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We made it! Fantasy football championship Week 17 is finally here after a very long, COVID-ridden 2021 season. If you've made it this far, congratulations, it most definitely wasn't easy, but you've persevered and overcome numerous obstacles.
Below are my Week 17 rankings that include quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. These rankings are designed for 0.5 point-per-reception (PPR) leagues and make some assumptions regarding player availability. I've also accidentally omitted Aaron Rodgers and Dawson Knox, as you'll notice. I've addressed their rankings below as well.
Without further ado, here are my Week 17 rankings along with a few player notes at each position.
Quarterback Rankings
Note: Aaron Rodgers was accidentally omitted from the above tweet. His ranking is QB7 between Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert.
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have an implied point total of 28.8 points at home vs. the Cardinals. In his last three home starts, Prescott is averaging almost 28 fantasy points per game. Despite being a back-end QB1 on the year, you should feel confident firing him up as a top-5 quarterback in your championship matchup this weekend.
Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers
Lance has only started one game and he played a half in another. Despite playing in just a game and a half, he still totaled nearly 40 fantasy points (including 130 yards on the ground). He gets a very favorable matchup against the Texans in a game the 49ers are projected to score 28.2 points. Lance becomes one of the very best streaming options for those in a bind at the quarterback position in Week 17.
Running Back Rankings
Chase Edmonds, Arizona Cardinals
Edmonds comes in at number six in the rankings, assuming James Conner doesn't suit up for this game as he nurses a heel injury. Last week, without Conner, Edmonds played on 92% of the snaps and handled 96% of the RB opportunities. That included 16 rush attempts and nine targets. He totaled 127 yards and a touchdown with all that volume and finished as the overall RB6 for the week. It's a tough matchup, but this should be a shootout against the Cowboys. Of course, Edmonds' ranking drops drastically if Conner does end up playing, but he can still be considered a low-end RB2, while Conner also a low-end RB2 as a result of his ability to find paydirt.
Darrel Williams, Kansas City Chiefs
Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been ruled out for Sunday's game vs. the Bengals. That leaves Williams and Derrick Gore to shoulder the load out of the backfield. In five games CEH missed earlier in the season, D Will averaged 17.8 fantasy points on a 65% snap share. He got 17 red zone rush attempts in those five games. Williams remains the most trusted back in Kansas City and should be utilized a lot in Week 17 vs. the Bengals.
Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The thought process here is the Bucs just run all over the 32nd-ranked Jets run defense this week. They're 13.5-point road favorites, which means we could see a lot of Ke'Shawn Vaughn in the second half if the Buccaneers take a big lead and decide to give Ronald Jones II some rest heading into Week 18 and the playoffs. It also doesn't hurt that head coach Bruce Arians just referred to Vaughn as a "lead dog" in the NFL after his Week 16 performance when he ripped off a 55-yard touchdown run.
Wide Receiver Rankings
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Listen, he's still a low-end WR1 for me, but any other week in any other circumstances, Justin Jefferson is a sure-fire top-5 wide receiver. The problem is, he's up against a few obstacles this week. First off, it'll be Sean Mannion at quarterback. Secondly, he'll be playing at Lambeau Field, in 0-degree temperatures. Third, Adam Thielen is out, so the Packers can focus all of their attention on stopping Justin Jefferson in this one. You're likely still rolling him out there, but it's not out of the realm of possibility you have two safer options this week.
Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals
Kirk is averaging 10.5 targets and nearly 100 air yards in his last two games without DeAndre Hopkins. The Cowboys are better against the run than they are against the pass, and this game has shootout written all over it. Expect Kirk to be very busy in this game, with a good shot at surpassing 100 yards for just the second time this season.
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens
This one's simple. Marquise Brown has missed the last two practices with an illness. He's not on the COVID list, but we also have no idea what this illness is, but it could certainly limit him or even leave him inactive. If that happens, Bateman steps in as the WR1 for the Ravens. Brown vacates 10 targets per game over the last three games and Bateman has been playing in a full-time role in his last two games. Obviously, temper expectations if Brown does end up playing with no reported limitations.
Zay Jones, Las Vegas Raiders
Jones has taken over for Bryan Edwards of late and has been playing really well since Darren Waller went down in Week 12. In his last five games, Jones is averaging 7.2 targets on 31.4 routes run per game. The Colts allow the 8th-most passing yards per game at home this season (254.8) and the 2nd-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
Even though Aiyuk wasn't playing a full complement of snaps the last time Trey Lance operated as the 49ers quarterback, he only saw 3.5 targets per game in those two games (Weeks 4 and 5). With Lance likely rushing 10-15 times in this game and with the 49ers being 12.5-point favorites, it's hard to envision there being enough balls to go around for Aiyuk to do a whole lot of damage in this one.
Tight End Rankings
Note: Dawson Knox was accidentally omitted from the above tweet. His ranking is TE10 between Kyle Pitts and Tyler Higbee.
Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
Fant comes in at TE8 because the Broncos will be without both Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy for this one. Courtland Sutton will travel with the team and likely play, but there should be more targets to go around for a guy like Noah Fant. He's going to play nearly every snap and the Chargers are allowing the most fantasy points per game to tight ends (11.5 points).
Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders
The Colts allow the 4th-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends (10.2) and Moreau continues to play a full-time role sans Darren Waller. He's also picked it up in his last two games, averaging 66 yards per game compared to just 16.7 yards the previous three games as a starter. This feels like a good spot to stream Moreau in a very favorable matchup.
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