NFL Player News

NFL teams are a bit wary of Elam’s size -- he’s 5-foot-9 and change and will be at a severe disadvantage versus 6-foot-5 tight ends -- but his straight-line speed is very good at 208 pounds. Elam covered the slot on passing downs in Florida’s dominant defense and lit up ball carriers when he got a good angle. The forty times help Elam’s chances of being drafted in the first round.

Chism hasn’t played much this year after surprisingly making the Pats’ roster after a strong training camp. New England was without Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins this week, giving Chism an opening. He took the opportunity and ran with it, pulling in his first grab of the day for 30 yards and his second for a 10-yard score. Boutte should be back next week, meaning Chism isn’t guaranteed a spot on the gameday roster for Week 18. Still, his Week 17 spike should earn him more playing time in the long run.

Coming off his best game of the season, Walker had one of his quieter efforts as Zach Charbonnet reached 100 yards rushing for the first time all year. 16 of Walker’s yards came on a “give up” 3rd-and-30 hand-off in the first half. It’s still notable, of course, that he received 17 touches even as Chabonnet ran circles around him. This rotation will continue for next week’s all-important 49ers tilt.

The story of the last few weeks has been a backfield committee and stumbling offense for Irving. He had an inefficient day, turning nine carries into 19 yards, with a longest run of 12 yards. On the bright side, he was finally involved in the passing game, catching five passes for a mere 14 yards. The closes Irving got to scoring was a third quarter drive where he was tackled inside the 10-yard line on a red zone carry, though he was dropped for a loss on the next carry and subsequently substituted out of the game. Irving has not see high leverage usage in the Bucs’ backfield committee, but still leads the way in snaps and opportunities. He will close out the season as a low-end fantasy RB2 in a battle for the division against the Panthers in Week 18.

With Kayshon Boutte out for the week and Mack Hollins on IR, Williams was tasked with WR1 duties in New England this week. He led the team in routes and logged a respectable 20 percent target share. Williams didn’t do much with the extra opportunities and even committed one egregious drop. The misplay broke Drake Maye’s completion streak at 11 to open the game. Boutte should be back next week. He will reclaim the No. 1 wideout role once cleared, meaning Williams won’t be on the fantasy radar for Week 18.

Charbonnet’s second two-score game of the season gives him 11 total scores on the year, making this the first time in his three-year career he’s reached double digits. This was also his first 100-yard game of the season on the ground. Charbonnet was the clear “hot hand” in Seattle’s ever-frustrating backfield, though Kenneth Walker III did reach 17 touches. The Seahawks have not altered their two-back approach all year, and we expect it to maintain for Week 18 against the 49ers and on into the playoffs.

Rhamondre Stevenson got the start and saw all three of the Pats’ carries on their opening drive. Henderson was on the field for the next drive, but Stevenson’s role on the first series foreshadowed his dominance of the touches that matter. He would go on to score at the goal line in the first quarter and picked up a receiving touchdown at the top of the second frame. He finished the day with five catches while Henderson did not log a target. Henderson remains the Pats’ top back in fantasy, but the lack of high-value touches will keep him parked at the back of the RB2 ranks for Week 18 versus Miami.

Dowdle “added” three receptions for four yards. He did out-touch Chuba Hubbard 15-7 while Hubbard lost a fumble. This was a truly horrendous Panthers offensive performance, but Dowdle achieved “rare bright spot” status. They are going to need more than one bright spot to beat the Bucs and clinch the lamentable NFC South in Week 18. Solid against the run, the Bucs are bad against the pass, so it probably won’t be the biggest box score effort of Dowdle’s rollercoaster 2025 campaign.

Washington also had one carry for one yard. His first reception of the day was a screen pass he took for 27 yards that was called back due to holding. He also saw a pair of deep targets that fell incomplete from Quinn Ewers. Washington has a short-yardage slot role that earns him some screen passes, but nothing more. Despite being the No. 2 wide receiver in the Dolphins offense, Washington should be off fantasy radars for Week 18 against the Patriots.

Shough had been quietly stacking solid performances heading into Week 17. He truly put it all together today, beating up on a downtrodden Titans defense for a career-high in passing yards and a career-best in yards per attempt (12.3). Shough also had a would-be touchdown to Dante Pettis that was wiped out when Pettis fumbled the football at the two-yard line. Multiple Saints defenders were in the end zone and failed to scoop up the loose ball. It was eventually corralled by the Titans. Shough is playing his way into the starting role beyond just this year. A good performance in Week 18 versus the Falcons could be enough to secure the gig for another season.

There are certainly worse seasonal kicker lines than going 28-of-32 on field goals as a 22-year-old and knocking in an NFL-record 68-yarder. Little suffers from Sun Belt obscurity compared to Brandon Aubrey, but he’s been every bit the find for the Jaguars over the last few years. He’ll have a top-5 overall kicker ranking in Week 18 against the Titans.