Fantasy Football Week 17 Waiver Wire: Jalen McMillan And More Championship Week Adds
It's finally time for the thrilling conclusion of the 2024 fantasy football season, at least in most leagues.
While it's been a relatively stable season in terms of drafted talent meeting expectations—Jayden Daniels and Brock Bowers were the only two skill position players with an average draft position of 100 or higher found on at least 50 percent of all ESPN playoff teams—the waiver wire still had a tangible impact this year.
If you are one of the fortunate managers to have reached this point, you've likely made at least one notable free-agent pickup to bolster your roster.
Whether you landed Jordan Mason to carry you through the early portion of the campaign or recently picked up Gus Edwards for a boost in the semifinals, the waiver wire will continue to play an important role in determining fantasy champions.
While most of the squads still in the hunt for a title are in good shape, there may be a hole or two to patch up. Whether you lost a key contributor such as Tank Dell or James Conner to injury or can't trust a previously reliable contributor like Cooper Kupp to show up when it matters most, there are at least a handful of viable replacements up for grabs in the free-agent pool.
With that in mind, let's look at one waiver-wire target at each position who could come through in the clutch with a big fantasy championship week performance.
Fantasy points and rankings courtesy of FantasyPros' PPR data taken prior to this week's Monday Night Football matchup. Fantasy points against stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference. Suggested free-agent acquisition budget (FAAB) bids are based on a $100 dollar starting budget.
QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (7 Percent Rostered)
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Suggested FAAB Bid: $2-4
Bryce Young is firmly in his redemption arc era. After being slapped with the bust label and getting benched before his second season could truly get off the ground, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick has raised his game to rather respectable levels.
While the 4-11 Carolina Panthers have been well out of contention since losing seven of their first eight games, they have been playing hard and rallying around their young signal-caller in recent weeks.
Most recently, Carolina picked up a morale-boosting overtime victory over the Arizona Cardinals, a game in which Young put up a career-high 27.1 points.
The 23-year-old posted a QB2 finish—another career best—in a performance largely boosted by his dual-threat capabilities. While he did complete 17-of-26 throws for 158 yards and two scores, a good chunk of his fantasy output came via the 68 yards and a score he generated on just five totes.
Young now has a chance to build on these impressive numbers in a dream fantasy championship matchup against the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs have been unable to stop opposing QBs in 2024. They have conceded an average of 20.4 fantasy points per game to the position—the second-most in football—and even struggled to limit Cooper Rush in Week 16.
The Dallas Cowboys backup helped his team pull off an upset by completing almost 75 percent of his throws for 292 yards and a score with no interceptions.
Young reached other season highs against Tampa in Week 13, a contest in which the second-year passer went off for 23.6 fantasy points and a WR8 finish. Expect him to improve on those marks while staying hot against the Bucs' reeling defense in Week 17.
RB Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals (18 Percent Rostered)
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Suggested FAAB Bid: $12-15
Trey Benson has been on the fantasy radar for a good chunk of the season, but the standout play of James Conner has prevented the Arizona Cardinals rookie from garnering the type of volume needed to earn a spot in starting lineups outside of the deepest leagues.
Unfortunately for Benson, he never got an opportunity to take over for Conner as Arizona's primary ball-carrier after the starter exited in the third quarter.
Benson had been ruled out for that meeting against the Carolina Panthers with an ankle issue he suffered the previous week against the New England Patriots and kept him from practicing during the week leading up to Sunday's game.
It remains to be seen if the 22-year-old is able to return to action in Week 17, but he'll be in line for some heavy usage if does get back on the field, especially after third-string back Michael Carter had just 18 yards on five carries while filling in for Conner.
Even if Conner's knee injury isn't too serious, there's still a realistic chance Benson sees the bulk of Arizona's backfield workload over the season's final fortnight.
Arizona has been officially eliminated from playoff contention and could opt to see what it has in the rookie after his touches and playing time were limited up to this point.
Managers in need of RB help should put in a speculative claim on Benson and keep tabs on the injury reports leading up to Arizona's impending matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
If Benson can suit up, consider him a viable flex option with some immense upside if Conner is ruled out.
WR Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (45 Percent Rostered)
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Suggested FAAB Bid: $9-12
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have something in Jalen McMillan.
The rookie wide receiver may have gotten off to a slow start to his career—he failed to log a single top-40 fantasy finish over the first 13 weeks of the season—but something clearly clicked during a breakout Week 14 performance against the Las Vegas Raiders.
During the last three weeks, the 23-year-old has emerged as a key contributor for a Bucs passing offense that had been desperate for another playmaker since the loss of star wideout Chris Godwin for the season.
McMillan has drawn at least six targets, secured four catches, gone over 55 receiving yards and scored a touchdown in each of those three contests.
The 2024 third-round pick continued his hot streak in Week 16, hauling in five of his seven targets for 57 yards and a touchdown—his fourth score in a three-week span. He finished that Sunday Night Football showdown against the Dallas Cowboys with 16.7 fantasy points and a WR19 ranking, his third consecutive top-20 placement.
The Bucs are now gearing up for a critical clash against the rival Carolina Panthers with their playoff hopes on the line. While McMillan's previous performance versus Carolina left something to be desired—he caught just two of his three targets for 25 yards—he'll get a chance to avenge that underwhelming outing in Week 17.
Expect a motivated Baker Mayfield to lead the way, putting the team on his back and feeding his wideouts in what should be an explosive passing performance.
Consider McMillan to be firmly in the high-upside WR3 discussion during fantasy championship week.
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TE Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans (6 Percent Rostered)
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Suggested FAAB Bid: $5-7
This year was supposed to be a breakout one for Chigoziem Okonkwo.
The Tennessee Titans tight end had shown flashes of potential throughout his first two NFL seasons but failed to put it all together in a critical Year 3. While it's been a disappointing campaign overall, he has recently gone on a heater and still has a chance to finish this down year on a high note.
The 25-year-old has emerged as the go-to weapon for quarterback Mason Rudolph, who took over for Will Levis after the starter committed a litany of turnovers in Week 15.
The backup signal-caller has leaned heavily on his big tight end since taking the reins and targeted Okonkwo far more than any other Titans pass-catcher in his last two appearances.
So long as Tennessee sticks with Rudolph—his starting status is up in the air, according to head coach Brian Callahan—Okonkwo should remain a high-end fantasy TE1. Over the last two weeks combined, no other Titans player has earned more than 11 targets—10 fewer than Okonkwo has recorded in that span.
Those looks are turning into impressive production too.
The 2022 fourth-round pick finished Week 15 as the TE6 with 13.9 fantasy points and improved upon those marks during Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He had a career-high 19.1 fantasy points and earned a TE2 finish after catching nine of his 11 targets for 81 yards.
Any manager in need of a tight end should confirm Rudolph will be starting and then fire up Okonkwo with confidence. He should easily score another top-five finish with a fantastic matchup against a soft Jacksonville Jaguars defense on tap.
Jacksonville has conceded the seventh-most points to the TE position in 2024 and just allowed Brock Bowers to torch them for 99 yards on 11 catches in Week 16, making Okonkwo a must-start in the fantasy championship.
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