Fantasy Football Week 17 Rankings: Matchups and Projections for Players We Love

The NFL doesn't pull any punches to close the season, meaning fantasy owners vying for league titles need to be at the top of their games when it matters most. 

This is easier said than done most weeks. With every game going down on Sunday, though, bettors don't need to worry about how a team might respond on a short week or even with an extra day's rest for a Monday game.

No, all bettors need to worry about is whether teams sit star players ahead of the postseason. This is a bit different than seemingly final injury reports, though, so those guys still make the lists. Owners can take solace in bad teams wanting to play the spoiler, which creates more producers than usual.

Here's a look at the tricky slate and rankings for each spot in standard leagues.

Week 17 Schedule

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

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Drew Brees	25
2	Aaron Rodgers	24
3	Andrew Luck	21
4	Tom Brady	19
5	Russell Wilson	18
6	Matt Ryan	18
7	Matthew Stafford	17
8	Kirk Cousins	17
9	Carson Palmer	16
10	Jameis Winston	14
11	Philip Rivers	14
12	Cam Newton*	12
13	Blake Bortles	12
14	Colin Kaepernick	12
15	Andy Dalton	12

It's a Drew Brees sort of week.

Quarterbacks are always the rage when the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons get together, and this Week 17 encounter is no different.

Brees will look to beat up on the Falcons before they head to the playoffs, which should have owners thinking about his third 15-plus-point performance in a row. He's hit the floor 11 times this year and pasted the Falcons for 25 points via three touchdown passes back in Week 3.

Those Falcons still allow the second-most points to opposing passers on average, so another 25 wouldn't blow the mind.

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Expect Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts to sit right up there in scoring as well by week's end. He gets the Jacksonville Jaguars to close the season, which is about as easy as it sounds.

Jacksonville doesn't rank poorly against quarterbacks this year, though it is partially because of a soft schedule (Houston twice, Denver, Buffalo and Minnesota, among others). Going against Luck is never easy, though, which is why he posted 17 points via two touchdowns back in Week 4. 

Luck has 16 or more points in four games and running, with it looking like a great floor this week.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	David Johnson	23
2	Devonta Freeman	21
3	DeMarco Murray	20
4	Jordan Howard	18
5	Frank Gore	17
6	Ezekiel Elliott	16
7	LeSean McCoy	15
8	Jeremy Hill*	14
9	Fitzgerald Toussaint	13
10	Spencer Ware*	12
11	LeGarrette Blount	12
12	Jacquizz Rodgers	12
13	Bilal Powell*	12
14	Darren Sproles	11
15	Ty Montgomery	11
16	Jay Ajayi*	11
17	Thomas Rawls	10
18	Todd Gurley	10
19	Robert Kelley	10
20	Mark Ingram	10
21	DeAngelo Williams	9
22	Jerick McKinnon	9
23	Chris Ivory*	8
24	Jonathan Stewart*	8
25	Tevin Coleman	8
26	Zach Zenner	7
27	Latavius Murray	7
28	Alfred Blue	7
29	Melvin Gordon	6
30	Bobby Rainey	6

On the other side of New Orleans-Atlanta, running back Devonta Freeman will have a huge game right alongside Matt Ryan.

Freeman got off to a rocky start this year in what looked like a damaging committee, but he has outings of 19, 21 and 30 points over his last five games. He's more of a matchup-based play now, but as one can see from those outings, he's a heck of a play when it looks good.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The outlook is on fire this week against the Saints, the defense permitting the fourth-most points to backs on average. The unit has allowed five rushing scores by backs over its past three games.

As for Freeman? He dropped 26 points on the Saints back in Week 3.

DeMarco Murray should have another big week as well. Down Marcus Mariota, the Tennessee Titans will feed Murray more than usual against the Houston Texans.

Murray has 13 or more points in two of his last three outings and 12 times overall. He faced Houston in Week 4 and took 25 totes for 95 yards and two touchdowns, good for 23 points.

