Week 17 Thursday Fantasy Football Starting Options: Chicago's Caleb Williams or Seattle's Geno Smith? What About Keenan Allen, Zach Charbonnet, D.J. Moore, DK Metcalf and More

Week 17 of the NFL regular season is underway after two Christmas games. We’re back at it Thursday with an NFC clash between the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears.

Let’s go over the top fantasy options from the game. Be sure to run all your Seahawks and Bears players through the start/sit tool, and check back soon for more articles on trending Thursday night players.

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Quarterbacks

Caleb Williams leads the Bears into action, while Geno Smith guides the Seahawks.

Williams has 3,271 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. He has 436 yards and no touchdowns on the ground.

Williams scored over 20 fantasy points last week, after combining for just 24 points in the previous two games. He’s been over 14 points in five of the past six games.

Smith has 3,937 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions for the season. He’s got 239 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

He also scored over 20 fantasy points last week - he had under 14 points in the previous three contests before that. 

The matchup for Williams is pretty average, while Smith’s is a tough one. In the weekly projections, Williams is projected for 16 fantasy points, while Smith is at 13.

I’m not a huge fan of either fantasy quarterback this week, mostly because they’ve been so inconsistent, and this game could go in a number of different directions. I do prefer Williams over Smith, although I think they finish closer than the projections say.

Running Backs

Kenneth Walker is out for Seattle, so Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh should split the backfield. D'Andre Swift continues to lead the Chicago backfield, while Roschon Johnson backs him up.

Charbonnet has posted some strong fantasy showings when Walker has been out in the past. Charbonnet is coming off a three-touch game, and has been working through an elbow injury. He practiced in full twice this week, so I expect him to do the heavy lifting in the backfield.

McIntosh has 13 of his 17 carries over the past three weeks. He’s caught three passes for 22 yards in those games. 

Swift has failed to top 10 fantasy points in five straight contests. He’s gotten double-digit touches in all those games, but only had nine carries last week.

Johnson hasn’t done much the past few weeks - he had been dealing with an injury, and that plays a role in that. Johnson has three double-digit PPR performances this season.

The clash for the Seattle backs is very favorable, while the Bears’ backs have a slightly below-average clash. In the weekly projections, Charbonnet leads the way with 15 PPR fantasy points. Swift is at 11 and Johnson at just four. McIntosh is at just three points.

I also like Charbonnet this week, and think he should be starting in a bunch of fantasy leagues. Swift is next in this game, but someone I’d only want to start in a deeper league. McIntosh is an option in deep leagues, while I’d try to stay away from Johnson.

Wide Receivers

Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze are the top Chicago wideouts. Seattle has Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Allen has been on fire recently, scoring over 20 PPR points in four of five games. He’s had 13 targets in back-to-back games.

Moore has scored in double figures in six straight - he’s scored 15 or more points in three of those contests. He has eight or more targets in four straight games.

Odunze has scored in double figures just once over the past five games - he scored two touchdowns in his double-digit outing. He has seven targets in back-to-back games.

Smith-Njigba has been the best Seattle fantasy wideout this season. He’s scored in double figures in eight straight contests and has 18 or more in three straight.

Metcalf has just three double-digit performances over his past six appearances. He’s had between 3-9 targets in those contests.

Lockett has faded as the season has gone along, and hasn’t touched double digits in six straight outings. He has three or less targets in all those games.

The clash for the Bears’ wideouts is slightly above-average, while the Seahawks’ wideouts have one of the tougher matchups. In the weekly projections, Smith Njigba leads the way with 17 PPR fantasy points. Allen is projected for 15, Moore 14, Metcalf 13, Odunze 11 and Lockett seven.

I also like Smith-Njigba the most in this contest, although I wouldn’t be surprised if really anyone else was the top scorer. JSN, Allen, Moore, Metcalf and Odunze are all standard league options for me, although I’d prefer to start Metcalf and Odunze in deeper leagues. I’d only start Lockett in a deep league, and would try to avoid him if I could.

Tight Ends

The tight ends in this game are pretty lackluster. Cole Kmet plays nearly every snap for Chicago, while Noah Fant and AJ Barner are worth mentioning for the Seahawks.

Kmet had his best fantasy outing in four games his last time out, but he only had 8.9 PPR points. He has three double-digit outings on the season.

Fant is averaging just 6.5 PPR points per week this season. He hasn’t scored in double figures in any of his past five appearances. Fant does have 13 targets over the past two games.

Barner caught a touchdown last week, leading to his second-best PPR performance (9.3 points) on the season. He’s been involved every week, but only a little bit.

The clash for the Seahawks’ tight ends is slightly more favorable. In the weekly projections, Fant is at eight PPR points, while Kmet is at six and Barner three.

I don’t like the idea of starting either of these tight ends in a standard league, although I do prefer Fant by a little over Kmet. Barner is just a desperation play in very deep leagues, in my eyes.

Kickers

Jason Myers is the kicker for the Seahawks. He’s 23-of-27 on his field goals and 34-of-37 on his extra points.

Cairo Santos kicks for Chicago. He is 19-of-23 on his field goals and 22-of-23 on his extra points.

Both kickers are projected for six fantasy points this week. Neither are very good fantasy options, but I don’t think they are terrible options in a game where the offenses could move the ball before stalling and settling for field goals. I’d prefer to only play them in deeper leagues though.

Defenses/Special Teams

The Seattle defense is allowing 338.3 yards and 22.7 points per game this season. The Seahawks have 16 takeaways, but 23 giveaways.

Chicago’s defense is at 359.4 yards and 22.8 points allowed. The Bears have 21 takeaways and 13 giveaways, which doesn’t seem possible looking at the team’s overall record and long losing streak.

The projections like the Seattle D/ST, with the Seahawks projected for eight points. Chicago’s D/ST sits at six points.

I also like the Seattle D/ST more tonight, but wouldn’t be all that confident starting them. I view them as more of a middle-of-the-pack D/ST this week, not a must-start in standard leagues. I’d try to stay away from the Bears’ D/ST, simply because I don’t trust them during this extended losing streak.