Fantasy Football Week 17 Running Back Preview: Waiver adds, DFS plays, projections, and more

If you’ve had Joe Mixon on your roster all season, I’m sure you haven’t spent very much time wondering whether you are starting him. He’s currently RB3 on the season, averaging 19.2 PPR FPPG. Saquon Barkley and Jaymyr Gibbs and Saquon Barkley are the only running backs who have scored more Fantasy points per game than Mixon this season. These are not backs you consider benching. And yet…

Mixon has had a brutal schedule to end the season, and he’s really struggled. Last week, he scored 8.1 Fantasy points against the Chiefs, who have allowed the fewest Fantasy points to running backs this season. In Week 15, he scored 10.3 against the Dolphins. In Week 13,  he scored 9.5 against the Titans. In Week 17, he faces the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas. They have held running backs to a league-low 3.47 yards per carry this year.

All of that is to say, I am sure some of you are considering benching Mixon. I am not. If I can offer a glimmer of hope, it is that the Ravens are giving up 42 yards per game to running backs through the air. That’s the third-highest mark in the league. Mixon already has five games this season with at least 30 receiving yards and has at least four catches in three of his last four games. Expect Mixon to be active through the air against the Ravens and to be a top-15 running back, even if he’s inefficient as a rusher.

Now, let’s get to the rest of the Week 17 RB Preview:

Playoff RB Preview

• 40% — Kendre Miller only had a 40% rush share in his first game without Alvin Kamara. He’s a flex at best.
• 4 — Jerome Ford has four rushed of more than 60 yards in his three-year career. Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry are the only other backs with more than three since Ford entered the league. Ten teams have zero such runs in the last three years.
• 3.41 — Joe Mixon is averaging 3.41 yards per carry since Week 10.
• 18 — Tyrone Tracy has 18 targets in his last three games.
• 35% — Isiah Pacheco‘s 35% snap share in Week 16 was his lowest of the season. If you must start a Chiefs back, start Kareem Hunt.
• 22.15 — Zach Charbonnet is averaging 22.15 PPR FPPG in his four starts.

My full set of Week 17 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You’ll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 17. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.