Week 17 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet for Deep Sleepers to Grab on Waiver Wire

Welcome to what is likely to be a wild Week 17 in the NFL, fantasy fans. Playoff-caliber matchups are littered throughout a schedule that will see games played on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Don't forget to set those lineups, kids!

Week 17 is also championship week in most season-long leagues, meaning managers dealing with injuries or unfavorable situations had better find replacement players quickly.

Before we dive into this week's top waiver targets, let's examine some updated point-per-reception (PPR) flex rankings.

PPR Flex Top 40, Week 17

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Rams WR Puka Nacua

1. Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

3. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

4. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks

5. Ja'Marr Chase, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

6. De'Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins

7. Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

8. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

9. Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

10. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

11. James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills

12. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

13. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

14. Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

15. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

16. Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans

17. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

18. George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys

19. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals

20. Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys

21. RJ Harvey, RB, Denver Broncos

22. Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons

23. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

24. Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams

25. Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens

26. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

27. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

28. Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers

29. Jameson Williams, WR, Detroit Lions

30. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

31. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

32. Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

33. Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

34. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos

35. Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants

36. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders

37. Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals

38. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers

39. Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Cleveland Browns

40. Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Sleeper Cheat Sheet, Week 17

AP Photo/Ella Hall

Saints QB Tyler Shough

Quarterback

1. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

2. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

4. Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns

5. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Running Back

1. Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals

2. Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams

3. Raheim Sanders, Cleveland Browns

4. Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders

5. Devin Singletary, New York Giants

Wide Receiver

1. Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars

2. Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

3. Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders

4. Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears

5. Mack Hollins, New England Patriots

Tight End

1. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears

2. Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

3. Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams

4. Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

5. Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals

Deep Sleeper: Calvin Austin III, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

AP Photo/Matt Durisko

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III hasn't reached double-digit fantasy points since Week 9. He's also dealing with a hamstring injury and will bear tracking leading up to Sunday.

However, Austin is also in line for an increased role with No. 1 receiver DK Metcalf suspended for two games.

With Metcalf out of the lineup, Austin and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are likely to serve as Aaron Rodgers' top wideouts. They'll be up against a formidable Cleveland Browns defense that has been missing star corner Denzel Ward (calf) for the last couple of weeks.

Austin is still available in over 80 percent of Yahoo and ESPN leagues.

Deep Sleeper: Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/John Froschauer

A few managers may be looking for tight ends on the wire this week. Travis Kelce is no longer a safe play with a third-string QB in for the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Las Vegas Raiders just placed Brock Bowers on injured reserve.

Los Angeles Rams rookie Terrance Ferguson is worth a look. The second-round pick out of Oregon has come on slowly this season, but he finally had a bit of a breakout with Davante Adams sidelined in Week 16.

Adams (hamstring) isn't expected to return this week, which means Ferguson might follow up last week's 12.3-point performance with another double-digit outing.

Ferguson is available in virtually all Yahoo and ESPN leagues.

*Fantasy scoring and roster information from FantasyPros.