Top Week 17 Fantasy Football matchups: Deebo Samuel vs. Commanders and more

Direct individual matchups in fantasy football are one of the most important weekly factors to consider when finalizing lineups. They help to improve fantasy scores each week by taking advantage of the most favorable situations. It's often not enough to simply start the best overall players each week, but rather the best players in the best weekly situations.

Managers still participating in Week 17 of the 2023 fantasy football season are almost definitely in a postseason matchup. In fact, many managers still playing this week will be competing in the championship finals, as most leagues conclude their playoff brackets this week. Those who have made it this far are likely well aware of how important matchups can be toward maximizing lineup output.

During the fantasy playoffs, this strategy becomes even more useful because bench depth and stahsing players has become relatively useless at this point of the year for traditional season-long formats. Especially in the championship week, no penalty exists for dropping a valuable player in a bad Week 17 matchup. Managers should solely focus on producing the best possible starting lineup for this week only.

Deebo Samuel is an excellent example of a player who will see a significant increase in fantasy value in Week 17 as compared to his season-long outlook. He is one of the best overall fantasy football lineup options when the San Francisco 49ers face off against the Washington Commanders. They have been one of the worst overall defenses in the NFL this year.

Amari Cooper is an example of the opposite end of the spectrum when the Cleveland Browns take on the New York Jets this week. The Jets have been brutal for opposing wide receivers this year, allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to the position by a wide margin. This makes Cooper much less valuable than usual this week.

The following list highlights the three best and worst matchups for specific players in Week 17 alone, similar to the previous example. It includes only players who are legitimate lineup options this week, and they are mostly ranked according to how good or bad their opposing defense has been against their direct position, based on fantasy points allowed per game.

This information can be extremely valuable when setting lineups for the 2023 fantasy football playoffs.

Best Week 17 Fantasy Football matchups

Deebo Samuel

Quarterbacks

1. Kyler Murray vs Eagles
2. Brock Purdy vs Commanders
3. Dak Prescott vs Lions

Running Backs

1. D'Andre Swift vs Cardinals
2. Austin Ekeler vs Broncos
3. Travis Etienne vs Panthers

Wide Receivers

1. Deebo Samuel vs Commanders
2. CeeDee Lamb vs Lions
3. Chris Olave vs Buccaneers

Tight Ends

1. Travis Kelce vs Bengals
2. Kyle Pitts vs Bears
3. Darren Waller vs Rams

Worst Week 17 Fantasy Football matchups

Amari Cooper

Quarterbacks

1. Joe Flacco vs Jets
2. Trevor Lawrence vs Panthers
3. Tua Tagovailoa vs Ravens

Running Backs

1. Tony Pollard vs Lions
2. Saquon Barkley vs Rams
3. James Conner vs Eagles

Wide Receivers

1. Amari Cooper vs Jets
2. DJ Moore vs Falcons
3. Garrett Wilson vs Browns

Tight Ends

1. Dalton Schultz vs Titans
2. Dalton Kincaid vs Patriots
3. Sam LaPorta vs Cowboys