In addition to writing articles and appearing on podcasts, our internal analysts at FantasyPros also toss ideas back and forth in Slack throughout the week. Since these conversations would also be useful to fantasy managers, we decided to organize some of them and make them available to everyone.

Here is what Matthew Freedman, Pat Fitzmaurice, Derek Brown, Andrew Erickson and Joe Pisapia had to say in Slack this week as everyone prepared for Week 16 of the fantasy football season.

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Fantasy Football Week 17 Preview

Q1. What was your biggest takeaway or what surprised you the most from Week 16?

Erickson: The Rams beatdown of the Denver Broncos. Talk about a team just absolutely imploding. But those that hung on to Cam Akers for this long are getting paid for being patient. Guy’s been a low-key league-winner the last few weeks. And he gets LAC’s bad run defense in championship week. YLTSI.

Joe: Panthers running amuck on the Lions defense who had really tightened up over the last few weeks.

Pat: Erickson and Joe stole the two most glaring takeaways of the week, but I want to put in a good word for Evan Engram. He had seven catches for 113 yards against the Jets and even managed to make Jets CB Sauce Gardner look silly — no small feat. Engram has gone from being an error-prone underachiever to being one of the few bright lights at the TE position.

Q2. It’s championship week for most leagues. Are there any “studs” you’d consider sitting or “sleepers” you’d consider starting in a championship matchup?

Erickson: DeAndre Hopkins with Trace McSorely at QB is asking for Diontae Johnson or Michael Pittman production. Sure the volume will be there. But there’s no upside.

Joe: Give me Jahan Dotson over Mike Evans.

Pat: With the Raiders’ benching of Derek Carr, I’m concerned about Josh Jacobs, even though he should continue to get heavy volume. Jacobs faces a San Francisco defense that hasn’t allowed more than 59 rushing yards to any RB all season. With Jarrett Stidham replacing Carr at QB, the odds of Jacobs scoring a touchdown to offset than lower-than-usual yardage ceiling is greatly diminished.

Chuba Hubbard could be a sneaky-good play this week. He’s splitting snaps evenly with D’Onta Foreman these days, and the Panthers are running at such a freakishly high rate that they can support two fantasy-viable RBs. In Sam Darnold‘s four games at quarterback, the Panthers have run on 63.2% of their offensive snaps.

Q3. Are you adding anyone one on waivers this week? And would you consider starting that player or any other player available on waivers in your championship?

Joe: Isaiah Hodgins and the Jags D/ST.

Pat: Tyler Allgeier and Chuba Hubbard are both flex-worthy in leagues with 12 or more teams.

Q4. Any final thoughts for the week? Do you change your strategy at all for championship week? Do you have any playing time concerns for teams that have been eliminated or already have their playoff spots locked up?

Joe: Derrick Henry situation is concerning because it could be fluid based on game script. Lastly, look for points you can lock in over upside. Now, go win that championship!

Pat: Yeah, it appears the Raiders and Titans are waving the white flag for Week 17 — a cruel twist of fate for Davante Adams and Derrick Henry stakeholders.

No tactical changes. Just a reminder that “I need upside” is a flawed approach. Start the players with the best outlooks. Too many people use the “upside” thing to justify suboptimal decision-making.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

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