NFL Fantasy 2024 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Running backs for Week 17

Hall has produced roughly 13 fantasy points in each of his last two games, which is a fairly secure floor. But I expect an upside performance from him this week. The Bills have struggled against running backs this year, ranking top-two in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns allowed to the position. In total, Buffalo's D has allowed the third-most fantasy PPG to backs. The unit has also allowed explosive runs at the third-highest rate, which is great for Hall, who has big-play ability. Hall also has a history of success against the Bills. Not only did he get them for 22 points in Week 6, but he's run for more than 100 yards or scored a TD in every career game against them. Although he hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations placed on him at the beginning of the fantasy season, he could more than make up for it with a huge championship week performance.

A game-winning breakaway run led to Hubbard finishing with 32.5 fantasy points and as the RB2 in Week 16. But he also saw some involvement in the passing game, bringing in four catches on five targets. It was the fifth time in his last six games that he had at least four targets. His value as a receiving threat could come into play this week, as the Bucs have struggled to cover backs. Tampa ranks in the top six in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns allowed to RBs this season. Plus, Hubbard's got a little extra incentive to bring it this week, knowing when he last faced this team it was his overtime fumble that ultimately cost Carolina the game. But revenge motivations aside, Hubbard simply has been too good this year to get away from now, and could finish this campaign as a true league-winner.

Irving just continues to eat! The volume he sees on a weekly basis -- on the ground, as a pass catcher and near the goal line -- makes him an RB2 with RB1 upside each time out. He has scored at least 13 fantasy points in five of his last six games, clearing 17 points in four of those. He gets a fantastic matchup this week in the Panthers, who have allowed 350 more rushing yards to backs than any other team this season. They have also allowed the most rushing touchdowns and fantasy PPG to RBs. When Irving played them in Week 13, he went for more than 180 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, finishing with 27.5 points. He is a must-start with the potential to win managers championships.

Tracy's wide receiver background came through in a big way last week, when he managed to get his feet inbounds after securing a leaping grab in the back of the end zone. That scoring catch led to him topping 14 fantasy points for the third time in his last four games. In fact, since Week 5, Tracy has averaged 13.9 points per game. The floor might be low, but the median and ceiling are high, which is enough to keep him in play in a favorable matchup against the Colts. Indianapolis has allowed the sixth-most rushing yards to backs this year, and have struggled against pass-catching backs, in particular. In total, Indy has allowed the eighth-most fantasy PPG to RBs. The matchup and increased targets as of late has Tracy in play as an RB2 in championship week, but keep an eye on his status, as he's dealing with an ankle injury.

After a string of strong outings, Dowdle faltered Sunday night against the Bucs defense. He finished with just 51 total yards for 8.1 fantasy points. His points have now decreased in each of his last three games. Things could get worse for the fourth-year back before they get better. The Eagles have allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards overall this year and the third-fewest rushing TDs to running backs. In total, Philly's D has allowed the second-fewest fantasy PPG to the position. When these two teams met in Week 10, the Eagles held Dowdle to just 56 scrimmage yards and 8.6 fantasy points. If all those matchup stats didn't scare you away from Dowdle already, then consider he now has to worry about losing valuable goal-line touches to Ezekiel Elliott. I just don't see it happening for Dowdle this week. 

Etienne was a popular target early in drafts over the summer. If you somehow managed to get this far with him still on your roster, I would not rely on him in this make-or-break week. Since his return from injury in Week 9, he's managed just 7.8 fantasy PPG with a single-game high of 12.5 points (Week 15 vs. Jets). Last week, he was out-touched by Tank Bigsby, who also scored the lone Jags TD out of the backfield. The upside simply isn't worth the risk at this stage in the season.

This is actually a favorable matchup for the position, in what could be a high-scoring game between two teams I expect to be more aggressive than usual considering how much is at stake. Still, I just don't see how you can trust a Broncos back in fantasy. Last week, we saw Audric Estimé lead the team in carries and score a touchdown. But we've seen similar production like that before only to see the back vanish the following week. Williams had just four carries against the Chargers in Week 16, but he did see 11 targets. But those double-digit targets translated into just 12.3 points. You can't trust he'll receive that type of volume in the passing game again, and, more importantly, you simply can't trust Denver's backfield with a fantasy title on the line. Stay away from this trap.

I had Edwards as a sit last week, and I apologize to those who followed that advice. He scored 19.9 fantasy points on Thursday -- just three points shy of his total over his previous four games combined. It was his first multi-TD game since November ... of last season. It was also his first time reaching double-digit points in 2024. If you faced Edwards last week you simply got extremely unlucky. If you sat him, you missed out on the spike week. The Patriots don't pose as particularly tough matchup, but I don't want to chase the points here. Edwards' floor is legitimately less than five points and that would likely sink you in championship week. Just stay away.