Panthers in Fantasyland Week 17

McCaffrey still has rare season within sight

Jeff “Tito” Thitoff works for Fantasy Draft Proxies, a service that assists people in drafts and decisions throughout the seasons on starting lineups, trades and waivers. Tito has played fantasy football since 1980, with his first pick ever being Cleveland QB Brian Sipe. He hosted a fantasy football radio show for eight years on the ESPN affiliate in Columbus, Ohio. Here are his Week 17 suggestions:

Let’s start with this: if your championship is this week, you need to impeach your president – um, commissioner – of your league. Week 17 is going to be littered with playoff teams sitting starters, veterans on crappy teams sitting out and a big old ball of uncertainty throughout the NFL.

You have to do plenty of research between now and Sunday to make sure your starters are in fact starting for their own teams.

The Ravens, for instance, have locked up home-field advantage for the playoffs and aren’t playing Lamar Jackson as well as many more of their relevant fantasy players. Keep an eye on the news – especially on Sunday morning – and make sure you don’t get zeroes from your heroes that got you this far.

Now let’s check in with the Panthers …

DJ Moore is listed as doubtful due to a concussion and I don’t see any reason to believe he will play, No need. 

Christian McCaffrey SHOULDN’T play – but he will. He needs 67 yards receiving to become just the third member of the 1,000-1,000 club (rushing and receiving). He’s going to go for it, but if I were Carolina I wouldn’t let him suit up. It’s not worth the risk of getting him hurt. If they do play him, get him out of the game as soon as he hits the mark.

The probable unavailability of Moore should result in more looks for Curtis Samuel.

My top quarterback this week is Drew Brees, as the Saints still have a lot on the line as they visit Carolina. Looking for someone to replace Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen? You could do worse than Baker Mayfield (seriously) against Cincinnati.

I’ve been a fan of Joe Mixon for the last couple of years, but the most consistent part of his game is his inconsistency. If I’m running the Bengals, Mixon doesn’t play. I’m not running the Bengals, so expect Mixon to get 15-25 touches this week.

Anthony Miller was a dog last week for Chicago, but he could bounce back against Minnesota if you are looking for a flex play.

Hit me up at @ThitHappens on Twitter if you have any questions on Sunday. Thanks for reading.