The fantasy football season ended last week. Well, for most. Some leagues continue until week 17, meaning a few fantasy team owners need some start/sit advice one last time. Those looking to add and slot in a wide receiver should look no further than Oakland Raiders wideout Jordy Nelson. He is probably unowned in most leagues due to his dry spell in the midway point of the season. However, he has come on strong and looked like quarterback Derek Carr’s top option for the past few weeks.
Jordy Nelson Worth Starting This Week in Fantasy Football
Derek Carr’s Top Target
Nelson started the season off a bit inconsistently, just like the entire Oakland offense. The first two games he had a combined five catches for 53 yards. Then, he exploded week three for six catches, 173 yards, and a touchdown. Nelson followed that up with two more games of 40+ yards and a touchdown. After that things went downhill. In the next five games he played, he combined for 36 yards. Combined. Over five games. Yikes. To his credit, Nelson missed a game during that span and was playing hurt. Still, it looked like the 33-year-old didn’t have anything left in the tank.
However, after bottoming out for -.2 fantasy points week 12 against the Baltimore Ravens, Nelson turned it around. He put up his second-best game of the season the week after against the Kansas City Chiefs, catching ten passes for 97 yards. Since then he has only had under 50 yards receiving once, and not less than seven catches in a game. He still hasn’t scored since all the way back in week five, meaning it might be time for him to find the end zone to close out the season.
Because of the sheer volume Nelson is getting, he is looking like a great start, especially in PPR leagues.
Chiefs Defense is Literally Swiss Cheese
As mentioned, Nelson came back to life this season after playing the Chiefs week 13. Now he gets to face them yet again. Kansas City is going to the playoffs no doubt, but it is not because of their defense. Patrick Mahomes has been even better than advertised, making ridiculous plays every single week. However, it has masked a horrible defense, that is giving up the most passing yards in the entire league.
In fact, the past few games have seen team’s top wide receivers putting up big fantasy points against Kansas City. Doug Baldwin had 126 yards and a touchdown last week. Then, in week 15, Mike Williams scored three touchdowns and racked up 76 yards after Keenan Allen went down early in the game for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chiefs are trying to hang on to a division lead and hopefully the first-round bye this week. However, Jon Gruden and the Raiders would love to play spoiler against a division foe and end the season strong.
There should be plenty of offense, and plenty of opportunity for Nelson to put up fantasy points for leagues still going this week.
A Lot of Injuries and Bad Matchups
Nelson is only owned in about 50% of fantasy leagues, so chances are that he is a free agent still. He may seem like a risk to start, but there are a lot of bad matchups for comparable wide receivers in this week’s slate of games. Courtland Sutton goes against the Chargers and their underrated top corner Casey Hayward. Besides that, the team looks like they’ve all but given up this season. From there, other matchups include Sterling Shepard against the Dallas Cowboys, Allen Robinson against the Minnesota Vikings, and Corey Davis who might have Blaine Gabbert throwing him the ball.
None of those are appetizing matchups, and each of those receivers could easily bottom out.
A few other wide receivers are set to miss week 17 as well. Promising San Francisco 49ers rookie Dante Pettis and new Houston Texan Demaryius Thomas were solid WR3’s before going down last week. Even some top wide receivers are questionable, like New York Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr. Some teams may even need a wide receiver to FLEX, with running backs like Lamar Miller’s status in question for the season’s finale.
Last Word on Jordy Nelson’s Week 17 Outlook
Nelson, like the entire Oakland Raiders team, has been overall disappointing this season. However, there have been signs of life from him this past month, making him worth considering starting this week against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are the worst team in the league against the pass. The Raiders would also love to play spoiler and force the Chiefs to play on the road for the entire playoffs. Fantasy team owners might not have many options this week with so many injuries and bad matchups at the position.
If needed, Nelson can provide a safe floor for teams playing their championship this week.
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