Fantasy Football Week 17: Final Rankings, Projections, Early Waiver-Wire Tips

For those NFL fans that tempt the fickle fantasy football fates and hold their league championships in Week 17, all I can say is one thing: good luck.

Just kidding. There's still plenty of information and words of wisdom to offer for those putting themselves through one final fantasy football gauntlet. 

Fantasy owners have to be wary of playoff-bound teams resting starters in the final week of the season—this might not be too much of a problem this year with so many teams still jockeying for good postseason position—or squads with little to nothing to play for mixing things up and letting some unheralded players get extra work. 

Here's a look at Yahoo Sports' Week 17 fantasy football projections at the key offensive positions, followed by a couple of last-ditch waiver-wire candidates worth a final look.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Russell Wilson, Seattle	23.48
2	Cam Newton, Carolina	23.43
3	Eli Manning, New York	22.26
4	Tom Brady, New England	21.64
5	Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh	20.91
6	Carson Palmer, Arizona	20.40
7	Drew Brees, New Orleans	20.03
8	Brian Hoyer, Houston	19.77
9	Matt Ryan, Atlanta	19.45
10	Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay	19.43
11	Johnny Manziel, Cleveland	18.53
12	Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo	18.24
13	Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets	18.18
14	Matthew Stafford, Detroit	17.75
15	Blake Bortles, Jacksonville	17.72

It's tough to recommend against Aaron Rodgers in fantasy football, especially in the final week of the regular season. However, there isn't much to suggest he's a top-flight option in Week 17. Rodgers hasn't cracked 300 yards passing since Week 10 (vs. Detroit), hasn't thrown more than two touchdowns since Week 9 (vs. Carolina) and has tossed four picks in his last five games.

Daily fantasy sports players will want to carefully consider quarterbacks other than Rodgers in Week 17, but those in league play could be stuck with him as they likely have few other appealing options to consider at this late stage.

Rodgers draws Minnesota in Week 17. The last time these two teams played, Rodgers completed 47.1 percent of his passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Not terrible, but not great either. On the season, Minnesota ranks 13th in fewest fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

This being the ultratalented Rodgers, the pressure of a game with major playoff implications against a division rival will likely spur him to greater heights. He said as much after Sunday's 38-8 loss to Arizona.

"This was a playoff-style game for us and we obviously played terrible," Rodgers said, via Michael Cohen of the Journal Sentinel. "But we’ve won a lot of games here. When you play long enough you’re going to be on the wrong side of this sometimes. But I have confidence in those guys and myself that when it matters for all of the marbles we’re going to show up."

If you're a cold, calculating numbers person in a smaller league or doing the DFS thing, you might not play him.

If you play with your heart or would simply rather go down in your fantasy league betting on one of the best players in the game to step up, Rodgers is still better than most options. He's a better runner than most scramblers even if he's not always looking to cross the line of scrimmage. 

Running Backs 

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Devonta Freeman, Atlanta	19.19
2	DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh	17.07
3	Adrian Peterson, Minnesota	15.02
4	Todd Gurley, St. Louis	14.21
5	David Johnson, Arizona	13.77
6	Tim Hightower, New Orleans	12.97
7	Darren McFadden, Dallas	12.66
8	Jonathan Stewart, Carolina	12.64
9	LeSean McCoy, Buffalo	12.58
10	Matt Forte, Chicago	12.30
11	Jeremy Langford, Chicago	11.49
12	Shaun Draughn, San Francisco	11.38
13	Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati	11.18
14	Frank Gore, Indianapolis	10.62
15	Eddie Lacy, Green Bay	10.54
16	Doug Martin, Tampa Bay	10.43
17	C.J. Anderson, Denver	10.39
18	Chris Ivory, New York Jets	10.35
19	Charcandrick West, Kansas City	10.17
20	Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati	10.07
21	T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville	9.90
22	Antonio Andrews, Tennessee	9.78
23	Rashad Jennings, New York Giants	9.33
24	Ronnie Hillman, Denver	8.93
25	Lamar Miller, Miami	8.88

Rashad Jennings could be a fine flex option in Week 17. New York plays division rival Philadelphia in an essentially meaningless contest now that Washington has wrapped up the NFC East. The Eagles have given up the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs this season.

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Jennings has finally brought much-needed stability to the Giants backfield. He's seen the vast majority of carries in the past three weeks. Jennings racked up 107 rushing yards and a touchdown against Carolina in Week 15, and tallied 136 all-purpose yards in New York's lopsided loss to Minnesota on Sunday. 

