The New England Patriots face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17. Here you’ll find the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineup this week and going forward, especially when it comes to TE Hunter Henry.

Will Hunter Henry play in Week 17?

Henry is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.

We will continue to monitor the Patriots injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.

Should you start or use Hunter Henry in Week 17?

It seems we have found the best way to take advantage of Drake Maye. Is it a little late? Sure, but better late than never, and Henry may be able to overwhelm you in the battle for supremacy in your league.

Last week he posted his sixth top-10 finish at the position, in part because Maye acted like he had Henry on his fantasy team (four targets in the end zone). The close-range effort came when New England got a chance to score, and while that’s encouraging, it’s not all he has to offer.

Henry offers added athleticism and has been tasked with vertical shooting this year. He’s rushed for 50 yards in four of his last five games, giving him the potential to pay off your faith even if you’re skeptical of an offense that enters this week projected to score less than 20 points.

As you watch, you’ll have to deal with the confusion of whether it’s Austin Hooper (3+ catches in six straight games) or Henry making plays, but this offense clearly wants to showcase its chain-moving tight ends; Henry has been on the right side of this committee often enough that I can classify him as a viable low-end TE1 this week, even in a tough matchup.

Looking for starting/sitting tips for other players in your lineup? Read our cheat sheet of Week 17 fantasy starting sit advice for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.

Hunter Henry’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17

As of Saturday, Henry is projected to score 9.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.4 receptions for 37.7 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.

Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer this week for the latest predictions and advice for your lineups.

PFN insight into the Chargers defense

After some difficult games against better competition, Week 16 seemed to be more of the same for the Chargers’ defense. Denver scored touchdowns on each of its first three drives, a week after Los Angeles failed to force a punt against Tampa Bay.

At one point, LA had a streak of 15 consecutive drives without forcing a punt, the longest streak of any defense all season. However, they bounced back with one of their best halves of the season, although their grade of 67.2 (D+) was still their third-worst of the season.

If you cut it in half, the Chargers had the worst defensive grade of any unit in the first half in Week 16, but the sixth-best in the second half.

The Chargers’ biggest concern remains their weak pass defense, which bounced back from a terrible start against the Broncos. But as of Week 11, Los Angeles ranks 26th in defensive EPA per dropback (-0.17) after ranking second in Weeks 1-10 (0.10).

Regardless, the arrival of Jim Harbaugh and Jesse Minter from Michigan had an immediate impact on the Los Angeles defense. Los Angeles has been in the top five for most of the season, a vast improvement from a unit that never ranked higher than 24th under Brandon Staley.

For more insight into all other team defenses, check out our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.

Hunter Henry Week 17 Fantasy Rankings

Below are our weekly consensus PPR rankings – both position-wise and overall. They were last updated on Saturday, December 28th at 10:30 a.m. ET. If you play in a Superflex league, be sure to check out our weekly consensus Superflex rankings.

Week 17 TE PPR Rankings

1) Brock Bowers | LV (at NE)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (at LAR)
3) George Kittle | SF (vs. DET)
4) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at CLE)
5) Sam LaPorta | DET (at SF)
6) Mark Andrews | BAL (at HOU)
7) Travis Kelce | KC (at PIT)
8) TJ Hockenson | MIN (compared to GB)
9) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. BAL)
10) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (against KC)
11) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at JAX)
12) Tucker Kraft | GB (at MIN)
13) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs NYJ)
14) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. TEN)
15) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at PHI)
16) Hunter Heinrich | NE (vs LAC)
17) Juwan Johnson | NO (compared to LV)
18) Stone Smartt | LAC (at NE)
19) Zach Ertz | WHAT (vs. ATL)
20) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at WAS)
21) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. DEN)
22) Will Dissly | LAC (at NE)
23) Noah Gray | KC (at PIT)
24) Isaiah probably | BAL (at HOU)
25) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. DAL)
26) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. SEA)
27) Austin Hooper | NE (vs LAC)
28) Noah Fant | SEA (at CHI)
29) Ja’Tavion Sanders | CAR (at TB)
30) Foster Moreau | NO (compared to LV)
31) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. ARI)
32) Michael Mayer | LV (at NE)
33) Tommy Tremble | CAR (at TB)
34) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (vs IND)
35) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs NYJ)
36) Payne Durham | TB (compared to CAR)
37) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (at BUF)
38) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs MIA)

Chargers at Patriots trends and insights

Los Angeles Chargers

Team: Thursday’s win marked the second time in 32 days that the Chargers won a game by allowing 27+ points and losing the turnover battle – the other 31 teams had done so five times to that point.

QB: Justin Herbert’s aggressiveness appears to be waning. After averaging 10.1 yards in Week 14 against the Chiefs (his fourth double-digit throw of the season), his average was 8.2 yards in Week 15 against the Buccaneers and in Thursday’s win over the Broncos 6.8 yards.

Attack: Los Angeles scored a season-high 3.1 points per possession on Thursday night and made just 27.3% of its possessions (the fourth game this season with a punt rate below 30%).

Defense: The Chargers finally forced a punt after failing to do so on 16 straight drives, their longest streak this season and just shy of the longest in franchise history.

Fantasy: Gus Edwards ran 14 times for 68 yards (43 on a single carry) and two touchdowns on Thursday night – marking the sixth time since early November that a running back had two rushing touchdowns on fewer than 15 carries – teammate JK Dobbins was responsible for two of the other five.

Betting: The Unders are 7-3 in Los Angeles’ last 10 extended-rest games.

New England Patriots

Team: New England is in the midst of its second five-game losing streak of the season – they didn’t lose five games in a single regular season from 2010 to 2017.

QB: Drake Maye has completed 15 of 17 third-down passes in his last three games (88.2%).

Attack: The Patriots scored on 30% of their drives against the Bills on Sunday, matching their best mark of the season.

Defense: New England’s defense came into its own on Sunday, holding the Bills to just four of 11 on third down (they had allowed a 57.7% conversion rate in the two games prior to that).

Fantasy: In his 238 touchdowns this season, Rhamondre Stevenson has had as many fumbles as rushing touchdowns (seven) and as many fumbles lost as touchdowns of more than 30 yards (three).

Betting: Short-rest home underdogs have played just seven of their last 24 games.