Welcome to Week 17. For most fantasy football leagues, it is Championship week. If you made it to the big dance, congratulations. If not, and you are playing in the consolation bracket, you should still be playing your best lineup. The season is not over until games are not being played, so keep up your managerial skills. There are some great matchups you can look forward to exploiting this week. In Week 16, we called some great hits with Boye Mafe (six tackles, two for a loss, and two sacks) and Christian Barmore (eight tackles, two for a loss, and three sacks). Here are the top IDL and Edge streaming matchups for Week 17.
IDL and Edge Streaming Options
EDGE Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers
Matchup: Denver Broncos - Ranked 8th in Matt Bitonti's Offensive Line Rankings
Mack is having a fantastic season for the Chargers. He has five multiple-sack games, including six in Week 4. His 15 sacks on the season tie his career high. At age 32, this is quite an amazing feat. Mack has been quiet over his past three games, with Denver being one of those games, but the ageless wonder is due for another big game. The Broncos offensive line seems to be fizzling out as well.
The Broncos have allowed the 6th most sacks on the season at 45. They also just gave up five sacks to the Patriots in Week 16. The Patriots have the 9th fewest sacks as a team. This tells you that the Broncos offensive line is getting beat up in pass protection. Mack could be in for one of his blowup games.
EDGE Jonathan Greenard/Myjai Sanders, Houston Texans
Matchup: Tennessee Titans - Ranked 32nd in Matt Bitonti's Offensive Line Rankings
The matchup is so good here that we are going to go with whoever will be starting and playing high volume. Let's start with Jonathan Greenard. He leads the team, and by a large margin, in sacks with 12.5 and has 48 pressures. Both of those numbers are career highs. Unfortunately, Greenard left Week 16 with an ankle injury in the first quarter and could not return after testing it on the sideline.
He was replaced by Myjai Sanders, who played admirably. Sanders finished the game with six tackles, one for a loss, and three pressures while playing 52% of the team's snaps. The Texans take on the Titans, who have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. They just gave up six sacks in Week 16 and are currently tied for the fourth most sacks allowed with 56. Pay attention to the injury report. If Greenard is a full go, start him with confidence. If not, and your defensive line is beaten up, Sanders is worthy of a start in a tasty matchup.
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EDGE Malcolm Koonce, Las Vegas Raiders
Matchup: Indianapolis Colts - Ranked 11th in Matt Bitonti's Offensive Line Rankings
Koonce is one of the hottest, if not the hottest, pass rushers in the NFL. He has nine tackles, five sacks, and two forced fumbles over his past two games. His seven sacks on the season are more than triple his previous career-high, and he has seemingly earned the role as the main pass rusher opposite of Maxx Crosby. Koonce has averaged 59.3% of the team's defensive snaps over the past three games. That is great volume.
The Raiders take on the Colts in Week 17. Indianapolis just gave up six sacks to the Falcons in Week 16, a team in the bottom third of the league in team sacks. A reeling offensive line matched up with one of the hottest pass rushers in the league spells a recipe for success. I would start Koonce confidently.
IDL Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers
Matchup: Jacksonville Jaguars - Ranked 18th in Matt Bitonti's Offensive Line Rankings
As an IDL, Brown has one of the highest floors due to his volume tackling. He currently sits at 90 tackles on the season, and though he only has one sack, his tackle numbers more than make up for it. Brown has been a vacuum recently, with 24 tackles in the last three games.
In Week 17, he takes on the Jaguars, who are in the top five for points allowed to defensive tackles. Trevor Lawrence is also almost certainly sitting with an AC Joint sprain, making this a potential ground-and-pound rushing attack for Week 17, right in Brown's wheelhouse. I expect at least seven tackles for Brown in Week 17.
IDL Denico Autry, Tennessee Titans
Matchup: Houston Texans - Ranked 16th in Matt Bitonti's Offensive Line Rankings
Autry is another ageless wonder on the defensive line. He is also one of the better interior pass rushers in the NFL. He has seven-and-a-half sacks or more in his last four seasons and currently sits at a career-high 11 for this season. His 47 tackles and 11 sacks make him an easy IDL1, and his matchup cements him as a must-start.
The Texans offensive line started the season hot, as did the rest of the team, but their pass protection has been lackluster, to say the least, recently. After only allowing 15 sacks in the first seven games, the Texans have allowed 29 over the last eight. With Autry teaming up with a healthy Harold Landry III and a re-ignited Arden Key, whoever is under center for the Texans will be running for their life.
Final Thoughts
We once again left out sleepers. Its the finals, quit fooling around. Though these players are not all weekly Edge1s or IDL1s, they have been hot recently and provide either high pass-rush upside or an extremely high floor. Some times you need to shoot for the fences in the finals, just make sure it is within reason. Thanks again for reading, and hopefully I helped you manage your defensive line throughout the season. Good luck in Week 17!