UPDATE: 10:37 a.m. Sunday
Tetairoa McMillan is good to go. The early inactives lists are out, and the Panthers’ rookie receiver is not on it. So he’ll be starting in the big noon game against Seattle.
A handful of questionable players are listed as good to go: Cleveland RB Dylan Sampson, Arizona WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Saints WR Chris Olave, Patriots WR DeMario Douglas and Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
UPDATE: 9:58 a.m. Sunday
First things first. If you’re facing a Derrick Henry team this championship week, you can stop reading this. You have no chance to win. Go pick up a book, or Netflix and chill. There probably won’t be anyone else this week to tally 212 yards and four touchdowns.
The big news two hours before the early kickoffs is that New England rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson has been cleared to return from the concussion protocol and is a must-start against the lowly Jets.
Four notables have been ruled out. Saints RB Alvin Kamara, Jags RB Bayshul Tuten, Bears wideout Rome Odunze and Browns tight end David Njoku.
Early inactives come out in the next hour, and all eyes are on Carolina WR Tetairoa McMillan, who is dealing with an illness. Would be a big loss for the Panthers, and McMillan’s fantasy backers.
UPDATE: 6:46 a.m. Thursday
Merry Christmas everybody! We’ve got an early start on championship week with three games that look to be three mismatches, as the starting quarterbacks for the Vikings, Commanders and Chiefs will all be spectators.
One of their three replacements MIGHT be an interesting Hail Mary start: Washington’s Josh Johnson, who’s now playing for his 14th NFL team. He’s only an option, though, because he’ll be facing Dallas’ mediocre defense and has nothing to lose. Could actually run for a score.
The big name on the injury report for the holiday is Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St Brown, one of the league’s best. He’s going to give it a go despite an injured knee. So he’s still a must start, even though the Vikings’ pass defense has been quite strong lately.
Several notables have been ruled out today: Two Vikings (RB Jordan Mason, TE T.J. Hockenson) and one Chief (WR Rashee Rice)..
ORIGINAL POST: 6 a.m. Wednesday
Just because a player was picked near the top of August fantasy drafts does not mean you have to start them in the fantasy championship week four months later.
Exhibit A would be the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson. Might be the NFL’s most talented receiver; might also spend most of Christmas sulking through another Max Brosmer start. No. 18 is more likely to see lumps of coal than his third touchdown catch of this lost season.
Who’s most likely to fail this week? Stars with nagging injuries? All-pros whose teams were eliminated over the past two weeks? Standouts with particularly bad matchups?
Here’s our position-by-position thoughts, including some potential Week 17 gold that might still be available on waivers.
Quarterback — Nagging injuries make both Bills’ Josh Allen and Ravens’ Lamar Jackson dicey, while Detroit’s Jared Goff is facing that tough Vikings defense. Two guys who could have big games Sunday are the Saints’ Tyler Shough versus the Titans and Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett against Cincinnati.
Running back — It’s been a while since Indy’s Jonathan Taylor or the Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco found much room to run. And they’ll be working less with their teams out of the playoff chase. So, you’d be better off turning to the Cardinals’ Michael Carter against the Bengals or the Rams’ Blake Corum in Atlanta.
Wide receiver — First of all, Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf is unavailable because he slapped a fan in Detroit. But Lions fans are likely to see diminished versions of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams versus the Vikings. So, better options might be former Viking Adam Thielen against Cleveland, Indy’s Alec Pierce versus the Jaguars, the Jags’ Parker Washington versus the Colts and Denver’s Troy Franklin in Kansas City.
Tight end — Not even Taylor Swift would start Travis Kelce this week. The Chiefs’ soon-to-be-retired icon will not see a lot of passes coming his way. At least not as many as Jacksonville’s Brenton Strange versus Indy, Houston’s Dalton Schultz versus the Chargers or New England’s Hunter Henry against the Jets.
Sitting stars
He’s still a must-start, but we’ve got a feeling Atlanta RB Bijan Robinson will lose key market share to teammate Tyler Allgeier against the Rams. … Seattle’s defense will mostly keep Carolina rushers Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard in check. … Quarterback uncertainty is a good reason not to count on Baltimore WR Zay Flowers in Green Bay. … Houston’s top defense will plague Chargers receivers, particularly Ladd McConkey. … Two QBs who will continue to slump are Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins versus the Rams and the Giants’ Jaxson Dart versus Las Vegas. … And the Philip Rivers revival cooled significantly in the second half Monday night, so you can’t count on him this week against red-hot Jacksonville.
Matchup game
Quarterback issues will lead to big days for some of the league’s best running backs: Buffalo’s James Cook against Philly, Baltimore’s Derrick Henry against the Packers and Miami’s De’Von Achane versus Tampa Bay. … Speaking of the Bucs, WR Mike Evans will have a big game in Miami. … But not as big as Denver WR Courtland Sutton against a Chiefs defense that has thrown in the towel. … The Raiders’ Brock Bowers is almost back to full strength, and the tight end will prosper against the Giants. … And two of the top QBs this week will again be Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence against the Colts and Dak Prescott versus Washington.
Injury watch
The absence of Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is not very fantasy relevant, but the possible sidelining of Packers’ Jordan Love is. … Cleveland running back Quinshon Judkins is done for the season, which makes Raheim Sanders the Browns’ new No. 1. … Rams WR Davante Adams is likely to give his bad hamstring another week to heal. … The long list of questionables includes eight running backs (Vikings’ Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, Patriots’ TreVeyon Henderson, Packers’ Josh Jacobs, Cowboys’ Javonte Williams, Chargers’ Kimani Vidal, Browns’ Dylan Sampson, Texans’ Woody Marks), five receivers (Chiefs’ Rashee Rice, Bears’ Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, Packers’ Romeo Doubs, 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall) and two tight ends (49ers’ George Kittle, VIkings’ T.J. Hockenson).
Deepest sleeper
He has touched the ball only 63 times this season, but New Orleans’ Taysom Hill is just hitting his stride. The tight end and occasional quarterback threw his first touchdown pass in more than two years last Sunday, and he tallied 16 touches for 78 yards against the lowly Jets. This week’s foe, Tennessee, is almost as motley. Getting a touchdown from this veteran would be something less than a Christmas miracle. It would almost be predictable.
The Christmas/Saturday picks
Cowboys at Commanders (+6½)
Pick: Cowboys by 7
Lions at Vikings (+5½)
Pick: Lions by 7
Broncos at Chiefs (+12½)
Pick: Broncos by 20
Texans at Chargers (-2½)
Pick: Texans by 3
Ravens at Packers (-2½)
Pick: Ravens by 3
You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X– @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
