Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings: Position-by-Position Outlook for 2018 Finales

This is it, folks. We're down to the final week in the 2018 NFL regular season. IF you're still playing fantasy at this point, it means you've made it to the championship (Congratulations!), are playing in a best-ball, points-based league (Where's the challenge?) or are a daily fantasy sports enthusiast.

Regardless, this is your last chance of 2018 to pick from every roster in the NFL.

The challenge in Week 17 is determining which teams are going to rest or limit their star players. This isn't as much of a problem this season, though, as only the New Orleans Saints have secured a No. 1 seed. The other three first-round byes are up for grabs. Three AFC divisional races are also undecided, and every team aside from New Orleans and the Dallas Cowboys can either improve or worsen its seeding in Week 17.

In other words, New Orleans and Dallas are the only playoff-bound teams with nothing to lose in the finale. Therefore, the Saints and Cowboys are the only teams we're leaving out of our Week 17 positional rankings. You don't want your fantasy championship depending on Alvin Kamara when he might get yanked after one series.

With all of this out of the way, let's take a look at our Week 17 positional rankings and projections. We'll also dig into some waiver-wire targets you can target to help replace guys like Kamara and Drew Brees in Week 17.

Quarterbacks

1. Patrick Mahomes vs. Oakland Raiders: 315 yards passing, 3 TDs

2. Russell Wilson vs. Arizona Cardinals: 275 yards passing, 20 yards rushing, 3 TDs

3. Jared Goff vs. San Francisco 49ers: 300 yards passing, 3 TDs

4. Ben Roethlisberger vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 300 yards passing, 3 TDs, 1 INT

5. Matt Ryan at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 275 yards passing, 3 TDs, 1 INT

6. Andrew Luck at Tennessee Titans: 260 yards passing, 3 TDs, 1 INT

7. Tom Brady vs. New York Jets: 280 yards passing, 2 TDs

8. Philip Rivers at Denver Broncos: 275 yards passing, 2 TDs

9. Lamar Jackson vs. Cleveland Browns: 190 yards passing, 60 yards rushing, 2 TDs

10.. Jameis Winston vs. Atlanta Falcons: 290 yards passing, 2 TDs, 1 INT

Waiver-Wire Target: Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders (Owned in 23 Percent of Yahoo Leagues)

As we saw on Monday night, the Oakland Raiders aren't just going to roll over and die at the end of 2018. They still have fight in them. Oakland also knows it has a chance to stop the Kansas City Chiefs from securing the AFC's No. 1 seed.

Expect Derek Carr and the Oakland offense to play hard against the rival Chiefs and to have a fair amount of success against them. Yes, this is a road matchup, which isn't ideal, but Kansas City's defense has been friendly to opposing quarterbacks.

Only two teams have allowed more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, according to FantasyPros.

The last time Carr faced the Chiefs, he passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He should have similar numbers again in Week 17.

Running Backs

1. Joe Mixon at Pittsburgh Steelers: 105 yards rushing, 4 receptions, 40 yards receiving, 2 TDs

2. Melvin Gordon at Denver Broncos: 95 yards rushing, 4 receptions, 40 yards receiving, 1 TD

3. Saquon Barkley vs. Dallas Cowboys: 90 yards rushing, 4 receptions, 35 yards receiving, 1 TD

4. Christian McCaffrey at New Orleans Saints: 80 yards rushing, 4 receptions, 40 yards receiving, 1 TD

5. Phillip Lindsay vs. Los Angeles Chargers: 120 yards rushing, 1 reception, 20 yards receiving, 1 TD

6. Chris Carson vs. Arizona Cardinals: 130 yards rushing, 1 reception, 10 yards receiving, 1 TD

7. Gus Edwards vs. Cleveland Browns: 110 yards rushing, 2 receptions, 20 yards receiving, 1 TD

8. Damien Williams vs. Oakland Raiders: 90 yards rushing, 3 receptions, 20 yards receiving, 1 TD

9. Jaylen Samuels vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 80 yards rushing, 3 receptions, 30 yards receiving, 1 TD

10. Derrick Henry vs. Indianapolis Colts: 140 yards rushing, 1 TD

11. Nick Chubb at Baltimore Ravens: 85 yards rushing, 3 receptions, 25 yards receiving, 1 TD

12. David Johnson at Seattle Seahawks: 85 yards rushing, 3 receptions, 25 yards receiving, 1 TD

13. Jamaal Williams vs. Detroit Lions: 80 yards rushing, 3 receptions, 30 yards receiving, 1 TD

14. Tarik Cohen at Minnesota Vikings: 40 yards rushing, 5 receptions, 50 yards receiving, 1 TD

15. Leonard Fournette at Houston Texans: 100 yards rushing, 2 receptions, 15 yards receiving, 1 TD

16. James White vs. New York Jets: 20 yards rushing, 5 receptions, 60 yards receiving, 1 TD

17. Tevin Coleman at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 60 yards rushing, 3 receptions, 30 yards receiving, 1 TD

18. Sony Michel vs. New York Jets: 120 yards rushing, 1 TD

19. Duke Johnson at Baltimore Ravens: 20 yards rushing, 6 receptions, 70 yards receiving

20. Peyton Barber vs. Atlanta Falcons: 90 yards rushing, 1 TD

Waiver-Wire Target: Zach Zenner, Detroit Lions (Five Percent Owned)

Jose Juarez/Associated Press

For the longest time, Detroit Lions running back Zach Zenner was a preseason superstar and nothing more. Over the last few weeks, however, he's shown that he can and should be a significant piece of the Lions offense.

