Pat Fitzmaurice | Fri, Dec 27th 2024, 7:22am EST

Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 17)

Happy holidays, friends! And hearty congratulations to those of you who’ll be playing in championship games this week.

Getting to the title game is no small feat. Every year, the fantasy gods lay a bed of hot coals in front of us and demand that we walk it barefoot. Rarely does anyone coast into the championship game without encountering turmoil along the way.

So, hey, good on you for making it this far.

But there’s still one more step to take.

Naturally, those wrathful fantasy gods have added a few more yards’ worth of hot coals to our championship paths. We got a lot of injury news on Thursday — much of it unpleasant.

There’s still a lot of injury ambiguity as we head into the weekend, and Friday’s practice reports will yield important clues. I’ll update this article throughout the weekend as we get more injury news.

As always, feel free to use these tiered rankings as a tiebreaker for your difficult lineup decisions. Beneath the tiers, I’ll offer a few brief thoughts on some of the borderline start/sit guys and some other interesting cases.

This is it, people. Week 17. The finish line. Let’s run through the tape and not break stride until we’ve grabbed those trophies and winner’s checks. Good luck!

Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 17)

QUARTERBACKS

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

Since the 49ers’ Week 9 bye, only two quarterbacks have thrown for 200 yards against San Francisco. Geno Smith threw for 221 yards against the Niners in Week 11, and Tua threw for 215 yards against them last week. Still, I like Jared Goff‘s prospects against the 49ers in San Francisco this weekend. With RB David Montgomery out for the rest of the season, the Lions probably won’t have the luxury of going run-heavy with any of their offensive gameplans. And a spate of injuries on the defensive side of the ball could thrust the Lions into more shootouts. Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns last week against the Bears. Over his last three games, he’s thrown for 1,113 yards and 11 touchdowns. Start Goff with confidence against the 49ers.

Bo Nix has thrown multiple touchdown passes in five of his last six games, and he’s started running again. Nix had a recent streak of four games with 5 or fewer rushing yards, but Nix has had more than 20 rushing yards in each of his last two games. Plus, Nix gets a great matchup against a Falcons defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Atlanta has allowed 28 touchdown passes, tied for second-most, and the Falcons have the fourth-worst opponent passer rating in the league. I have Nix ranked QB8 this week.

Beware the unpredictable Kyler Murray. With his rushing ability, there’s always a chance that Murray could give his stakeholders a smash game. But the floor for Murray is unstable, and there’s even more risk now that the Cardinals have been eliminated from playoff contention and have a diminished offensive line. Arizona just placed both of its starting offensive tackles, Paris Johnson and Jonah Williams, on injured reserve. I have Murray ranked QB12 this week, but admittedly that feels too high, and I would be looking for other alternatives is I were a Murray investor headed into a championship game.

RUNNING BACKS

Tier 1

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Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

Rico Dowdle is coming off a disappointing performance against the Buccaneers in which he carried 13 times for 23 yards, and he gets a tough matchup against an Eagles defense that’s tied with the Chiefs for fewest fantasy points allowed to running backs. But unless you have an embarrassment of riches at RB, you should probably keep Dowdle in your lineup. Over his last five games, Dowdle has averaged 19.4 carries, 21.4 touches and 112 scrimmage yards per game. He’s probably going to be the focal point of the Dallas offense this week with star WR CeeDee Lamb out for the rest of the season. I’m ranking Dowdle as a midrange RB2.

Never mind that Rachaad White has to share work with Bucky Irving, or that Irving has been the better of Tampa Bay’s RBs. Since the Buccaneers’ Week 11 bye, White has averaged 14.2 touches and 75 scrimmage yards a game, and he gets a dreamy Week 17 matchup against a Panthers defense that has allowed the most rushing yards and fantasy points to RBs. Consider White a midrange RB2.

The Commanders’ Brian Robinson was held to 24 rushing yards and 41 scrimmage yards last week against the Eagles, largely because Washington was playing from behind for much of the game and largely abandoned the run. Game script probably won’t be as much of an issue this week with the Commanders 4-point home favorites against the Falcons. But Robinson lost two fumbles against the Eagles last week, putting him at risk of a Week 17 benching if he coughs up another. Atlanta isn’t the easiest matchup for Robinson either. The Falcons have allowed the ninth-fewest rushing yards to RBs, and they’ve only allowed four touchdown runs to RBs this season — tied with the Chargers for the fewest. I have Robinson slotted at RB20 this week, slightly below consensus.

