Fantasy Football Week 17 Rankings: Top Players, Sleepers and Positional Guide
The fantasy football season is winding down and every point is of the utmost importance as managers look to cash their tickets to their leagues' playoffs.
Week 17 features some very favorable match-ups for key fantasy studs while there are a few sleeper candidates with the potential to come through big and be the difference in a win or a loss.
Ahead of the pivotal week, these are the rankings for each position and a sleeper candidate for each who is worth fitting on your roster.
All stats via FantasyPros unless otherwise stated.
Quarterback
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Rankings
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
- Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Sleeper: Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mayfield has been stellar for the Buccaneers this season and is a big part of why the team has exceeded expectations and is in a position to win the NFC South.
He followed up a statistically perfect day in Green Bay, with a 158.3 QB rating, by throwing for 283 yards and two touchdowns against the Jaguars in Week 16.
In the penultimate week of the season, the Bucs host a Saints defense that is still a solid unit but was picked apart by Matthew Stafford to the tune of 328 yards and two touchdowns. No, Mayfield is not Stafford and the Bucs are not the Rams' explosive offense, but they have one of the better wide receiver rooms in the league and should be able to exploit the same weaknesses Sean McVay's squad did.
A 300-yard game, with multiple touchdowns, should not be out of the question for Mayfield, who has the potential to finish as one of the bigger surprises in fantasy football by year's end.
Running Back
2 of 4
Rankings
- Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
- Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
- Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
- Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
- D'Andre Swift, Philadelphia Eagles
- James Cook, Buffalo Bills
- Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
- Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
- Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Kenneth Walker II, Seattle Seahawks
Sleeper: Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings
The Green Bay Packers are giving up the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs with 20.9, creating a favorable scenario for burgeoning Vikings star Chandler.
The second-year player has essentially supplanted Alexander Mattison as the featured back and showed out against Cincinnati in Week 15 with a 21.7-point performance.
He was not as great against Detroit, but the Lions give up the fewest points in the league to opposing running backs, so it is understandable.
Against the Packers, though, Chandler will have a chance to exploit the defense on the ground and play a role in the passing game, if the situation presents itself.
Wide Receiver
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Rankings
- CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
- Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
- AJ Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
- Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
- Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
- Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
- Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
- Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Sleeper: DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
The idea of Smith being a sleeper may be far-fetched given his stature but he has not been the fantasy stud that he was in the past, thanks to AJ Brown's stellar season.
Against the Giants in Week 16, though, he found the end zone on a 36-yard connection from Jalen Hurts and will have plenty of opportunities to do that against a bad Arizona Cardinals defense.
The Cards are giving up 27 points per game to opposing wideouts and will likely focus much of their attention on containing Brown. That should open up opportunities for Hurts to find Smith and produce just the seventh double-digit points performance for the former Heisman Trophy winner this season.
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Tight End
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Rankings
- Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
- Greg Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
- Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
- Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
- David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
- Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Dallas Goeddert, Philadelphia Eagles
- Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
- Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Sleeper: Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
Everett is not going to be the difference maker in a winning and losing week, but there is reason to believe he can be a solid contributor to any fantasy roster in Week 17, thanks to a favorable match-up against the Denver Broncos.
Denver is giving up the most points per game to opposing tight ends with 13.6.
Add to that the fact that Everett has been targeted eight times in each of his last three games, and caught seven of them in Week 16 against the Bills, and you have enough reason to take a chance on slotting him in your lineup.
Especially with quarterback Easton Stick taking over for Justin Herbert and potentially looking to Everett as a safety blanket in key situations.
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