Zenner has rushed for at least 45 yards in each of his last three games, despite not having more than 12 carries. He has five receptions in that span and found the end zone in two out of the three contests.

"He's run the ball well," Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said of Zenner prior to last week's matchup, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "He's physical, I've seen him make some really good cuts."

Zenner isn't likely to give you the kind of production you'll lose if Kamara sits, but against the Green Bay Packers, he should be good for 10-20 points—depending on whether or not he finds the end zone.

Wide Receivers

1. Julio Jones at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7 receptions, 140 yards receiving, 2 TDs

2. Antonio Brown vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 6 receptions, 130 yards receiving, 2 TDs

3. Mike Evans vs. Atlanta Falcons: 8 receptions, 150 yards receiving, 1 TD

4. Keenan Allen at Denver Broncos: 7 receptions, 120 yards receiving, 1 TD

5. Brandin Cooks vs. San Francisco 49ers: 6 receptions, 110 yards receiving, 1 TD

6. Davante Adams vs. Detroit Lions: 6 receptions, 110 yards receiving, 1 TD

7. JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 5 receptions, 100 yards receiving, 1 TD

8. DeAndre Hopkins vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: 6 receptions, 90 yards receiving, 1 TD

9. Robert Woods vs. San Francisco 49ers: 6 receptions, 85 yards receiving, 1 TD

10. Stefon Diggs vs. Chicago Bears: 5 receptions, 85 yards receiving, 1 TD

11. Adam Thielen vs. Chicago Bears: 9 receptions, 100 yards receiving

12. T.Y. Hilton at Tennessee Titans: 5 receptions, 80 yards receiving, 1 TD

13. Julian Edelman vs. New York Jets: 8 receptions, 100 yards receiving

14. Doug Baldwin vs. Arizona Cardinals: 7 receptions, 105 yards receiving

15. Jarvis Landry at Baltimore Ravens: 5 receptions, 40 yards receiving, 1 TD

16. Kenny Golladay at Green Bay Packers: 7 receptions, 80 yards receiving

17. Alshon Jeffery at Washington Redskins: 6 receptions, 90 yards receiving

18. Calvin Ridley at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 receptions, 95 yards receiving

19. Corey Davis vs. Indianapolis Colts: 5 receptions, 95 yards receiving

20. Larry Fitzgerald at Seattle Seahawks: 5 receptions, 90 yards receiving

Waiver-Wire Target: Jordy Nelson, Oakland Raiders (51 Percent Owned)

We've already mentioned targeting Carr in as a fill-in replacement for Brees. You may want to do the same with Raiders receiver Jordy Nelson if you need a replacement for Michael Thomas or Keith Kirkwood.

Nelson isn't likely to replace Thomas' production, but he's emerged as Carr's favorite target at receiver—tight end Jared Cook is his favorite target overall—and his production should at least reflect that.

Kansas City hasn't been quite as kind to receivers as it has to quarterbacks, but it's still allowed the 13th-most fantasy points to wideouts. Nelson should have a 5-6 reception floor with a ceiling that is determined by his ability to find the end zone.

Tight Ends

1. Travis Kelce vs. Oakland Raiders: 6 receptions, 90 yards receiving, 1 TD

2. George Kittle at Los Angeles Rams: 5 receptions, 85 yards receiving, 1 TD

3. Jared Cook at Kansas City Chiefs: 5 receptions, 80 yards receiving, 1 TD

4. Zach Ertz at Washington Redskins: 5 receptions, 75 yards receiving, 1 TD

5. Eric Ebron at Tennessee Titans: 5 receptions, 70 yards receiving, 1 TD

6. Vance McDonald vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 6 receptions, 80 yards receiving

7. Evan Engram vs. Dallas Cowboys: 6 receptions, 75 yards receiving

8. Austin Hooper at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6 receptions, 70 yards receiving

9. Cameron Brate vs. Atlanta Falcons: 5 receptions, 75 yards receiving

10. C.J. Uzomah at Pittsburgh Steelers: 6 receptions, 60 yards receiving

Defense/Special Teams

1. Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals: 13 points allowed, 5 sacks, 3 INT, 1 FF

2. Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins: 17 points allowed, 4 sacks, 2 INT, 2 FF

3. Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: 17 points allowed, 4 sacks, 2 INT, 1 FF

4. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals: 16 points allowed, 2 INT, 3 sacks, 1 FF

5. Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns: 16 points allowed, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 1 FF

6. Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions: 20 points allowed, 2 INT, 3 sacks

7. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans: 20 points allowed, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 1 FF

8. Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins: 21 points allowed, 1 INT, 3 sacks

9. New England Patriots vs. New York Jets: 23 points allowed, 2 INT, 4 sacks

10. Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants: 24 points allowed, 2 INT, 4 sacks