The Cleveland offense is limited by the subpar quarterbacking of Dorian Thompson-Robinson, but Jerome Ford is still a worthwhile fantasy option as an RB2 or flex play. Even though Thompson-Robinson struggled mightily last week against the Bengals, Ford still managed to churn out 131 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, with 11-92-1 rushing and 5-39-0 receiving. Granted, Ford got about half of his yardage from a 66-yard run early in the first quarter, but his dual run-catch production still gives Ford appeal this week in a matchup against the Dolphins despite the Browns’ offensive limitations.

Maybe I should be higher on Tank Bigsby, who’s had double-digit carries in three straight games and has a Week 17 matchup against a Tennessee Titans defense that gave up 218 rushing yards and three TDs to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor last week. But I can only generate so much enthusiasm for a running back who splits work in a mediocre offense and doesn’t catch passes. I have Bigsby ranked as a low-end RB3.

Jaleel McLaughlin is expected to return from a quad injury this week, making the Denver backfield a messy three-headed affair with McLaughlin, Javonte Williams and rookie Audric Estime. Broncos head coach Sean Payton has been unpredictable in his deployment of RBs this season. I have all three of the Broncos’ backs ranked outside of RB3 range. Steer clear.

WIDE RECEIVERS

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Tier 7

Calvin Ridley gets a tasty matchup against a Jacksonville defense that has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards and fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Ridley had 12 targets against the Jaguars in Week 14 and finished with seven catches for 59 yards. Not bad, but Ridley left some meat on the bone. The following week, Jacksonville gave up 198 yards and two touchdowns to Jets WR Davante Adams. I have Ridley ranked as a low-end WR2 this week, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Ridley finished the week as a top-10 fantasy scorer at the position.

I’m about a dozen spots below consensus on Jauan Jennings this week, and maybe that’s a mistake. It just seems as if the enthusiasm for Jennings has reached the tipping point. He’s proven this year that he’s a good receiver. But Jennings has had 56 or fewer receiving yards in four of his last five games. The 49ers’ offense hasn’t exactly been humming lately, scoring 17 or fewer point in five of its last six games. It seems unlikely that the 49ers are going to get their offense back on track now that they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs, and with star left tackle Trent Williams declared out for the rest of the season. I’m ranking Jennings as a midrange WR3 this week in his matchup against the Lions.

Don’t disembark from the Jakobi Meyers bandwagon after his two-catch, 41-yard performance against Jacksonville last week. Meyers only had five targets against the Jaguars — his lowest target total since Week 2. He’s had at least nine targets in eight of his last 11 games. Meyers gets a promising Week 17 matchup against the Saints, who have a subpar collection of cornerbacks. Bet on a Meyers bounce-back.

Khalil Shakir isn’t as appealing a fantasy option as he was just a month ago. Shakir has had fewer than 40 receiving yards in three of his last four games, and he’s had no more than eight targets in any of his last four games. With Keon Coleman recently returning from a wrist injury, the Bills have been rotating four receivers — Shakir, Coleman, Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins — which is kneecapping the fantasy value of all four. I have Shakir ranked WR35.

Jerry Jeudy simply isn’t playable in fantasy with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback for the Browns. In the seven games Jameis Winston started at quarterback for the Browns, Jeudy averaged 9.9 targets, 7.0 catches and 112.3 receiving yards per game. Last week, in Thompson-Robinson’s first start of the season, Jeudy was targeted three times and had two catches for 20 yards.

TIGHT ENDS

Tier 1

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Tier 5

Sam LaPorta averaged just 3.3 targets over Detroit’s first eight games. Since Week 10, LaPorta has averaged 7.0 targets and 4.2 catches, with at least six targets in every game. He’s been the TE6 in fantasy scoring over that stretch. Fantasy managers can once again feel good about starting LaPorta.

Chig Okonkwo has become Mason Rudolph‘s go-to guy. Over the last two weeks, Okonkwo has 21 targets, 17 catches and 140 yards. This week, he faces a Jaguars defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to TEs. Consider Okonkwo a low-end TE1.

Brenton Strange seemed like a viable (or even attractive) TE option a week ago after an 11-catch, 73-yard game against the Jets in Week 15. But Strange fumbled once last week and failed to haul in a catchable ball in the third quarter. He didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. With Strange possibly in the doghouse, he should be regarded as no more than a midrange TE2 this week.

NFL

MLB

NBA

NHL

Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 17)

Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 17)

QUARTERBACKS

RUNNING BACKS

WIDE RECEIVERS

TIGHT ENDS

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