Fantasy Football Week 17 Rankings: Reviewing All Positions Before Season Finales

For fantasy football owners, the NFL really did save the best for last.

Last week saw plenty of top stars post massive performances in lopsided encounters. The farewell slate might be even better with Tom Brady getting the Miami Dolphins, Ben Roethlisberger the Cleveland Browns, and Calvin Johnson the Chicago Bears, among many others.

It's still holiday season, though, so keeping up with the never-ending information surrounding all 32 teams remains a tough task. Let's provide relief by ranking each position based on projections.

Week 17 Schedule

Sunday, Jan. 03	Time (ET)
New Orleans at Atlanta	1:00 pm
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo	1:00 pm
Washington at Dallas	1:00 pm
Tennessee at Indianapolis	1:00 pm
Detroit at Chicago	1:00 pm
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	1:00 pm
New England at Miami	1:00 pm
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants	1:00 pm
Baltimore at Cincinnati	1:00 pm
Jacksonville at Houston	1:00 pm
Tampa Bay at Carolina	4:25 pm
Oakland at Kansas City	4:25 pm
Seattle at Arizona	4:25 pm
San Diego at Denver	4:25 pm
St. Louis at San Francisco	4:25 pm
Minnesota at Green Bay	8:30 pm

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player
1	Cam Newton
2	Ben Roethlisberger
3	Eli Manning
4	Russell Wilson
5	Tom Brady
6	Carson Palmer
7	Brian Hoyer*
8	Drew Brees
9	Alex Smith
10	Aaron Rodgers
11	Blake Bortles
12	Matt Ryan
13	Matthew Stafford
14	Ryan Fitzpatrick

It's another incredible on-paper week for Big Ben of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Of course, it was last week too when he got a shot at the Baltimore Ravens and posted just four points while tossing no touchdowns with two interceptions.

Just don't expect the man to struggle again, especially not with a game against the Cleveland Browns on tap. Big Ben not only torched the Browns for three touchdowns and 27 points back in Week 10, the Browns allow the sixth-most points to quarterbacks.

Unlike Baltimore, Cleveland isn't capable of putting up a fight.

This looks like another Alex Smith week as well. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has been consistent all year with trips to single digits just once.

Especially appetizing this week, though, is Smith's encounter with the Oakland Raiders. Historic Charles Woodson farewell tour or not, those Raiders let Smith post 24 points back in Week 13 by way of two touchdowns.

Little has changed since then, with the Raiders still allowing the 10th-most points to the position. Smith's going to post more impressive numbers.

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Devonta Freeman
2	DeAngelo Williams
3	Adrian Peterson
4	Todd Gurley
5	Tim Hightower
6	David Johnson
7	Darren McFadden
8	Charcandrick West
9	Jonathan Stewart*
10	Jeremy Hill
11	Frank Gore
12	Matt Forte*
13	Karlos Williams
14	C.J. Anderson
15	Eddie Lacy
16	Jeremy Langford
17	Chris Ivory
18	Doug Martin
19	Lamar Miller
20	Rashad Jennings
21	Latavius Murray
22	Giovani Bernard
23	Shaun Draughn*
24	Javorius Allen
25	Darren Sproles
26	Ronnie Hillman
27	Brandon Bolden
28	Denard Robinson
29	Danny Woodhead
30	DeMarco Murray

Call Week 17 the perfect finale for two of fantasy's biggest breakout backs.

Devonta Freeman of the Atlanta Falcons still sits as fantasy's highest-scoring back and figures to widen the gap against the New Orleans Saints.

The above shouldn't need much of an explanation. The Saints forgot what defense was this season and allow the third-most points to backs, having let up five touchdowns since a Week 11 bye alone.

Back in Week 6, Freeman torched the Saints for 100 yards and a score with 27 points. Coming close to the same total wouldn't be a shock whatsoever.

Joining Freeman in the breakout category is Todd Gurley of the St. Louis Rams. He sits fifth in scoring at the spot and has been on an epic tear as of late, posting four touchdowns over his past three games.

Gurley gets another crack at the San Francisco 49ers, a team against which he bruised his way toward 133 yards and a score for 20 points back in Week 8.

