Just like that, we’ve reached the penultimate week of the NFL year. It’s been a very fascinating fantasy football campaign to say the least but sadly, only two more regular season slates remain. That being said, let’s make the most of what we have left, starting by exploring Parlay4’s Week 17 quarterback quartet.
Justin Herbert vs. LAR
Tyler Huntley vs. PIT
Baker Mayfield @ LAC
Kenny Pickett @ BAL
Baker Mayfield Over/Under 11.5 Fantasy Pts
One of the storylines playing out during this eventful season on the gridiron has been the trajectory arc of Baker Mayfield.
First he was jettisoned by the Browns, even after delivering the franchise’s first playoff victory this century just a couple of years ago. He wound up in Carolina, where things didn’t turn out fruitful either and was released by the team weeks ago.
Flash forward to present day and Mayfield suddenly has new life — with the defending world champions of all teams, though that’s a result of the season-ending injury to Matthew Stafford putting the Rams in their own QB predicament.
Well, this angle is something that can be of use to fantasy football players if deployed precisely. Mayfield has looked solid in his new digs, even leading LA to a 2-1 record across his three Rams starts.
The stats also exhibit a resurgence for the former No. 1 overall draft pick as well. Mayfield holds an illuminating 98.9 passer rating donning the blue-and-yellow colors, and while that hasn’t been in a large sample size, it’s still telling how that mark tops any of his full seasons previously.
Mayfield is a man on a mission right now — trying to save his career and audition for next year — and fortunately for the five-year veteran, he has a matchup on tap that may point to another fine showing.
The “other” team in LA ranks in the top half of the league in scoring with 22.1 points per game. Given how hot they’ve been as of late, winning three in a row to secure their playoff berth, expect a similar output here from the Chargers while going to the air often — as they typically do.
In turn, that means the Rams will either be playing from behind and thus needing to pass often, or crank out a healthy dosage of their own on the offensive side of the ball. Either way, Mayfield looks poised to craft something that exceeds his low projection.
Pick: OVER 11.5 Pts
The Rest
Justin Herbert is a popular guy right now, stepping up as of late after a relatively unspectacular 2022 by his high standards. However, he still carries high projected fantasy totals every time he takes the field, sometimes making it tough pickings in regards of what to choose. Plus, the talented Rams D hasn’t given up.
That leaves us with a pair of signal-callers to examine from this week’s Sunday Night Football. Normally, it’s a good idea to lay off guys returning from injury, so we’ll not even think about depending on Kenny Pickett. The rookie has been pretty inconsistent, and returning to action after missing time provides an extra variable.
Meanwhile, Tyler Huntley gets the starting nod again for the Ravens with Lamar Jackson still out. However, he’s tough to enlist with any over/under projections considering that two of his three starts saw him attempt less than 20 throws. His running can make the difference but that’s tough to predict here in what should be a low-scoring tilt versus the rival Steelers.