Week 17 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Saquon Barkley, Bucky Irving, and More
Pete Overzet breaks down his six biggest takeaways from the Week 17 Sunday main slate, including Saquon Barkley eclipsing 2,000 yards, and more.
It's time for Pete's Pick 6—a weekly recap column where I spotlight the best and the worst (I'm looking at you, Jets) performances from Sunday's games.
Let's dig in …
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The Bucs deliver championships
When I wrote up the Bucs offense in my DFS piece on Friday I mentioned Carolina as “the matchup you dream of your players getting with fantasy championships on the line.”
Even then, I didn't think it would be this good.
Baker Mayfield torched the Panthers secondary for 359 yards and 5 TDs. Mike Evans stayed on pace for his 1K streak with a stat-stuffing 8-97-2 line. Bucky Irving put up 190 total yards from scrimmage. You think I'm done? I'm still going …
Fellow Bucs rookie Jalen McMillan found the box twice and finished with 5-51-2. Even backup TE Payne Durham, a man who looks like he should be in Super Troopers, scored a TD.
Let the record show that Mayfield is having what would be the Browns best QB season of all time with 4,279 passing yards and 42 total TDs. Lol.
Barkley hits 2K
Ok, maybe I buried the lede. That's what happens when you ask a Zero RB bro to write a weekly recap column.
Anyway … Saquon Barkley is now the ninth RB in NFL history to go over 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Here was the run vs. the Cowboys that did it.
It's an absurdly impressive feat in a vacuum, but even more impressive in this current era of the NFL where teams don't saddle their lead backs with enough carries to put up record-breaking yardage totals.
Of course, Barkley isn't done yet. With 2,005 rushing yards, he now has his sights set on breaking Eric Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards, which was set in 1984.
He'll have a pristine opportunity to do so next week vs. the hapless Giants. Just don't expect Dickerson to be rooting for him.
A special rookie class
I mentioned McMillan above, but Week 17 featured a handful of rookies who punctuated stellar debut seasons.
Not only did the following four rookies all reach 1,000 receiving yards–an NFL record–but they all delivered big-time performances during the biggest week of the year:
- Malik Nabers - Exploded for 178 yards and 2 TDs vs. the Colts
- Brian Thomas - Solidified himself as fantasy's playoff MVP with 7-91-1 vs. the Titans
- Brock Bowers - Set the record for most receiving yards by a rookie TE in NFL history with 7-77 vs. the Saints
- Ladd McConkey - Torched the Patriots for 8-94-2 on Saturday
The future of the league (and your dynasty/keeper league teams) is in very good hands.
The Jets dumpster fire collapse
The Jets are pure comedy.
After walking into the stadium with a boombox playing “Gangsta's Paradise”, they got pummeled by the Bills 40-14 to move to 4-12 on the year.
Those fourteen points actually came from Tyrod Taylor after Aaron Rodgers "benched himself."
Leave it to Rodgers to pull off the first-ever in-game version of, “You can't break up with me! I broke up with you!”
Rodgers, who is sure to assault us with a "will he/won't he return to football" storyline for the entire offseason, registered a 1.2 QBR on Sunday before the benching. That's not a typo. It's the lowest QBR game since Davis Mills registered a 0.8 in Week 4 of 2021.
Maybe the Jets can draft a real QB with their top-10 pick?
Jonathan Taylor, the surprise playoff hero
If I'm handing out a fantasy playoff MVP, I'm giving it to BTJ for his production consistency over three straight weeks.
But if we are giving out a "Hero's Journey" award, then it most certainly goes to Taylor.
After being drafted in the first few rounds of 2024 drafts (the call to adventure), Taylor faced a bumpy season with inconsistent production (test, allies, and enemies).
He then faced his biggest test yet (the ordeal) in Week 15 when he fumbled the ball on what should have been a 40-yard TD run.
But then in Week 16, he bounced back in a massive way (seized the sword) and delivered fantasy championships in Week 17 (returned with the elixir) thanks to 136 total yards and 2 TDs vs. the Giants.
Drew Lock did what?
We mentioned Nabers' big day earlier, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how it happened.
It happened because Drew Lock turned into one of the greatest QBs of all time?
No, seriously. He had a 73.9% completion percentage. He threw for 309 yards and 4 TDs with no INTs or sacks taken. His +1.18 EPA/play is the 6th best mark of any QB since 1999.
It gets better, though.
In the process, he potentially lost the Giants the No. 1 overall pick, saved his coach's job, and flipped the AFC playoff picture on its head.
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