Week 17 Fantasy Rankings: MJD Is Obvious, but Plenty of Sleepers Among Top 50

Figuring out who the best running back plays are from week to week is a little easier than doing so for wide receivers, but by no means is it simple—especially in Week 17 with playoff implications to consider and a few teams looking to sit their starters.

That's why those of us in the fantasy industry put together these lists for you—to give the reader a gauge of what to expect from his or her players on any given Sunday.

With that, here are the weekend's top 50 running backs, along with some detailed analysis on the five best plays for the week.

Reggie Bush (vs. NYJ): ******* REGGIE BUSH HAS BEEN RULED OUT FOR WEEK 17 *******

LeSean McCoy (vs. Was): ******* LESEAN MCCOY HAS BEEN RULED OUT FOR WEEK 17 *******

Arian Foster (vs. Ten): ******* ARIAN FOSTER HAS BEEN RULED OUT FOR WEEK 17 *******

50. Lance Ball (vs. KC)

49. Jacquizz Rodgers (vs. TB) 

48. Kregg Lumpkin (at Atl)

47. LaDainian Tomlinson (at Mia) 

46. Jason Snelling (vs. TB)

45. BenJarvus Green–Ellis (vs. Buf) 

44. Isaac Redman (at Cle)

43. John Kuhn (vs. Det)

42. Maurice Morris (at GB)

41. Joseph Addai (at Jax)

40. Thomas Jones (at Den)

39. Kendall Hunter (at StL): Sleeper Candidate

38. Pierre Thomas (vs. Car)

37. Evan Royster (at Phi)

36. LeGarrette Blount (at Atl)

35. Brandon Saine (vs. Det)

34. Roy Helu (at Phi): Questionable to Play

33. Mike Tolbert (at Oak): Questionable to Play

32. Peyton Hillis (vs. Pit)

31. Darren Sproles (vs. Car)

30. Arian Foster (vs. Ten): Potential bust, could see only one half of action

29. Stevan Ridley (vs. Buf): Sleeper Candidate

28. Brandon Jacobs (vs. Dal: Sunday night)

27. Steven Jackson (vs. SF)

26. Shonn Greene (at Mia)

25. Cedric Benson (vs. Bal)

24. Ben Tate (vs. Ten): Sleeper Candidate

23. Daniel Thomas (vs. NYJ): Sleeper Candidate

22. Chris Johnson (at Hou)

21. Beanie Wells (vs. Sea)

20. Jonathan Stewart (at NO)

19. Donald Brown (at Jax)

18. Kevin Smith (at GB): Potential bust, could only play one half

17. Chris Ivory (vs. Car): Sleeper Candidate

16. Felix Jones (at NYG: Sunday night)

15. Ahmad Bradshaw (vs. Dal: Sunday night)

14. DeAngelo Williams (at NO)

13. Kahlil Bell (at Min)

12. Michael Turner (vs. TB)

11. Frank Gore (at StL): Potential bust, could play only one half

10. Toby Gerhart (vs. Chi)

9. Willis McGahee (vs. KC)

8. C.J. Spiller (at NE) 

7. Ryan Mathews (at Oak)

6. Rashard Mendenhall (at Cle) 

The Top Five

5. LeSean McCoy (vs. Was): Potential bust, could be limited (ankle)

It looks like McCoy will be suiting up for this one, so get him in your lineups immediately.

Back in Week 6, LeSean ran roughshod over this Redskins D thrashing them for 126 yards and a TD on 28 carries.

The only way I can see him failing to rush for 100 yards and a TD this Sunday is if his bum ankle acts up on him, but considering the rest he's had all week, it looks like he'll be able to make it the whole game.

4. Michael Bush (vs. SD)

With the Chargers basically playing for nothing this week and Oakland playing for their playoff lives, I’m expecting the Raiders to jump on Michael Bush’s back for the majority of this game, much like they did in their first showdown back in Week 10.

In that game, Bush put up season-highs in carries (30), rushing yards (157), receiving yards (85) and fantasy points while also pounding in the game's lone rushing touchdown.

Even if he only gets the ball 20-25 times, that should still be enough for Bush to garner some major yardage in this one.

In addition, Bush has actually scored in four of his last five games against these guys, so don’t be surprised if he runs in a TD or two as well.

3. Ray Rice (at Cin)

The Bengals have a pretty tough defense over there in Cinci, but Rice has a good history against them, as he’s scored at least one touchdown in four of the last five games they’ve played.

In fact, back in Week 11, Ray put up the best fantasy performance of the season against them, rushing for 104 yards and two touchdowns en route to a Ravens seven-point win.

This one might prove to be a bit more difficult with the Bengals looking to go all out with their season on the line, but Rice has had defenses gunning for him all year long, and he’s still produced, so expect nothing less than his normal, studly numbers on Sunday.

2. Marshawn Lynch (at Ari)

Marshawn Lynch has been on such an amazing tear over the last three months that I can’t imagine any team stopping him at this point of the season.

He's racked up at least one touchdown in 11 straight games now and just put up 107 yards with a TD against a San Francisco 49ers team that hadn’t allowed more than 74 yards or a rushing TD to any running back all season.

In fact, the last time Beast Mode didn’t score was against the Arizona Cardinals back in Week 3, but I don’t expect them to shut him down a second time.

If you’re still playing in the playoffs this weekend, make sure you get Lynch in your lineup and enjoy riding the hottest hand in the NFL to your league Championship.

1. Maurice Jones–Drew (vs. Ind)

Plainly put, Maurice Jones-Drew has been the most consistent fantasy player in the league this year and is well deserving of the top spot in the final week of the 2011 season.

Only once has the Wrecking Ball put up less than 10 fantasy points during a game, numbers I’m sure have been much appreciated by his many fantasy owners across the country.

In their first matchup of the season back in Week 10, MJD ran for 114 yards and a touchdown, statistics he should have no problem repeating on Sunday going up against a Colts defense that has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing backs this year.

Click here to see the Week 17 Rankings for QBs, WRs and TEs

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