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News took note of Jennings' strong end to the season:

The return of Odell Beckham Jr. to the lineup after a one-game suspension means Jennings won't factor in the passing game. It should open up the offense a bit and perhaps give Jennings more room to rumble. A big, downhill runner like Jennings could prove to be very tough for Philadelphia's defense to stop at the end of a long season.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants	15.99
2	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh	15.65
3	DeAndre Hopkins, Houston	14.44
4	Julio Jones, Atlanta	14.44
5	Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh	12.81
6	Alshon Jeffery, Chicago	12.16
7	Mike Evans, Tampa Bay	11.86
8	Brandon Marshall, New York Jets	11.59
9	Eric Decker, New York Jets	11.38
10	Doug Baldwin, Seattle	11.26
11	Sammy Watkins, Buffalo	11.18
12	Jarvis Landry, Miami	10.70
13	Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona	10.62
14	Calvin Johnson, Detroit	10.57
15	Demaryius Thomas, Denver	10.53
16	Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City	10.51
17	Michael Floyd, Arizona	10.25
18	Michael Crabtree, Oakland	10.15
19	Julian Edelman, New England	10.14
20	Emmanuel Sanders, Denver	10.14
21	Brandin Cooks, New Orleans	10.07
22	Allen Robinson, Jacksonville	9.92
23	A.J. Green, Cincinnati	9.69
24	Randall Cobb, Green Bay	9.62
25	John Brown, Arizona	9.54

Speaking of the Giants, Rueben Randle could be in for another solid fantasy performance in Week 17. Philly's defense has been incredibly generous to opposing wide receivers this season. Beckham demands tons of attention from opposing secondaries, allowing Randle to occasionally flourish.

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

The 24-year-old has seen at least five targets in each of his last five games and has scored a touchdown in three straight contests. Eli Manning should have a bounce-back week after mucking things up against Minnesota. Randle is a strong flex option in standard leagues, but a bit more of a risk in PPR. 

For DFS purposes, or regular league players with stacked wide receiver corps, be wary of playing Denver wideouts Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders against San Diego in Week 17. The Chargers defense has allowed the fourth-fewest points per game to fantasy wide receivers and is in excellent overall form as of late.

The Broncos scored just 17 points against the Chargers earlier this year, but only 10 came from the offense. Sanders had just three catches for 19 yards, while Thomas did manage 61 yards and a touchdown. If second-year cornerback Jason Verrett is healthy, he is proving capable of shutting down half the field, and quarterback Brock Osweiler hasn't exactly had the offense soaring in his time as the starter

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Yahoo Sports Projection
1	Greg Olsen, Carolina	10.93
2	Rob Gronkowski, New England	10.56
3	Benjamin Watson, New Orleans	9.04
4	Gary Barnidge, Cleveland	8.79
5	Jordan Reed, Washington	8.43
6	Delanie Walker, Tennessee	8.11
7	Antonio Gates, San Diego	7.57
8	Julius Thomas, Jacksonville	7.20
9	Zach Ertz, Philadelphia	6.89
10	Travis Kelce, Kansas City	6.69
11	Will Tye, New York Giants	6.66
12	Jason Witten, Dallas	6.55
13	Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati	6.54
14	Heath Miller, Pittsburgh	6.37
15	Zach Miller, Chicago	6.24

San Diego tight end Antonio Gates could be set to disappoint fantasy owners again in Week 17. Gates played only sparingly against Oakland, a team he usually loves tormenting, snagging just two catches for 11 yards. Ladarius Green, John Phillips and David Johnson all saw significant action for San Diego.

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

With nothing to play for at the end of a long season, it's possible that the Chargers are simply trying to protect the 35-year-old from unnecessary wear and tear. 

The Bolts hit the road to play Denver in Week 17. The Broncos haven't been all that stingy to tight ends this year, but they're still the best defense in the league in terms of yards allowed and will have something to fight for in Week 17, even if it's just a better seed than the one they have now. 

Waiver-Wire Tips

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

If for whatever reason you're still searching for just the right fantasy quarterback in Week 17, Ryan Fitzpatrick of the New York Jets is a no-brainer pickup. Owned in 51 percent of Yahoo Sports leagues, he's likely only available in the smaller eight- and 10-owner fantasy leagues.

Even so, he still holds some value, especially if you're iffy on guys like Philip Rivers (playing Denver) and Rodgers, or have had to scramble lately due to injuries to the likes of Andy Dalton and Brian Hoyer.

Kirk Cousins is available in 46 percent of Yahoo Sports leagues, but Washington has wrapped up the NFC East and can't do any better than the fourth seed. Fitzpatrick is the waiver-wire QB with something to play for. The Jets control their own destiny and can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Buffalo. With stellar wideouts like Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker and 13 TD passes in his past five games, Fitzpatrick could be a Week 17 savior.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Chicago tight end Zach Miller is still available in plenty of leagues. He's caught 18 of 20 targets for 211 yards and a touchdown in his last three games. Those aren't exactly eye-popping numbers, but the Bears do play Detroit in Week 17. The Lions have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season.

If you're in desperate need of a waiver-wire running back in Week 17, Mike Gillislee of the Buffalo Bills is probably the least bad option, and even then that's only if LeSean McCoy is still out with an injury. Gillislee has totaled 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries in the past two weeks.

Here's his scoring run from Buffalo's Week 16 win over Dallas, via the team's official Twitter account: 

The Bills have shown a willingness all season to work in multiple running backs. Karlos Williams is still the lead back when McCoy is out, but Gillislee could get some extra work if the Bills need to loosen up the Jets offense with a shiftier tailback. If McCoy plays in Week 17, Gillislee is a fantasy nonentity.

All fantasy football stats are courtesy of Yahoo Sports unless otherwise noted.