Week 17 Fantasy Football Who Should I Start? Zach Charbonnet vs. James Conner, Bucky Irving, Jerome Ford and More

FantasySP has put together a ton of start/sit articles already this week (and rightfully so in the most important fantasy week of the season), and we’re back here with another one.

Here, we’ll compare Zach Charbonnet, who is playing Thursday night, against James Conner, Bucky Irving, Jerome Ford, Chase Brown, Breece Hall, James Cook, Aaron Jones, Rhamondre Stevenson, Josh Jacobs and Chuba Hubbard.

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

Zach Charbonnet Fantasy Outlook

Charbonnet is likely to draw the start and be the Seattle workhorse on Thursday night with Kenneth Walker out with an injury. 

Charbonnet has excelled in the lead role when given the opportunity, and fantasy owners are wondering just how many backs he should be starting over.

He scored 38.3 PPR fantasy points in a start in week 14. I don’t expect that kind of output tonight, but he does have a favorable matchup in which he could deliver an elite fantasy performance in.

Other Back’s Fantasy Outlooks

Conner is dinged up with a knee injury, and started the week as a limited practice participant. The Cardinals have been eliminated from the postseason, so there’s not a real good reason to keep playing the veteran Conner, especially if he’s part of the team’s future plans.

It’s unfortunate that he’s dealing with an injury, because he’s scored over 20 PPR points in three straight contests. He takes on the Rams on Saturday night, which is a pretty average fantasy clash. Conner scored 19.4 fantasy points in the team’s first meeting way back in week 2.

Irving has been the best Tampa Bay fantasy back when he hasn’t had games cut short due to injuries. He’s scored in double figures in five of his past six appearances.

He takes on the Panthers this week, which is a great matchup for a fantasy back - the best in the league actually. Irving had 27.5 PPR points the last time the teams met up.

Ford regained the Browns’ starting role last week and went for 24.1 PPR points. He’s posted some good fantasy totals in his starts this season.

He plays the Dolphins on Sunday, which is a pretty average matchup on paper. 

Brown has been a fantasy star since becoming the Bengals’ lead back. He’s scored in double figures in eight straight games - his 13.9-point outing last week was his lowest output since the beginning of that eight-game stretch.

Brown takes on the Broncos in a massive game on Saturday. That’s another average fantasy matchup for a running back.

Hall has scored 13.1 and 14 PPR points over the past two weeks. I thought there was a chance the team was going to shut him down, but he’s not only playing, but still getting a majority of the touches.

A week 17 clash with the Bills is a fantastic matchup for Hall. The running back scored 21.9 PPR points in the team’s first meeting in week 6.

Cook has bounced back from a 4.9-point showing in week 14 with 26.3- and 27.6-point showings the past two contests. That 4.9-point showing was his only time below 15 points in the past six contests.

The clash with the Jets is pretty tough on paper. He missed the teams first matchup this season.

Jones scored 12.3 PPR points last week, his lowest mark in the past three contests. He’s gotten 18 rushing attempts in back-to-back games.

He takes on his old team, Green Bay, this week. It’s an average matchup on paper. Jones scored 17.9 PPR points in the last matchup with the Pack in week 4.

Stevenson had 12.3 PPR points last week - his high over the past three games is 12.4 points. He’s gotten between 12-18 rushing attempts and had at least one catch in those three games.

He takes on the Chargers, who are a pretty tough matchup.

Jacobs is one of the hottest fantasy backs right now, scoring 20 or more PPR points in six straight games. He’s scored 10 rushing touchdowns in that span.

His clash with Minnesota is one of the toughest a fantasy back can have. He didn’t score a touchdown in the first meeting, but finished with 11.8 PPR points.

Hubbard erupted for 32.5 points last week, and has 20 or more points in two of the past three games - he only had 8.9 points in the other game.

His clash with the Bucs is a bit below average. In the week 13 matchup with the Bucs, Hubbard scored 2.3 points - he had 32 rushing yards on 12 carries, lost a fumble and didn’t have a catch or target.

Projections and Starting Recommendations

Brown owns the top projection among this group of backs at 19 points. Hubbard sits at 17 points. 

Jones, Jacobs and Irving all check in at 16 points. Charbonnet and Hall are at 15 points, while Cook and Conner are at 14 points. Ford sits at 13 points, while Stevenson is at 12.

Things should change before the Thursday game kicks off, but right now, fantasy owners do not prefer Charbonnet over any of these other backs. Here’s how I would rank them all. 

I like Brown the best of this bunch. I’m maybe not as high on him as the projections are, but in an average matchup, I’m sticking with one of the hottest fantasy backs for week 17.

I have Irving second. I absolutely love Irving this week and think he’s very close to being a must-start fantasy back. The matchup is fantastic, and he’s already delivered in this matchup before. I’m trusting him to post a monster fantasy score.

I’d go with Jacobs next. I know he’s got a tough matchup and didn’t deliver a big score in the team’s first matchup, but that was so long ago, and the Packers’ offense has revolved around Jacobs for weeks now. I think he’ll perform much better this time around, and I simply don’t want to miss out on him in case his streak of scoring 20 or more points continues.

I’d drop Charbonnet here. Much like Irving, I’m really high on Charbonnet in a super favorable matchup. Charbonnet has delivered in the lead role before, and I think he does again on Thursday night.

Jones goes here for me. The defensive matchup is a bit deceiving - as a Packer fan, I can say that the Green Bay defense has done a fantastic job of slowing opposing backs recently. Jones will still post a good amount of points, but I don’t think it will be a monster outing.

Here is where Hubbard goes. He’s capable of some big fantasy outings, but I simply don’t trust him as much as the others I took before him - his inconsistent offense is to blame there. I still think you need to find a way to get Hubbard into your starting lineups in standard leagues.

Cook is another standard league starter in my eyes, and he goes next. The matchup isn’t the best, and while his fantasy outings haven’t been super consistent, I think he’ll still deliver a pretty good fantasy total.

As long as Conner plays and isn’t limited in any way, I would do my best to start him in a standard league - he goes here mostly because of his injury concern. He delivered in this matchup already this season, and has been great of late. Conner could sneak a few spots up my list if he gets in a full practice or two this week.

This is where Hall goes, and he’s the final guy I’d try to start in a standard league. I like his matchup and expect him to deliver a good fantasy score - maybe not as good as the team’s first meeting, but a good enough one for a standard league start.

Ford and Stevenson are better deep-league options in my eyes. The matchups aren’t terrible, but neither back’s offense is one to fully trust in. Ford gets the edge because of his high ceiling.