Fantasy Football Week 17 Rankings: Updated Overview for All Positions

Playing a fantasy league through Week 17 can be tricky. Some teams have already clinched their playoff positioning and have nothing to play for. Other teams have been out of the running for weeks and have thrown in the towel. 

Still, there's enough at stake on Sunday that plenty of high-profile fantasy options will be gunning for big games. Let's take a look at this week's fantasy startability grades as the regular season comes to a close.

Notes: For a full explanation of the rankings, see here. Abridged version: Startability measures how smart it is to start a given player in a week rather than attempting to project how many points he will score. "Ability" measures a player's overall talent, proficiency at his position and ability to produce fantasy numbers. "Offense" measures how much that team's offense improves his fantasy stock. The overall "startability" grade is weighted. All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard-scoring leagues. 

Schedule

Sunday, December 28	Time (ET)	TV
Philadelphia at NY Giants	1 p.m.	Fox
Carolina at Atlanta	1 p.m.	CBS
Cleveland at Baltimore	1 p.m.	CBS
Dallas at Washington	1 p.m.	Fox
Indianapolis at Tennessee	1 p.m.	CBS
Jacksonville at Houston	1 p.m.	CBS
San Diego at Kansas City	1 p.m.	CBS
NY Jets at Miami	1 p.m.	CBS
Chicago at Minnesota	1 p.m.	Fox
Buffalo at New England	1 p.m.	CBS
New Orleans at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.	Fox
Detroit at Green Bay	4:25 p.m.	Fox
Oakland at Denver	4:25 p.m.	CBS
Arizona at San Francisco	4:25 p.m.	Fox
St. Louis at Seattle	4:25 p.m.	Fox
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	8:30 p.m.	NBC

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Peyton Manning	49	18	14	8	A+ (89)
2	Drew Brees	49	16	13	8	A+ (86)
3	Andrew Luck	49	12	14	9	A (82)
4	Aaron Rodgers	50	5	15	9	A (79)
5	Tony Romo	40	22	10	6	A (78)
6	Eli Manning	40	20	10	5	A- (75)
7	Tom Brady	48	4	13	8	B+ (73)
8	Russell Wilson	45	10	10	8	B+ (72)
9	Ryan Tannehill	41	18	8	5	B+ (72)
10	Matt Ryan	43	14	8	5	B (70)
11	Cam Newton	43	14	8	5	B (70)
12	Mark Sanchez	37	16	13	4	B (70)
13	Matt Stafford	43	9	11	5	C+ (68)
14	Philip Rivers	42	8	10	6	C (66)
15	Ben Roethlisberger	43	5	11	6	C (65)

At every position, you have to weigh the possibility of certain players not even playing Week 17, but nowhere is this more true than at quarterback.

How long will Tom Brady play with New England's top seed secure? If Denver and Indianapolis get out to early leads, will Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck get the hook?  Which teams with nothing to play for and no playoffs in the future will just mail it in? 

The NFC East showdowns on Sunday should treat Tony Romo and Eli Manning owners very well. Washington gives up the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, while the Philadelphia Eagles are 29th in that regard. I'd expect Romo and Manning to have big games.

I'd also expect Matt Ryan and Cam Newton to post big numbers in a potential shootout, since both defenses have been vulnerable to the pass this year. Newton in particular could really blow up, especially when you consider he's scored 35 points and 22 points in his last two starts. Perhaps he's simply saved the best for last.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Le'Veon Bell	49	20	14	10	A+ (93)
2	Arian Foster	49	18	14	9	A+ (90)
3	Matt Forte	48	20	12	9	A+ (89)
4	C.J. Anderson	42	21	15	8	A (86)
5	Jamaal Charles	48	11	12	10	A (81)
6	Marshawn Lynch	49	7	14	8	A (78)
7	LeSean McCoy	47	14	11	6	A (78)
8	DeMarco Murray	48	4	15	10	A- (77)
9	Mark Ingram	42	14	11	7	A- (74)
10	Justin Forsett	40	16	11	7	A- (74)
11	Alfred Morris	44	13	10	6	B+ (73)
12	Jonathan Stewart	37	22	9	5	B+ (73)
13	Dan Herron	38	22	8	4	B+ (72)
14	Eddie Lacy	46	4	13	8	B (71)
15	Jeremy Hill	42	10	10	7	B (69)
16	Andre Williams	38	15	10	6	B (69)
17	Joique Bell	40	12	9	7	B (68)
18	Matt Asiata	36	16	10	5	B- (67)
19	Trent Richardson	37	22	5	3	B- (67)
20	Fred Jackson	39	12	9	6	B- (66)
21	Lamar Miller	42	6	11	6	C+ (65)
22	Ryan Mathews*	40	9	10	6	C+ (65)
23	Giovani Bernard	42	10	6	6	C+ (64)
24	Steven Jackson	38	13	8	5	C+ (64)
25	Doug Martin	36	20	3	2	C (61)
26	Chris Ivory	37	14	3	3	C (57)
27	Isaiah Crowell	37	3	10	5	C (55)
28	Tre Mason	37	3	8	6	C- (54)
29	Latavius Murray	37	8	5	4	C- (54)
30	Frank Gore	38	5	5	3	C- (51)

You can divide running backs into three categories this year:

1. Elite players
2. Good players who get regular work
3. The unpredictable group of players either mired in running back committees, suffering through various injuries or ones stuck on poor offenses.

