especially if you were bold enough to start him in championship week. 

DJ Moore posts another top performance 

DJ Moore became a league-winner down the stretch if I have ever seen one. Since Week 12, Moore has posted four performances over 18 PPR points and three over 20. This trend continued, as he posted six receptions for 117 yards and a score (23.7 PPR points) – WR5 so far. Additionally, this was his second 20+ performance in a row. Since Week 12, he is WR16 with 83 PPR points but is WR13 in points per game (16.6 ppg). Most importantly, he is WR5 over the last three weeks, averaging over 20 PPR points per week when it counted the most. 

It appears that Sam Darnold was the key to unlocking Moore, and it came at the perfect time.

Daniel Jones a QB1 

Daniel Jones entered the season as a player many thought little about after multiple disappointing seasons. However, this year he has silenced the critics. He had finished as a fantasy QB1 six times this year entering this week and ended on another high note. Jones passed for 177 yards and two touchdowns while adding 91 yards and two scores on 11 carries. He is QB2 thus far with 36.18 points – his best performance this year. Jones is currently QB7 with 294 points this year and has shown great growth under head coach Brian Daboll. He has his team in the playoffs and is in line to return to the Giants in 2023. 

If you took a gamble on him this offseason, he returned the favor over the fantasy playoffs. Over the last three weeks, he is QB4, averaging over 22 points per week. These performances likely helped a few teams make it to the championship week and win it.