Fantasy Football Week 17 Matchups to Exploit: Give Marvin Harrison Jr. another chance

Optimize your Week 17 fantasy football lineups with these favorable RB matchups.

Calvin Ridley vs. JAX

Ridley is coming off 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 a top-24 receiver on the week for the fifth time this season. He’s now played five games with Mason Rudolph as his starting quarterback this year and in these contests, Ridley averages 8.4 targets and 13.6 fantasy points per game. This is more volume and production than when Will Levis was his quarterback this season. Rudolph did throw three interceptions last week but as of now, he’s expected to start in Week 17 in a great matchup.

Ridley will face his former team, the Jaguars this week. We saw Ridley in this exact same matchup in Week 14 when he earned a team-high 12 targets and produced seven catches for 59 yards. Entering Week 17, the Jaguars allow the most receiving yards per game and 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 mostly been a disappointment in fantasy this season. To start the year, he had a chance to take over the Chargers backfield but quickly lost that opportunity to J.K. Dobbins in Week 1. Edwards would then go on to miss four games with an ankle injury and didn’t return until Week 10. He operated 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 once again failed to command 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 earned just 30 total yards per game.

But in Week 16, on Thursday Night against the Broncos, Edwards finally broke through.

He earned a season-high 71 total yards on 15 touches and found the end zone twice. Edwards finished as a top-20 RB on the week for the first time this season. This was a strong performance, and he takes this positive production into a strong Week 17 matchup. 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’ve allowed 126 total yards to James Cook and 138 total yards to James Conner. Edwards is a start this week, but keep an eye on J.K. Dobbins’ status, as his practice window was opened.

Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. LAR

Harrison Jr. has mostly been a bust for fantasy managers who took him in the second round of drafts this summer. When you draft a player this high you are hoping for consistent production with the occasional monster performance, but for the most part, we haven’t seen either of these traits from Harrison this season. He’s only produced five top-24 finishes across 15 starts with just two games of 100+ yards during this time. Harrison ranks 58th in yards per route run and 68th in catchable target rate according to Player Profiler. It’s been a combination of poor play and poor usage for the rookie. But congratulations to you if you’ve been able to survive this up-and-down season, because you might be rewarded in your fantasy championship.

This week, Harrison will face the Rams. L.A. not only allows the second-most receiving yards per play 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 this production came in the first half and Harrison finished as the WR1 overall on the week.

Arizona now enters Week 17 as six-point underdogs in a must-win game for its playoff hopes. As underdogs this week, expect plenty of passing for Kyler Murray and it could be even more than usual because James Conner is dealing with a knee injury and is at risk of missing Week 17. If Conner is out, this could lead to the Cardinals run game being less efficient and the offense relying more on Murray and the passing attack. It’s been a rough season for Harrison, but he’s a must-start this week.

Brian Thomas Jr. vs. TEN

Thomas Jr. has been one of the best fantasy receivers over the past month. Since the Jaguars’ Week 12 bye, Thomas has led the team with an elite 32% target share, and during this stretch of four games, he’s averaging 11.5 targets, 100 yards and 18.9 fantasy points per game. He ranks second in targets per game and ninth in fantasy points per game over the past month.

Perhaps the most impressive part is 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. It should only get better for him entering 2025 and his strong play should continue in Week 17 in another great matchup.

Thomas takes on the Titans this week who have been one of the league’s worst defenses the past six weeks. Tennessee ranks bottom-10 in coverage during this time and we’ve already seen Thomas find success against the Titans this season. Back in Week 14, Thomas produced 86 yards on eight catches against Tennessee, finishing as a top-20 receiver on the week. But in that game, Thomas had zero first-half catches and went on to dominate Tennessee’s defense in the second half. Expect Thomas to be involved throughout the game 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 true league winners in fantasy football this season. You likely selected him in the late rounds of your drafts this summer or even added him off your waiver wire early in the season. Regardless of how you acquired Irving he’s been an absolute star for you this season. Since Week 6, Irving has started and completed nine games. During this time, he’s averaged 17.9 points on 16.9 touches per game. He’s finished as a top-20 back in eight of these nine games including an RB1 overall finish in Week 13 against the Panthers where he produced 185 total yards and a score across a whopping 28 touches. Irving enters Week 17 averaging 5.9 yards per touch and since Week 6 he’s been a top-12 RB in fantasy football.

This week we get to see Irving run it back for the second time this season against the Panthers. This is a dream matchup, and it couldn’t come at a better time as it’s fantasy championship week. As mentioned earlier, Irving had his best game of the season in Week 13 against the Panthers and now he gets to face them again as a seven-point home favorite. Last time he faced Carolina he averaged 6.6 yards per touch and was the RB1 overall on the week. We may be in line for another massive workload for Irving because his teammate Rachaad White lost a key fumble in Week 16 that cost the Bucs the game and currently has them on the outside looking in for the NFC playoff picture.

Congrats to you if you have Irving in your championship matchup — you officially have the player with the best matchup in Week 17 on your roster.