You absolutely, positively do not want to have to rely on the third group in your championship. Stay away. I'm begging you, stay away if you can.

This is the week where Le'Veon Bell will carry you against a Cincinnati defense giving up 19.9 fantasy points per week, 28th in the league. It's a week where C.J. Anderson will carry you against the hapless Oakland Raiders, or Matt Forte will carry you against a Minnesota defense that has given up 19.1 fantasy points per week to opposing backs, 27th in the league.

Trust thy studs has been a pretty easy philosophy to adhere to at running back, where the difference between elite options and the mediocre ones is most pronounced. Don't stray now.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Dez Bryant	49	20	13	9	A+ (91)
2	Odell Beckham Jr.	44	23	12	9	A+ (88)
3	Jordy Nelson	48	15	15	9	A+ (87)
4	A.J. Green	49	16	11	9	A (85)
5	Julio Jones*	49	14	12	8	A (83)
6	Calvin Johnson	50	15	11	7	A (83)
7	Demaryius Thomas	48	10	15	9	A (82)
8	Randall Cobb	46	15	14	7	A (82)
9	Mike Evans	43	19	12	8	A (82)
10	T.Y. Hilton*	44	13	14	8	A- (79)
11	Kelvin Benjamin	42	20	10	7	A- (79)
12	Antonio Brown	49	5	13	10	B+ (77)
13	Emmanuel Sanders	44	10	15	8	B+ (77)
14	Josh Gordon	46	20	5	6	B+ (77)
15	Jeremy Maclin	44	11	11	7	B (73)
16	Vincent Jackson	41	19	7	4	B (71)
17	Golden Tate	41	15	7	6	B (69)
18	Roddy White	39	14	9	6	B- (68)
19	Marques Colston	38	20	5	5	B- (68)
20	Mike Wallace	41	15	7	4	B- (67)
21	DeAndre Hopkins	41	11	7	7	C+ (66)
22	Torrey Smith	40	10	9	7	C+ (66)
23	Greg Jennings	37	16	7	5	C+ (65)
24	Brandon LaFell	39	10	10	5	C (64)
25	DeSean Jackson	44	6	8	5	C (63)
26	Anquan Boldin	39	12	5	6	C (62)
27	Steve Smith	39	10	7	5	C- (61)
28	Malcom Floyd	37	9	10	5	C- (61)
29	Eric Decker	39	13	5	4	C- (61)
30	Sammy Watkins	42	5	8	5	C- (60)

I think Odell Beckham could score over 30 points this week, I really do. There's no way Cary Williams or Bradley Fletcher will be able to deal with him. There's no way a Philadelphia defense giving up 25.1 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per week, 31st in the NFL, will be able to deal with him. I think he'll close out a probable Rookie of the Year season with one of his biggest games yet.

I think Dez Bryant could do the same. Washington has given up 20 or more fantasy points to opposing wideouts in six straight games, and Romo and the Dallas passing game have really started heating up down the stretch. Washington has a pretty good running game too, so don't be surprised if the Cowboys turn to the air pretty early in this one.

In general, there aren't too many surprises at wide receiver, which has been one of the easier positions to project all season since it's had both a defined group of elite players and a ton of depth for fantasy owners to rely on. Don't stray from the wideouts who got you this far.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Julius Thomas	47	16	12	6	A+ (81)
2	Rob Gronkowski	50	5	15	10	A+ (80)
3	Jimmy Graham	49	11	12	6	A (78)
4	Greg Olsen	45	11	12	7	A (75)
5	Jason Witten	40	20	8	4	A- (72)
6	Antonio Gates	41	11	11	7	B+ (70)
7	Delanie Walker	39	20	7	4	B+ (70)
8	Martellus Bennett	41	10	12	6	B (69)
9	Dwayne Allen*	41	13	8	7	B (69)
10	Coby Fleener	40	13	7	6	B- (66)
11	Heath Miller	37	13	7	5	C+ (62)
12	Travis Kelce	40	5	8	5	C (58)

Much like the Brady conundrum, it's hard to know just how much Rob Gronkowski will play this week. I'm projecting his point total as though he'll play the whole game, but I can't know that for sure and, tragically, neither can Gronk owners.

Still, one half with Gronk is better than a full game with most tight ends, so I'd recommend starting him. It only takes one touchdown for your decision to be justified, after all.

You can get some pretty good matchups at tight end this week. Delanie Walker facing the Indianapolis Colts (31st in fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends) and Jason Witten taking on Washington (30th) are both excellent TE1 options this week. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team
1	Houston Texans
2	Seattle Seahawks
3	New England Patriots
4	Miami Dolphins
5	Arizona Cardinals
6	Minnesota Vikings
7	Denver Broncos
8	Baltimore Ravens
9	San Francisco 49ers
10	Dallas Cowboys

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Adam Vinatieri
2	Mason Crosby
3	Stephen Gostkowski
4	Randy Bullock
5	Cody Parkey
6	Matt Bryant
7	Justin Tucker
8	Dan Carpenter
9	Steven Hauschka
10	Shaun Suisham