Those 49ers haven't changed much, either, by still coughing up the second-most points to backs, highlighted by nine touchdowns over their last six outings. Gurley might just finish the season with his highest point total.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	Antonio Brown
2	Odell Beckham Jr.
3	DeAndre Hopkins
4	Julio Jones
5	Calvin Johnson
6	A.J. Green
7	Brandon Marshall
8	Alshon Jeffery*
9	Michael Floyd
10	Doug Baldwin
11	Eric Decker
12	Martavis Bryant
13	Mike Evans
14	Allen Robinson
15	Larry Fitzgerald
16	Jeremy Maclin
17	Jarvis Landry
18	Travis Benjamin
19	Michael Crabtree
20	Brandin Cooks
21	Julian Edelman*
22	Golden Tate
23	Sammy Watkins
24	Nate Washington
25	John Brown
26	Demaryius Thomas
27	Kamar Aiken
28	Jordan Matthews
29	Tavon Austin
30	Emmanuel Sanders
31	Anquan Boldin
32	Amari Cooper
33	Tyler Lockett
34	Willie Snead
35	James Jones

Odell Beckham Jr.'s return won't be timid.

The New York Giants star wideout returns after a one-game ban to take a shot at the Philadelphia Eagles in the usual NFC East season-ending bout. Folks will recall, though, Beckham posted seven catches for 61 yards and 12 points against the unit in Week 6.

It was just one of eight performances with seven or more catches this year for Beckham. The Eagles happen to allow the most points to wideouts on average this year, with seven of eight opposing wideout corps. since the Week 8 bye posting 20 or more points.

Beckham hitting that number on his own? Maybe crazy, but he's done so five times this year and has something to say via his play.

Remember Julio Jones?

The Atlanta Falcons star remains the second-highest scorer at the position, but it sure doesn't seem like it with the way the team has tanked this year.

Alas, like Freeman, Jones will erupt against the Saints. Unlike Freeman, he didn't post gaudy numbers the first time around, totaling just nine points.

But there's reason for hope—the Saints allow the sixth-most points to wideouts, and Jones has caught fire in recent weeks, totaling 17 and 23 points over his past two games with nine catches in each.

It's a trend all right, and it's easy to assure Jones will want to go out with a bang against a rival.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Rob Gronkowski
2	Gary Barnidge
3	Travis Kelce
4	Greg Olsen
5	Delanie Walker
6	Benjamin Watson
7	Antonio Gates
8	Julius Thomas
9	Heath Miller
10	Will Tye
11	Zach Miller
12	Zach Ertz

The usual names, which Gary Barnidge certainly is this year, command attention at the top this week.

Barnidge might find himself in a position to take home the top-scorer label of the week thanks to his Cleveland Browns lining up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Back in the Week 10 encounter, the 30-year-old breakout star caught six passes for 65 yards and a score with 12 points, good for one of eight double-digit outings this year. Provided the Steelers still allow the eighth-most points to the spot, the top breakout story this year at the position should end with fireworks.

Delanie Walker of the Tennessee Titans knows how Barnidge feels. He's fantasy's fifth-highest scorer at the spot but rarely receives his due. He's scored six times this year and has five trips to double digits.

Walker gets the Indianapolis Colts this weekend, and while he only posted six points against the unit in Week 3, it came by way of seven catches for 68 yards. 

The Colts allow the 12th-most points to the spot, so similar catch numbers with a score sprinkled in for good measure isn't too outlandish of an expectation.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	Broncos
2	Panthers
3	Rams
4	Cardinals
5	Chiefs
6	Giants
7	Vikings
8	Ravens
9	Steelers
10	Eagles

The St. Louis Rams haven't done much right this year, but the organization has gifted owners with the ninth-ranked unit from a fantasy standpoint.

St. Louis has posted six outings of 12 or more points this year thanks to an opportunistic defense that boasts 40 sacks.

Said defense now gets to trounce the 49ers, a defense it posted 12 on back in the first rodeo between the teams. The 49ers cough up the third-most points to opposing defenses with six allowances of double digits.

In other words, all signs point toward the Rams hitting the road and exploiting a Blaine Gabbert-led offense.

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Brandon McManus
2	Stephen Gostkowski
3	Chandler Catanzaro
4	Cairo Santos
5	Graham Gano
6	Shayne Graham
7	Josh Brown
8	Steven Hauschka
9	Connor Barth
10	Robbie Gould

Another week, another strong projection for Kansas City's Cairo Santos.

Santos sits as fantasy's fifth-highest scorer at the position this year with five double-digit outings to his name. Perhaps more importantly, he boasts a solid ceiling with his 10 outings of six or more points.

This weekend looks tricky for owners, considering Santos managed only two points in the first outing against the Raiders.

Remember, though, that Oakland allows the second-most points to kickers, having coughed up double digits eight times, making Santos' poor showing more of an anomaly. 

Sort of like Kansas City's season, he'll get back on track in epic fashion.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats as of December 29.