Monday Night Fantasy Football Start Decisions and Rankings: Blake Corum, Drake London, Kyle Pitts and More

We just put together a DFS lineup for the Monday night game between the Rams and Falcons, and now we are going to go over the top fantasy football options from that contest.

We will break things down by position.

Use the FantasySP start/sit tool for help with any last-minute lineup decisions.

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford will lead the Rams into battle, while Kirk Cousins starts for the Falcons again.

It's a fairly average matchup for each quarterback, with Stafford having a slightly better matchup.

Stafford was my No. 5 fantasy quarterback coming into week 17. Cousins ranked 24th.

Both could be in line for good fantasy nights, but Stafford is definitely the better fantasy option and you should be starting him over Cousins every time.

Running Backs

Bijan Robinson is the top running back for the Falcons. Tyler Allgeier is his top backup. Kyren Williams is RB1 in Los Angeles, with Blake Corum also helping out a bunch of late.

It will be a very tough matchup for Robinson and Allgeier, as the Rams' defense only allows 19 fantasy points per game to running backs. The Falcons' defense surrenders 22 fantasy points per game, which is a slightly above-average test for Williams and Corum.

Even in a brutal matchup, I still ranked Robinson second among all running backs for week 17. Williams checked in 14th. 

Corum and Allgeier are just deep-league options in my eyes. I like the Rams to win tonight, and that makes Corum a standard league flex option, but he's a safer starting option in deeper leagues. Allgeier is capable of delivering, but as the No. 2 back and in a tough test, I'd only consider him as a starter in deeper leagues.

Wide Receivers

At wide receiver, there's some notable injuries - one with each team. Davante Adams is doubtful for the Rams, while Drake London is questionable for the Falcons. London appears ready to go, while Adams is not, so we'll approach things with that in mind.

The Falcons' wide receivers have the better matchup tonight, as the LA defense surrenders 35 fantasy points to wideouts per game. The Falcons are a slightly above-average matchup, allowing 33 fantasy points per game.

With Adams out, Puka Nacua is going to star again for the Rams. Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith, Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell are the other wide receivers who played last week, when Adams missed a game.

Nacua delivered a monster fantasy outing in the last game without Adams. Mumpfield had 40 yards on three grabs and eight targets, while Smith had 57 yards on two catches and targets. Whittington had a 19-yard catch on his lone target, and Atwell wasn't targeted across just eight snaps.

London is the top wide receiver for Atlanta. Darnell Mooney, David Sills V, Chris Blair, Deven Thompkins and Dylan Drummond also played a week ago, when London returned from an injury.

London was held in check, but had eight targets still. Mooney was the only other wideout with a catch, going for 24 yards on two receptions and targets. Sills was the only other wideout with a target. In other words, London is going to dominate the targets, with Mooney and Sills the only other wideouts being mentionable.

Nacua was my No. 1 fantasy wide receiver going into week 17. I expected Adams to be out again, leaving room for Nacua to shine. London ranked 10th for me despite not faring too well in week 16. 

All the other wide receivers are better deep-league starting options. I'd rank them as follows: Mumpfield, Mooney, Smith, Sills, Whittington, Atwell, Blair, Thompkins and Drummond.

Tight Ends

At tight end, Kyle Pitts Sr. leads the Falcons. Charlie Woerner and Teagan Quitoriano played 57 and 19 offensive snaps, respectively, last week, so they are worth mentioning at least.

Los Angeles has Colby Parkinson leading the way, even though he was outproduced by teammates Terrance Ferguson and Davis Allen last week.

The Rams' defense allows opposing fantasy tight ends to score 13 points per game, which is a pretty average score, but technically just below average. The Falcons' defense allows just nine fantasy points per game.

I had Pitts ranked fourth among tight ends going into week 17. No Rams' tight ends made my top-25 list this week.

Pitts is among the better pass catchers in the game too, so he's worth starting in a lot of cases, even if you already used a tight end this week.

Parkinson is a safer deep-league option after what happened last week. Adding in a tough matchup makes it easier to skip the top LA tight end.

I'd try Ferguson next, then Allen. Woerner would go after that and then Quitoriano is a desperation player in super deep leagues. 

Only Pitts is a really good standard league option. Parkinson, Ferguson and Allen are deep-league options, with Woerner a level below that, then Quitoriano.

Defenses/Special Teams

The Rams DST is projected for seven fantasy points tonight, while the Falcons DST is set for six points.

LA's DST is starting in 50% of leagues, while only 11% of fantasy owners are starting the Atlanta DST.

I too like the Rams DST more tonight, even after the defense has been gashed a bit of late. The LA defense is allowing 19.9 points per game, which is the seventh-best mark in the NFL. The defense has 24 takeaways and 41 sacks, so they can rack up the fantasy points in several ways.

The Falcons' defense is allowing 24 points per game, which ranks just 20th in the NFL. The defense has 18 takeaways and 50 sacks, so they can be a sneaky good fantasy option. 

Given the firepower of the Rams' offense, I'd try to avoid the Falcons DST outside deeper leagues.

Kickers

Harrison Mevis is the Rams' kicker, while Zane Gonzalez boots it for the Falcons.

Mevis has served as the LA kicker for seven games now. He's 8-of-9 on field goals and is perfect on his 32 extra point attempts.

Gonzalez has kicked for seven games as well. He's 13-of-15 on his field goals and 13-of-14 on his extra points.

Mevis is projected for nine fantasy points tonight, while Gonzalez is at just seven projected points. Mevis is starting in 33% of leagues, while Gonzalez is at just 2% started.

I'm with fantasy owners here and like Mevis. He is a good option as the kicker on a high-powered offense. I think he should be rostered and started in more leagues actually.

Gonzalez is an OK option, but the inconsistency of the Falcons' offense makes him a riskier fantasy starting option. I'd only try him in deeper leagues.

Trending Start Decisions

Most of the trending start decisions are pretty easy ones, in my opinion, but we'll go over them quickly before getting to tonight's rankings.

Corum is in a trending decision with London, with the Atlanta wideout starting 44% of the time, and both guys starting 14% of the time, which is also how often Corum is starting over London. I think it's closer than the decision originally looks, but I'm taking London, as long as he plays.

Robinson and Corum are in another trending decision, with fantasy owners liking Robinson every time - both backs are starting 32% of the time. This is a no-brainer pick in my eyes - don't overthink it.

Pitts and London are up against each other in another trending decision. Fantasy owners like Pitts over London, with both starting in 61% of leagues. This is a very close decision in my eyes, especially with London banged up. I like London more, but really, it's a coin flip.

Robinson is a heavy favorite over Pitts, with both starting in 76% of leagues. Robinson should be starting over Pitts, but both are startable if you can make it happen.

Offensive Overall Rankings (OP or Flex Spots)

1. Puka Nacua

2. Bijan Robinson 

3. Matthew Stafford

4. Kyren Williams 

5. Drake London 

6. Kyle Pitts

7. Kirk Cousins 

8. Blake Corum

9. Konata Mumpfield

10. Colby Parkinson 

11. Tyler Allgeier 

12. Darnell Mooney

13. Terrance Ferguson

14. Xavier Smith

15. David Sills

16. Davis Allen

17. Charlie Woerner

18. Jordan Whittington

19. Tutu Atwell

20. Teagan Quitoriano

21. Chris Blair

22. Deven Thompkins

23. Dylan Drummond