Week 17 WR Rankings: Nicks, Johnson and Colston Are Out, a Few Others Are Iffy

From a fantasy perspective, Week 17 is more about dodging grenades (no, not ugly chicks at clubs in Jersey), than it is about predicting who is going to be the best performer.  In other words, You are just trying to plug 10 guys into your lineup that are actually going to play a full four quarters.

We already know Andre Johnson, Marques Colston, and Hakeem Nicks will be on the shelf. Here are a few other scenarios one must ponder heading into the final week of the regular season:

Example #1:  Calvin Johnson has not practiced all week, but played in Week 17 last season with nothing to play for and actually performed pretty well.  But he has missed practice all of this week and, staying consistent with the Groundhog Day theme in Detroit, has nothing to play for.  Do you gamble on him or maybe stick a guy like Jason Avant in your line-up instead, who will be seeing DeSean Jackson targets in the first half, and Jeremy Maclin targets in the second half? 

Example #2:  The Patriots cannot change a thing in their game as they have a one-seed locked and Miami is out of contention.  Do you take a chance on Wes Welker, who shredded his knee in Week 17 last season (in a meaningless game for the Patriots no less)? Not even the brash and stubborn Belicek, would dance with fate on this one.  

Example #3:  Dwayne Bowe and the Chiefs have only seeding to play for in Week 17.  All the reports out of KC are that Haley "plans on" playing his starters the entire game.  Yeah, right.  If Bowe goes down, so do go the Chiefs in round one.  But if you think you can net a starter-worthy day out of Bowe in one half of play, maybe the juice is worth the squeeze? 

Other notable question marks include DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Deion Branch, Mike Sims-Walker, Santonio Holmes, and Malcom Floyd.  Below, FFArmory.com has your rankings with it all factored in!

1.  Greg Jennings at Chicago - 4pm Sunday - The Packers lay it all on the line and leave it all on the field facing off against their division foe for a wild card berth. The Bears want nothing to do with Green bay in the post, so expect a bloody battle. Jennings should fare well given that the Bears' secondary seems to be eroding at the seams as they've allowed the seventh most fantasy points to WRs over the last five games.

2.  Reggie Wayne home vs. Tennessee - 4pm Sunday - The Titans have allowed six TDs and 741 yards to WRs over the last five weeks, so it should be Wayne's world this weekend in a game that the Colts need to secure their division title and play-off hopes as there will be no wild-card available to a 9-7 team this year in either division.

3.  Mike Wallace at Cleveland - 1pm Sunday - Wallace has exceeded all expectations - even ours as we had him ranked higher than any other fantasy website on the planet (we had him ranked 18th overall heading into the pre-season). I've made it a habit not to care or rattle off opposing defensive stats in his case, because pretty much no one can cover him. He lit up the fourth best pass D last week for 104 yards and a TD, the Jets for 102 yards in Week 15, and basically his biggest games have come against top 12 ranked pass defenses. His snub from the pro-bowl is unconscionable.

4.  Roddy White home vs. Carolina - 1pm Sunday - He went for 79 yards on eight catches in the first match, and the Falcons are in a must-win situation if they hope to hold onto their division title. The Panthers overall are way tough defending WRs (fourth fewest fantasy points allowed to WRs).

5.  Brandon Marshall at New England - 1pm Sunday - Marshall could go ballistic in this game if the Pats are sitting their oh-so average secondary by half-time. He's coming off of two straight 100+ yard efforts and has caught two TDs in his last three. A hot streak? Relatively speaking, well, hells yes!

6.  Mario Manningham at Washington - 4pm Sunday - Manningham is the main guy with Nicks on the shelf. He has scored more fantasy points than all but four WRs in the NFL over the last five games. Ladle onto that the fact that the 'Skins allow the sixth most fantasy points to WRs, and you have some pretty huge potential. The Giants must win to keep their post-season hopes alive.

7.  Miles Austin at Philly - 4pm Sunday - He caught a 37 yarder from Stephen McGee in Week 16, and the Eagles will have all of their first-teamers out by the 2nd half. I can see Austin going off in this one. The Cowboys need all the confidence they can muster heading into the off-season.

8.  Larry Fitzgerald at San Francisco - 4pm Sunday - Rookie John Skelton doesn't exactly boost my confidence with this ranking, but in a meaningless game and with Fitz at full health, I expect a stat-padding effort. The Niners can't guard physical, tall WRs that have sticky mitts - which describes Fitz to a T. They are allowing the second most fantasy points to WRs over the last five weeks.

9.  Brandon Lloyd home vs. San Diego - 4pm Sunday - It doesn't matter who is under center for this cat that took eight seasons to realize that he's a fantasy stud. His two week tear will likely be brought back down to earth as he faces a Charger pass defense that has allowed the second fewest fantasy points to WRs. Only pride is on the line for both teams.

10.  Kenny Britt at Indy - 4pm Sunday - If this game was against anyone but the Colts, I'd have him even higher than this. It is tough, though, to justify a ranking higher than this given that the Colts have allowed just 498 yards and only two TDs to WRs over the last five games (lowest in the NFL).  Britt missed a good chunk of the season, so his legs are fresh and he's looking to pad his stats a bit and I expect a full four quarters from him.

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