Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings

174 days ago by Andy Schmidt

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Where Are Your Players Ranked?

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

It is the final week of the fantasy football season for those leagues that play all the way to the end of the National Football League season. If you still have a game this week for a championship, good luck in that game and hopefully I can help you on your way to success to bringing home a title. This is easily the toughest week to figure out however with teams potentially deciding to rest players before the playoffs get underway.

If there is any week where you must pay attention to every piece of news that comes out, this is it. Who knows what players may get sat down on Sunday morning or after just a series or two on Sunday afternoon. It is a difficult group of decisions but thankfully there are only a few teams that have their seed locked up in the playoffs so almost every major player in still in play and should be started.

It is obviously the final week of the season so there are a lot of moving parts. Here are my Week 17 rankings for fantasy owners to work with. I would be sure to keep checking all week long and into the weekend and adjust accordingly if a player is suddenly finding himself on the bench for this week’s games. If you need any other fantasy advice, feel free to send me a Tweet @ASchmidtSports or post it on my Facebook page. It has been a long season for a lot of owners that is finally ending but if you are playing for a title, it is time to finish the job.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports or like his Facebook page.

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Quarterbacks

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

If there was ever a week to roll with Robert Griffin III, this is the week in a must-win situation. If you are desperate, you can roll the dice with Jay Cutler or Philip Rivers who each should have solid weeks.

1. Robert Griffin III

2. Cam Newton

3. Aaron Rodgers

4. Tony Romo

5. Drew Brees

6. Tom Brady

7. Peyton Manning

8. Philip Rivers

9. Ben Roethlisberger

10. Eli Manning

11. Andrew Luck

12. Colin Kaepernick

13. Russell Wilson

14. Jay Cutler

15. Matthew Stafford

16. Ryan Tannehill

17. Matt Schaub

18. Russell Wilson

19. Joe Flacco

20. Josh Freeman

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Running Backs

Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

There is no doubt who you want in your lineup this week in Adrian Peterson.

1. Adrian Peterson

2. Marshawn Lynch

3. Doug Martin

4. Arian Foster

5. C.J. Spiller

6. Ray Rice

7. Frank Gore

8. Knowshon Moreno

9. Ahmad Bradshaw

10. Jamaal Charles

11. Montell Owens

12. DeMarco Murray

13. BenJarvus Green-Ellis

14. Jackie Battle

15. Chris Johnson

16. Darren Sproles

17. Shonn Greene

18. LeSean McCoy

19. Steven Jackson

20. Alfred Morris

21. Trent Richardson

22. Reggie Bush

23. Vick Ballard

24. Matt Forte

25. Darren McFadden

26. Jonathan Dwyer

27. DeAngelo Williams

28. Jonathan Stewart

29. Joique Bell

30. Mark Ingram

31. Danny Woodhead

32. Stevan Ridley

33. LaMichael James

34. Mikel Leshoure

35. Pierre Thomas

36. Michael Turner

37. Robert Turbin

38. Jacquizz Rodgers

39. Curtis Brinkley

40. Beanie Wells

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Wide Receivers

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

In a must-win situation, Brandon Marshall leads off the wide receiver rankings…..

1. Brandon Marshall

2. Calvin Johnson

3. A.J. Green

4. Pierre Garcon

5. Dez Bryant

6. Miles Austin

7. Victor Cruz

8. Mike Wallace

9. Randall Cobb

10. Wes Welker

11. Demaryius Thomas

12. Hakeem Nicks

13. Eric Decker

14. Brian Hartline

15. Julio Jones

16. Steve Smith

17. Jeremy Maclin

18. Andre Johnson

19. Lance Moore

20. Roddy White

21. Danario Alexander

22. Reggie Wayne

23. Vincent Jackson

24. Marques Colston

25. Brandon Lloyd

26. Davone Bess

27. Justin Blackmon

28. James Jones

29. T.Y. Hilton

30. Anquan Boldin

31. Greg Jennings

32. Sidney Rice

33. Torrey Smith

34. Mike Williams

35. Antonio Brown

36. Larry Fitzgerald

37. Michael Crabtree

38. Stevie Johnson

39. Jason Avant

40. Donnie Avery

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Tight Ends

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Witten takes the top spot this week in a game where he may just catch 10-15 passes which is plenty for any fantasy football team during the last week of the season. If you are digging deep, take a chance on Marcedes Lewis.

1. Jason Witten

2. Antonio Gates

3. Jimmy Graham

4. Aaron Hernandez

5. Tony Gonzalez

6. Brent Celek

7. Vernon Davis

8. Jermichael Finley

9. Jermaine Gresham

10. Rob Gronkowski

11. Greg Olsen

12. Owen Daniels

13. Marcedes Lewis

14. Anthony Fasano

15. Dwayne Allen

16. Dustin Keller

17. Martellus Bennett

18. Benjamin Watson

19. Kyle Rudolph

20. Tony Scheffler

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Kickers

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The final week of the regular season sees a host of kickers who could have big games. I think the biggest game this week will come from Garrett Hartley as it is very possible he finishes with 3-4 field goals which are enough points to help a fantasy team.

1. Garrett Hartley

2. Matt Prater

3. Lawrence Tynes

4. Steven Hauschka

5. Olindo Mare

6. David Akers

7. Stephen Gostkowski

8. Shaun Suisham

9. Josh Scobee

10. Kai Forbath

11. Shayne Graham

12. Nick Novak

13. Matt Bryant

14. Blair Walsh

15. Jason Hanson

16. Connor Barth

17. Justin Tucker

18. Dan Bailey

19. Sebastian Janikowski

20. Rian Lindell

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Defense

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

There are some matchups involving defenses this week that could lead to huge points for teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and New York Giants. If you have any chance to get one of those defenses, those are the top four this week and could each finish with double digits.

1. San Francisco

2. Denver

3. N.Y. Giants

4. Buffalo

5. Green Bay

6. New England

7. Houston

8. Seattle

9. Detroit

10. Chicago

11. Tennessee

12. N.Y. Jets