Given the situation, similar usage and production wouldn't come as much of a surprise given Murray's workhorse nature and season-long reliability.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Julio Jones*	18
2	Mike Evans	18
3	Jordy Nelson	16
4	Alshon Jeffery	16
5	Tyrell Williams	15
6	Julian Edelman	14
7	Ty Montgomery	14
8	T.Y. Hilton	14
9	Michael Thomas	13
10	Allen Robinson	13
11	Davante Adams	12
12	DeSean Jackson	12
13	Brandin Cooks	11
14	Willie Snead	11
15	Larry Fitzgerald	11
16	Emmanuel Sanders	11
17	Cameron Meredith	10
18	Demaryius Thomas	10
19	Dontrelle Inman	10
20	Golden Tate	10
21	Doug Baldwin	9
22	Tyreek Hill	9
23	J.J. Nelson	8
24	Brandon LaFell	8
25	Kenny Britt*	8
26	DeAndre Hopkins	8
27	Taylor Gabriel*	8
28	Steve Smith Sr.	8
29	Jordan Matthews*	7
30	Dez Bryant	7
31	Marqise Lee*	7
32	Adam Thielen	7
33	Jarvis Landry	6
34	Terrelle Pryor Sr.	6
35	Marvin Jones	6

Going away from the oft-referenced NFC South matchup above, let's...look at another NFC South matchup.

A showdown between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers should also feature plenty of scoring, with Mike Evans doing the most for the latter.

Evans has 13 or more points eight times this year, including seven grabs for 97 yards and a score, good for 15 points, in Week 16. He bullies great matchups, which the Panthers provide by coughing up the 10th-most points to wideouts this year on average.

This won't come as a surprise, but Evans took to the road in Week 5 against these Panthers and tallied 14 points, setting the bar for this week.

Phelan Ebenhack/Associated Press

It's a similar story for Chicago Bears wideout Alshon Jeffery. He dealt with a four-game suspension and turmoil under center, but there is one constant around the veteran—he toasts the Minnesota Vikings.

Jeffery has made a mockery of the Vikings for years, doing so this season back in Week 8 despite all the problems facing his team. He caught four passes for 63 yards and a score, good for 12 points.

Since returning, Jeffery has nine or more points over two games, so he's reliable.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Greg Olsen*	13
2	Travis Kelce	12
3	Delanie Walker	11
4	Jimmy Graham	10
5	Martellus Bennett*	10
6	Zach Ertz	8
7	Jared Cook	8
8	Antonio Gates	8
9	Kyle Rudolph	7
10	Eric Ebron	7
11	Jordan Reed*	6
12	Dennis Pitta	6

It looks like another monster week for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. 

Kelce dropped 22 points on the Denver Broncos in Week 16, giving him 10 or more in five of his last six games. A sixth is on the way thanks to a season-ending game against the San Diego Chargers.

Those Chargers have given up on the season after losing to the Cleveland Browns and potentially moving soon. Kelce exploited the unit for seven points back in Week 1 when the team had hope, so this could get ugly.

Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press

Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham sports a name as recognizable as Kelce's, yet he hasn't nearly been as reliable with his six double-digit outings this year.

Alas, one of those came in Week 16 via 10 points. It's also important to note he gets the San Francisco 49ers, a team he faced in Week 3 and caught six passes for 100 yards and a score, topping him off at 14 points.

Those 49ers have allowed a touchdown to tight ends in two weeks and running, so owners can enter Sunday with high expectations.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Steelers	12
2	Cardinals	10
3	Seahawks	9
4	Patriots	9
5	Broncos	8
6	Chiefs	7
7	Colts	7
8	Titans	6
9	Cowboys	6
10	Raiders	6

Might as well get one for the road against the Browns offense before the season ends.

The Browns allow the third-most points to opposing defenses this year, having coughed up nine double-digit performances, including six in a row. So, a fantasy goldmine of sorts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will next get the pickax and go to work. Back in Week 11, the defense only allowed nine points, picked off a pass, had a fumble recovery and scored a touchdown against these Browns, totaling 23 points.

Expecting another 23 would be silly, but 2016 has been a silly year, so Pittsburgh might celebrate the start of 2017 in style.

Kickers

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Adam Vinatieri	12
2	Justin Tucker	10
3	Dustin Hopkins	9
4	Matt Bryant	9
5	Matt Prater	8
6	Caleb Sturgis	7
7	Stephen Gostkowski	7
8	Steven Hauschka	6
9	Dan Bailey	6
10	Kai Forbath	6

Maybe the biggest household name at the position, Adam Vinatieri is about to lead all kickers in scoring in Week 17.

Or at least he should, because his Colts get to face the Jaguars to end the season, the team managing to surrender the most points to kickers on average this season.

Eight opposing kickers have hit double digits against the Jaguars, Vinatieri included. The veteran hit both of his attempts and three extra points to go for 12 points on the unit back in Week 4.

Vinatieri himself has hit double digits eight times this year, so the consistency and matchup will translate to a big day.

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

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.