New England Patriots

New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is a high-ceiling option for Saturday's Week 17 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers. The second-year receiver is coming off the best game of his career, catching five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills while playing 88 percent of the offensive snaps. Boutte continues to lead all Patriots wide receivers in snaps ever since Drake Maye took over as the starting quarterback, emphasizing the coaching staff's interest in developing (or perhaps forcing) a Maye-Boutte rapport. This approach has produced mixed results in 2024, but it worked last Sunday, and it could pay off again this week against Los Angeles. The Bolts' defense has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to receivers who operate out wide, which is where Boutte has played 89.9 percent of his snaps. Managers must remain aware that Boutte will still have to compete for targets with Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, DeMario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne this week. However, last week's big showing and this week's favorable matchup bode well for the LSU product as he teeters on the border of WR3/FLEX territory in fantasy football.

New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas remains on the fringe of the fantasy radar heading into Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Douglas is the overall WR48 in PPR leagues this year, but he has seen reduced opportunities lately with just 11 catches for 64 yards over his last three games. He did salvage his Week 15 showing with a touchdown, and his last three performances have represented his floors. Still, though, he doesn't inspire much confidence for the fantasy playoffs. If there's one factor to be excited about, however, it's his matchup. Douglas is set to face a Chargers defense that allows the fifth-most fantasy points to slot receivers. Douglas takes 73.1 percent of his snaps from the slot (fifth-most in the NFL), so perhaps this is a matchup made in heaven. Still, he'll need to fight for targets in an offense that has seen increased productivity from Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Kendrick Bourne, and Kayshon Boutte. As a result, Douglas remains in the WR4 tier for fantasy purposes.

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson could draw the start over Rhamondre Stevenson during Saturday's Week 17 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers. Still, he would rank in the RB3/FLEX tier for fantasy football. Stevenson is coming off a tough performance in which he lost a costly fumble, mishandled a backward pass that led to a Bills touchdown, and finished with his second-lowest snap percentage of the season. All of these poor outcomes from Stevenson's Week 16 could put Gibson in line to draw his second start of the 2024 campaign. Last week, Gibson himself played 59 percent of the snaps, totaling just 36 yards. He was held to 2.8 yards per carry in the contest but still boasts an impressive 4.52 yards per carry on 96 rush attempts this year. Even if Gibson draws the start against Los Angeles, he'll likely see around 10 to 14 touches, meaning he'll need to be efficient and get involved as a pass-catcher in order to have much fantasy relevance. He ranks as a mid-to-low RB3 against a Chargers defense allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs in 2024.

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson has lost some of his fantasy appeal heading into Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. While Stevenson does rank as the overall RB24 in PPR leagues this year, he has been quite inconsistent and does not inspire much confidence for Week 17. This reduced faith stems from his performance last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in which he lost a crucial fumble and also dropped a toss from Drake Maye that turned into a defensive touchdown for the other team. Stevenson did manage to score 13.3 fantasy points against the Bills, but nearly half of those points came from his touchdown. The 26-year-old played just 44 percent of snaps in the contest, which was his second-lowest mark of the year. His career-low 3.9 yards per carry coupled with last Sunday's costly fumble may have put Stevenson in the doghouse, prompting the Patriots to rely on Antonio Gibson more. There's even a chance that Gibson, who played 59 percent of the snaps last Sunday, draws the start in Week 17. Stevenson will sneak into the RB2 or RB3 tier if he finds the end zone, but that's a relatively big ask. Otherwise, he'll rank as a mid-range RB4 and can be benched in most leagues with 14 or fewer teams. That's especially true against a Chargers defense allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs in 2024.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will look to remain a fringe top-12 fantasy option as his team returns home for the first time since Week 13. The Patriots host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17, putting the No. 3 pick up against a Bolts defense that has allowed the 11th-most rushing yards but 14th-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2024. Maye himself has been solid lately, averaging 37.7 rushing yards per game as a starter while amassing four total touchdowns over his last two contests. The one drawback with Maye has been his tendency to lose the football; the UNC product has 12 turnovers over his last seven games. If Maye can clean up the turnovers while remaining productive on the ground and near the end zone, he could sneak into the top-12 quarterback range. For the time being, he ranks as a mid-to-high QB2.