With DeMarco Murray hobbled by a knee injury,
we might finally get to see Henry in a feature role.
Grab a Helmet
Jamaal
Williams @ DET: With most of fantasy’s top backs either
injured or being rested for the playoffs Williams is in a fantastic
spot to deliver this week against the Lions. Detroit is a pillowy-soft
matchup for Williams after he busted against the Viking and Panther
defenses the last two weeks. Before those matchups he had three
straight RB1 scoring weeks against the Steelers, Browns, and Bucs.
The Lions just surrendered a monster game to Giovanni Bernard,
and with their season over, have nothing to play for. Williams
could be the Packers back of the future, and with 20+ carries
a near lock, makes for an easy top-10 play this week.
Derrick
Henry vs JAX: It took an MCL injury to Demarco Murray
to make it happen, but it LOOKS like Derrick Henry will finally
be the feature back this week in a must win game against the Jaguars.
The Jags have been lights out against the pass, but they’ve been
generous lately to running backs, and to a motley crew at that.
Last week Carlos Hyde and Matt Breida combined for 128 yards and
2 touchdowns and in the weeks prior to that, the uninspiring running
games of the Texans and Seahawks were able to generate some fantasy
production. Henry has elite physical tools, and thrives with volume
(in the 7 games with at least 10 carries he’s averaged 5.6 yards
per carry). He had a huge game against this team in Week 2, and
repeat wouldn’t shock me.
Frank
Gore vs HOU: This pick is more about emotion than anything
else. Playing it what could be his final game, Gore, the long-time
vet needs just 139 yards to reach 1,000 for the 10th time in his
illustrious career. Despite the brutal matchup last week against
Baltimore, he was able to scrap together his best fantasy game
of the season with 86 total yards and a touchdown. At the very
least this is likely the final game in a Colts uniform at home,
so look for Indy to feed the old man as many carries as he can
handle in a bid to help him go out on top (think Kobe’s 50 shot
attempts in his final game).
Grab Some Pine
Mike
Davis vs ARI: I’ve tried my best to find a useable
back on this offense all year, and it just hasn’t happened. It
took 15 games, but I’m finally ready to throw in the towel. The
best back on this team was likely cut in the summer (Alex Collins),
as no one has been able to muster a measure of fantasy relevance
this season. Davis has been dreadful in his last two starts, so
dreadful that the Seahawks rolled out Thomas Rawls for significant
snaps against Dallas last week. The offensive line continues to
be a sieve and Arizona, despite being out of the playoffs, continues
to play tough defense. I just can’t find a single reason to even
have a Seattle running back on my roster at this point, let alone
starting one in the final week of the season.
Kareem
Hunt @ DEN: Copy and paste everything I said about
Jared Goff here for Kareem Hunt. With nothing to play for and
everything to lose, it’s likely Hunt is among the Chief starters
that will see significantly less than a full game of playing time
this week. Hunt has returned to his early season form the past
three weeks, likely powering more than a few teams to fantasy
championships. But he’s not going to do it this week. Charcandrick
West is a good bet to lead the Chiefs in running back touches
in Week 17.
Leonard
Fournette @ TEN: There are several reasons to believe
Fournette won’t be a strong fantasy play in Week 17. First,
the matchup. The Titans have been among the best teams against
the run all year, and Fournette has largely relied on volume to
be effective against strong defensive teams. Volume is the other
issue. While Jags coaches have stated it’s their intention
to play their starters, Fournette has dealt with health issues
for much of the year, and Jacksonville is a threat to rest their
starters at any point in the game. The threat of reduced snaps,
and tough matchup make me want to steer away from the productive
rookie as he preps for the playoffs.
