Week 17 Fantasy Football Who Should I Start? Jared Goff, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Bo Nix and Sam Darnold

Jared Goff is all over our FantasySP “Who Should I Start?” tool. That means fantasy owners are comparing him often against other quarterbacks when trying to figure out who to start in Week 17.

Goff was a top-10 fantasy quarterback in each of the past two seasons and was QB7 heading into Christmas week. He has a tough matchup, though, and Detroit’s seemingly automatic offense might find it tougher to excel.

Let’s look at four quarterbacks who are being compared to Goff often and determine who the better option might be. The full rankings for the five players will be listed at the bottom, so it might answer your question even if you’re not considering Goff this week.

I used stats from NFL.com and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to help determine good and bad matchups. I will reference those numbers often.

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are the only thing keeping Goff from being a good fantasy option on championship week in fantasy football (for most leagues). San Fran has allowed the third-least yards per pass attempt and the fifth-least fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. This team’s defense will allow them to jump right back into contention next season if the terrible injury luck on offense turns around.

Goff is over 4,000 yards and has the best completion percentage and yards-per-attempt average of his career. His 33 touchdowns are a career high, and he has a TD-to-INT ratio of over 3-to-1 (10 picks). This is an offense that can match up with even the toughest defenses.

This is a week to be wary of Goff. It’s understandable to think he will excel against anyone given Detroit’s prolific offensive performances, but the 49ers have been able to shut down a lot of good teams for stretches. They might lose a step if they let down a bit now that they are out of the playoffs, but I’m betting on San Fran keeping up their level of play.

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets

Allen is a can’t-bench player. He’s second in fantasy scoring behind just Lamar Jackson and excels against any defense due to his running and passing ability. No matter the opponent and no matter who else you have, I can’t recommend sitting Allen.

Fantasy Advice: Start Josh Allen over Jared Goff

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos

Burrow is QB3, right behind Allen (actually, 30 points behind Allen, who was 20 points behind Jackson entering Week 17). Burrow is on pace for the most yards of his career, his most touchdowns, and his second-best completion percentage and yards-per-attempt average. Burrow is playing at an MVP level.

Like Goff, the matchup is against Burrow this week with the Broncos coming to town. Denver has allowed the fourth-least yards per pass attempt and seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to QBs. Burrow and Goff have essentially the same outlook based on performance and matchup.

Given that Burrow is a better player, I’ll recommend him over Goff, though it’s not a wide gap.

Fantasy Advice: Start Joe Burrow over Jared Goff

Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers

Darnold is having the best season of his career. He has already blown away his career highs in passing yards and touchdowns, and he’s on pace to do the same with completion percentage (67.2% this year versus a previous high of 61.9). He was fantasy QB8 heading into Week 17.

The matchup again is tough in this one, making Darnold a risky fantasy play if you’re going for the championship. Green Bay is in the middle in yards per pass attempt allowed, but they have given up the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Darnold is a good option many weeks because of his coach and surrounding talent, but this could be a tough one. He did well when these teams played in Week 4, throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns (with one interception), showing he can be successful here against the Pack.

Much like the Burrow/Goff argument, Darnold and the Detroit passer have very similar profiles in Week 17. Since Goff is the better player, I’ll give him the slight advantage.

Fantasy Advice: Start Jared Goff over Sam Darnold

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals

We’ll finish up with the one guy on this list who has a good matchup in Week 17. He’s also the worst player of the group, so it can be tough to know exactly where to slot him in. Nix has been OK for a rookie, averaging 215 yards per game (at a below-average 6.4 yards per attempt) and with 22 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.

Nix’s running will always give him a little boost. He averages 23.5 yards per game on the ground at 4.5 yards per attempt (including kneel-downs), and Nix has scored a rushing touchdown about once every four games.

Cincinnati is right in the middle in yards per pass attempt allowed, but they have given up the seventh-most fantasy points per game to QBs. We just talked about Nix adding value in the running game, and the Bengals are vulnerable there: Cincy has allowed the second-most rushing yards per game to quarterbacks and tied for the fifth-most touchdowns.

This is a case of a decent quarterback with a good matchup. He fits right near the middle, and I consider him a 50/50 proposition against Goff. I will give the Lions’ quarterback a slight edge.

Fantasy Advice: Start Jared Goff over Bo Nix, but it’s close

Full Player Rankings

1. Josh Allen, BUF
2. Joe Burrow, CIN
3. Jared Goff, DET
4. Bo Nix, DEN
5. Sam Darnold, MIN