Week 17 Injury Update, Start/Sid advice, projections and more

The New England Patriots will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and going forward, especially regarding TE Hunter Henry.

Will Hunter Henry play in Week 17?

Henry is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.

We will continue to monitor the Patriots’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.

Should you start or sit Hunter Henry in Week 17?

It looks like we’ve found the best way to take advantage of Drake Maye. Is it a little late? Sure, but better late than never, and Henry might just put you over the edge as you fight for supremacy in your league.

Last week, he posted his sixth top-10 finish at the position, in part because Maye acted like he had Henry on his fantasy team (four targets in the end zone). The usage up close has been there when New England has had the opportunity to score, and while that’s encouraging, that’s not all he offers.

Henry offers plus athleticism and has been trusted with vertical shots this year. He’s cleared 50 air yards in four of his last five games, something that gives him the potential to repay your trust even if you’re skeptical of an offense that enters this week projected under 20 points.

You’ll have to deal with the confusion of whether it’s Austin Hooper (3+ catches in six straight games) or Henry playing as you watch, but this offense will pretty clearly show off its chain-moving tight ends; Henry has been on the right side of that selection often enough that I could consider him a viable low-end TE1 this week, even in a tough matchup.

Looking for starting/his advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Advisory cheat sheet for every fantasy-eligible player in every game.

Hunter Henry’s Week 17 Fantasy Points Projection

As of Saturday, Henry is projected to score 9.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.4 receptions for 37.7 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.

Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.

PFN Insight on the Chargers’ Defense

After some tough games against better competition, Week 16 looked to be more of the same for the Chargers’ defense. Denver scored touchdowns on each of its first three drives, a week after Los Angeles failed to force a punt against Tampa Bay.

At one point, LA was on a streak of 15 straight drives without forcing a punt, the longest by any defense all season. However, they bounced back with one of their best halves of the season, although their 67.2 grade (D+) was still their third-worst of the season.

Breaking that down in half, the Chargers had the worst Defense+ rating of any unit in the first half in Week 16, but the sixth-best in the second half.

The Chargers’ biggest concern remains a shaky pass defense that bounced back from a terrible start vs. Broncos. But since Week 11, Los Angeles ranks 26th in defensive EPA per. dropback (-0.17) after being in second place from weeks 1-10 (0.10).

Regardless, the arrival of Jim Harbaugh and Jesse Minter from Michigan has had an immediate impact on LA’s defense. Los Angeles has ranked in the top five for most of the season, a massive improvement from a unit that never ranked higher than 24th under Brandon Staley.

For more insight into every other team’s defense, go to our PFN Defence+ Metric Analysis.

Hunter Henry’s Week 17 Fantasy Ranking

Our weekly consensus PPR rankings are below – both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, December 28. If you’re in a Superflex league, be sure to check out our weekly consensus Superflex rankings.

Week 17 TE PPR rankings

1) Brock Bowers | LV (at NE)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (by LAR)
3) George Kittle | SF (vs. DET)
4) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at CLE)
5) Sam LaPorta | IT (at SF)
6) Mark Andrews | BALL (at HOU)
7) Travis Kelce | KC (at PIT)
8) TJ Hockenson | MIN (relative to GB)
9) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. BAL)
10) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. KC)
11) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at JAX)
12) Tucker Kraft | GB (at MIN)
13) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs. NEW)
14) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. TEN)
15) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at PHI)
16) Hunter Henrik | NE (vs. LAC)
17) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LV)
18) Stone Smart | LAC (at NE)
19) Zach Ertz | VAR (vs. ATL)
20) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at WAS)
21) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. DEN)
22) Will Disley | LAC (at NE)
23) Noah Gray | KC (at PIT)
24) Isaiah Probably | BALL (at HOU)
25) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. DAL)
26) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. SEA)
27) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. LAC)
28) Noah Fant | SEA (at CHI)
29) Ja’Tavion Sanders | CAR (in TB)
30) Foster Moreau | NO (relative to LV)
31) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. ARI)
32) Michael Mayer | LV (at NE)
33) Tommy Tremble | CAR (in TB)
34) Daniel Bellinger | NEW (vs. IN)
35) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. NEW)
36) Payne Durham | TB (vs. CAR)
37) Tyler Conklin | NEW (at BUF)
38) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs. MIA)

Chargers at Patriots Trends and Insights

Los Angeles Chargers

Team: Thursday’s win was the second time in 32 days that the Chargers won a game in which they allowed 27+ points and lost the turnover game – the other 31 teams had done it five times to that point.

QB: Justin Herbert’s aggression seems to be fading. After posting a 10.1-yard average against the Chiefs in Week 14 (his fourth double-digit effort of the season), his rate checked in at 8.2 yards in Week 15 against the Buccaneers and 6.8 in Thursday’s win over the Broncos.

Crime: Los Angeles averaged a season-high 3.1 points per game. possession on Thursday night, scoring on just 27.3% of their possessions (their fourth game this season with a below 30% scoring rate).

Defense: The Chargers finally forced a punt after failing to do so on 16 straight drives — that’s the longest streak this season and one shy of matching the longest in franchise history.

Fantasy: Gus Edwards ran 14 times for 68 yards (43 on a single carry) and two touchdowns Thursday night — it was the sixth time a running back had two rushing touchdowns on fewer than 15 carries since early November — teammate JK Dobbins was responsible for two of the other five.

Bet: Unders are 7-3 in Los Angeles’ last 10 games played on extended rest.

New England Patriots

Team: New England is in the midst of its second five-game losing streak of the season – from 2010-17, it didn’t lose five games in a single regular season.

QB: Drake Maye has completed 15-of-17 third-down passes over his last three games (88.2%)

Crime: The Patriots scored on 30% of their drives against the Bills on Sunday, matching their season high.

Defense: New England’s defense came into play on Sunday, holding the Bills to just four-of-11 on third down (in their previous two games, they allowed a 57.7% conversion rate).

Fantasy: On his 238 touches this season, Rhamondre Stevenson has as many fumbles as rushing touchdowns (seven) and as many lost fumbles as touches gain over 30 yards (three).

Bet: The home underdogs on short rest have covered just seven of their last 24 games.