Fantasy Football Week 17 Rankings: Last-Minute Outlook for Flex Players

Now is the last chance for fantasy football owners to flex those, well, flex muscles.

That is, if owners are still alive in their leagues. If not, at least pretend to play pretend football in order to practice for next year's batch of pretend leagues. 

In all seriousness, though, the right flex play is often the difference between a win and a loss in fantasy football. The wrong play means the bench-points total is gaudy, while the starting lineup sputters to a loss.

The worst way to lose a fantasy championship, other than forgetting to set the lineup, is making the wrong flex play.

Week 17 Flex Rankings

Rank	Player
1	Arian Foster, HOU, RB
2	Calvin Johnson, DET, WR
3	Jamaal Charles, KC, RB
4	Le'Veon Bell, PIT, RB
5	Odell Beckham, NYG, WR
6	Antonio Brown, PIT, WR
7	DeMarco Murray, DAL, RB
8	LeSean McCoy, PHI, RB
9	Jordy Nelson, GB, WR
10	Rob Gronkowski, NE, TE
11	Demaryius Thomas, DEN, WR
12	Marshawn Lynch, SEA, RB
13	Dez Bryant, DAL, WR
14	Eddie Lacy, GB, RB
15	A.J. Green, CIN, WR
16	C.J. Anderson, DEN, RB
17	Julio Jones, ATL, WR
18	Matt Forte, CHI, RB
19	Mike Evans, TB, WR
20	Jimmy Graham, NO, TE
21	Randall Cobb, GB, WR
22	Jeremy Maclin, PHI, WR
23	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN, WR
24	Justin Forsett, BAL, RB
25	Julius Thomas, DEN, TE
26	Fred Jackson, BUF, RB
27	Jeremy Hill, CIN, RB
28	Frank Gore, SF, RB
29	T.Y. Hilton, IND, WR
30	Kelvin Benjamin, CAR, WR
31	Alfred Morris, WAS, RB
32	Lamar Miller, MIA, RB
33	Alshon Jeffery, CHI, WR
34	Brandon LaFell, NE, WR
35	Mike Wallace, MIA, WR
36	Mark Ingram, NO, RB
37	Jonathan Stewart, CAR, RB
38	Roddy White, ATL, WR
39	Antonio Gates, SD, TE
40	Andre Johnson, HOU, WR
41	Joique Bell, DET, RB
42	DeSean Jackson, WAS, WR
43	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU, WR
44	Sammy Watkins, BUF, WR
45	Tre Mason, StL, RB
46	Latavius Murray, OAK, RB
47	Julian Edelman, NE, WR
48	Vincent Jackson, TB, WR
49	Golden Tate, DET, WR
50	Chris Ivory, NYJ, RB
51	Torrey Smith, BAL, WR
52	Doug Martin, TB, RB
53	Lamar Miller, MIA, RB
54	Rueben Randle, NYG, WR
55	Branden Oliver, SD, RB
56	Charles Johnson, MIN, WR
57	Eddie Lacy, GB, RB
58	Ronnie Hillman, DEN, RB
59	Devonta Freeman, ATL, RB
60	Isaiah Crowell, CLE, RB
61	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI, WR
62	Roddy White, ATL, WR
63	Lance Dunbar, DAL, RB
64	Greg Jennings, MIN, WR
65	Eric Decker, NYJ, WR
66	Doug Baldwin, SEA, WR
67	Zach Ertz, PHI, TE
68	Giovani Bernard, CIN, RB
69	Martavis Bryant, PIT, WR
70	Andre Williams, NYG, RB
71	Reggie Wayne, IND, WR
72	Jason Witten, DAL, TE
73	Owen Daniels, BAL, TE
74	James Jones, OAK, WR
75	Eddie Royal, SD, WR
76	Jared Cook, STL, TE
77	Nate Washington, TEN, WR
78	Charles Clay, MIA, TE
79	Scott Chandler, BUF TE
80	Coby Fleener, IND, TE
81	Travis Kelce, KC, TE
82	Terrance Williams, DAL, WR
83	Bishop Sankey, TEN, RB
84	Allen Hurns, JAC, WR
85	Jonas Gray, NE, RB
86	Mychal Rivera, OAK, TE
87	Jarvis Landry, MIA, WR
88	Kyle Rudolph, MIN, TE
89	Greg Olsen, Car, TE
90	Kenny Stills, NO, WR
91	Steve Smith Sr., BAL, WR
92	Chris Johnson, NYJ, RB
93	Markus Wheaton, PIT, WR
94	Reggie Bush, DET, RB
95	Jacquizz Rodgers, ATL, RB
95	Donte Moncrief, IND, WR
96	Ronnie Brown, SD, RB
97	Vernon Davis, SF, TE
98	Harry Douglas, ATL, WR
99	Riley Cooper, PHI, WR
100	Kerwynn Williams, ARI, RB

