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What's up RotoBallers. Week 16 is complete and we hope you managed to secure a win and make it into the championships (or win them if your leagues are over). For those who are still playing, today we are bringing you our Week 17 fantasy football playoff championship rankings to help prepare you for your Week 17 playoff matchups.
Below you will find both PPR rankings and standard league rankings for Week 17, brought to you by Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades) and Edward Gorelik (@EdwardGorelik). Lead fantasy football columnist Edward Gorelik also highlights some rankings analysis for the Week 17 playoffs, broken out by position, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 17.
You can also check out our 2015 fantasy football ranking dashboard, for more in depth rankings analysis on all positions including rookies and dynasty leagues.
Rankings are subject to change leading up to the games, but the analysis written might not.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Championship Rankings
powered by FantasyPros
Week 17 Quarterback (QB) Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Week 17 is going to be a hard mess for many, many positions and guessing which teams will sit and won't sit players is going to be difficult. Expect the rankings to change heavily as news comes out this week.
Ben Roethlisberger is going to have a lot to play for in week 17. After giving away a potential playoff berth by losing against the Ravens, the Steelers are going to come out strong against the Browns and are the few teams not expected to pull off the pedal until the final moments of the game. He'll be the #1 QB going into this week.
Those wondering if Tom Brady has something left to play for should know that the Patriots still need to win to hold the #1 seed in the AFC. You can start him safely, as the Patriots will always play for the #1 AFC seed.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has enjoyed a lot of success this year but most of it has come at home games. On the road, Fitzpatrick has been less than spectacular and his history against Rex Ryan's defenses isn't fantastic. He's still a low end QB1 because of his floor, but there may be better options available.
One of those guys might be Brock Osweiler. The game against the Bengals might have not shown a great player but the Bengals are also one of the leagues best defenses. Osweiler will be going up against San Diego at home, who's the complete opposite of the Bengals in terms of roster talent. An easy matchup with a potential #1 seed to play for will lead to them playing hard this weekend and could end with Osweiler as a QB1.
Week 17 Running Back (RB) Playoff Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Tim Hightower is one of those players where I'm almost 100% sure that he will be playing the entire game. With the Saints having no real investment on him and him trying to prove that he's worth signing after this year as a FA, expect him to run all over a horrific Atlanta Falcons defense.
Matt Forte might see his stock drop heavily as the week goes on. He's facing a Detroit Lions run defense that's shut down many backs this season while also dealing with a back injury that took him out of last weeks game early. With the Bears ready to cut ties with Forte, some added reps to the young Langford might be in line in week 17.
At this point, Bilal Powell is outplaying Chris Ivory. That's just what it is. Ivory hasn't been nearly as effective since the halfway point of the year and he's lost too many touches to Powell to grind out the volume of yards he needs. Powell operates as the main weapon in the passing game amongst the RBs and even with such a low volume he continues to put up points every week. Ivory falls into the low end of the RB2s while Powell has become a mid-range RB2.
Week 17 Wide Receiver (WR) Playoff Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Odell Beckham is a player many will be wondering whether he plays the full game or not. Coughlin just doesn't seem in any way the type to give himself a loss, and Beckham will be out there playing harder than ever to release whatever frustration he has over his suspension.
Darrelle Revis was once an impenetrable wall amongst CBs. That hasn't been the case this year, he's given up plenty of yards and space to WRs, even if the stats don't show it. Rex Ryan is going to do everything he can to play spoiler against the Jets, and that's going to involve a lot of deep passing to Sammy Watkins. If at least one of those hit, it's a likely 40 yards touchdown and I'm expecting there to be a few of them.
When can you trust Amari Cooper? When can't you? Against the Chiefs, you probably can. The Chiefs have been one of the leagues worst WR defenses all year long, especially when it comes to opposing WR1s. They're allowing nearly 100 yards on average to them. Don't let the Chargers game make you bench him, Cooper was dealing with an injury that kept him sidelined for a large portion of the game along with one of the leagues top corners in Jason Verrett. Despite being out of the playoffs, this cast of players is too young to realistically be sat.
Deep in the sleepers for this week is Brice Butler. The Cowboys have given up on Dez Bryant for the year and are definitely going to be checking their youth for talent. Butler, in his limited play time, has been effective and doing some good around the field. Butler even led the Cowboys in receiving yards last week with 74. That's not too bad.
Week 17 Tight End (TE) Playoff Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Zach Miller gets work. That's all that seems to matter for the non-elite tight ends. Miller has had only two games since week 9 without either a touchdown or 60 yards and with Alshon Jeffery placed on IR, Miller was featured heavily against the Bucs. Detroit is amongst the leagues worst TE defenses and Cutler should be feeding his only reliable target heavily this week.
Antonio Gates should be bouncing back this week against the Broncos who allow, on average, 60 yards to opposing tight ends. With so few other options to throw to and the Denver best defenders all playing as outside corners, expect Gates along with Woodhead to be fed often. They probably have more value in PPR than standard this week though because the Denver defense has been pretty good at suffocating teams like this.
Kyle Rudolph has finally been reinserted into the passing game and since week 11 he's only put up 2 dud performances. The Packers have been average this year against TEs and if the trend continues, Rudolph should be a startable TE this weekend.
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