Notable Week 17 Flex Plays

Latavius Murray, RB, OAK (at DEN)

Remember Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray?

Many owners shudder at the thought. After all, Murray was the breakout star of Week 12 thanks to a 23-point outburst against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

He missed the following game and then posted seven and six points.

Murray is back in terms of relevancy, however, thanks to a smooth 10 points against the Buffalo Bills last week. Considering Buffalo still surrenders the ninth-fewest points to backs, he does not get enough credit in the fantasy landscape for a strong performance.

Coach Tony Sparano seems fully behind his lead back now, though, per SiriusXM NFL Radio:

In other words, the staff in Oakland will use Murray a ton against the Denver Broncos in an effort to get a better idea of the future as the season concludes.

Touches already equal production at running back, but keep in mind that Denver just allowed 31 points to Cincinnati Bengals running backs and might be without linebacker Brandon Marshall and safety T.J. Ward.

As far as high-upside flex plays go, few better exists in Week 17.

Charles Johnson, WR, MIN (vs. CHI)

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

The owner of at least six targets in five of his past six outings, Minnesota Vikings wideout Charles Johnson continues to be a great play for owners in need.

Johnson has emerged as a go-to target for rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. His output over the course of the last six games speaks volumes to his potential each week:

WK	OPP	REC	YDS	TD	PTS
11	@Chi	6	87	0	8
12	GB	3	52	1	13
13	Car	2	41	0	4
14	NYJ	4	103	1	16
15	@Det	5	72	0	7
16	@Mia	3	38	0	3

Owners will notice that Johnson is very much a matchup-based play, though, as the strong Miami Dolphins defense was able to hold him to just three points last week.

There will be no such issues to close the season. The Chicago Bears not only allowed Johnson to tally eight points back in Week 11, but they still allow the 10th-most points to the position this year.

Against a team that has lost four straight and thrown in the towel, Johnson is a high-upside risk who will surely pay off for owners who take the dive.

Alfred Morris, RB, WSH (vs. DAL)

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Lost in the mess that is Washington's afterthought of a season is another 1,000-yard season by tailback Alfred Morris. 

His best is yet to come too.

Morris is the surest thing in sports—and that is only a slight exaggeration. The former Florida Atlantic star absolutely owns the Dallas Cowboys, having scored against the defense in each of his five opportunities and averaged 116 total yards to boot.

Back in Week 8, Morris ran for 73 yards and a score on 18 carries and tallied 14 points. It sounds as if coach Jay Gruden wants his lead back to be even more involved this time around in order to help along Robert Griffin III too.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

“You see the difference in Tony Romo’s play from last year with a solid running game. It makes it a lot easier for him,” Gruden said, per Jason Reid of The Washington Post. “It’s not easy, but it’s very beneficial. Moving forward, we definitely want to try to always address our defense and make sure we keep Alfred happy and keep him fed.”

Now, Dallas ranks in a respectable manner against backs this season thanks to strong showings earlier in the year, but the team has still allowed three of its last five opponents to score a minimum of 21 points.

Any way this one is sliced, Morris is in for a huge season-ending performance just in time for owners to flex in title games. 

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of December 27 at 3 p.m ET. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.