It’s championship week! Congratulations if you’re there, or even if you’re playing for third place, the consolation bracket, or just to avoid last place. I like you all, every year…unless you play kickers. Repeating last week’s format, I’ll tackle the fringe newbies with good and bad matchups for the Week 17 Fantasy Football Ranking. Reminder! The 101 link (below) covers all weather conditions, hard to start/sit down calls and more, so read that first. Good luck in the last week (for the most part).
#CheckTheLink age
Waivers | SOS ranking of week 17
Fantasy Football 101 (weather, lineups, trade, more)
All in Football (video module)
2022 Week 17 Fantasy Football Sleepers
🚨 CAUTION 🚨 They are sleepers. They won’t mimic my ranking 100%. It’s upside down hunting and often involves more risk.
Like last week, I’m going to mix it up a bit. You don’t need one paragraph per player at this point. So using APA (link above) I’ll give you some good and bad matches for beginners (aka, sleepers or benches possible). This does NOT mean that the good ones should start or that the bad ones should be placed everywhere. This is just a rundown of potential upside games and players you might think twice about with a quality replacement on hand.
STRATEGIST
Good meetings
- Aaron Rodgers, UK –Rodgers is a ground game this season, but at least the Vikings have given up fantastic double-digit points to every quarterback this year…well…after Rodgers’ 3.7 points in Week 1.
- Russell Wilson, DEN – Speaking of ground, Wilson has hit hard with about eight points in three of the last four games, but the Chiefs let Wilson get his second best score of the season in Week 14.
- Jared Goff, IT – Goff not only played well on the road, but he also had one of the best games in Week 16 and is now heading home to face the Bears.
- Brock Purdy, SF — Mac Jones is the only quarterback who hasn’t hit double-digit points against the Raiders, and Purdy has scored between 14.3 and 21.7 points in each of his four starts.
Bad Matches
- Taylor Heinicke/Carson Wentz, WSH – Yes, the Browns have had the advantage of facing three of the worst quarterbacks in the last four games, but they have also limited Joe Burrow and Josh Allen, and teams can run on them without needing the pass.
- Deshaun Watson, CLE –Not only is Watson still rusty, but Commanders have only allowed one quarterback to top Justin Fields’ 18.4 points since Week 3, and it was Jalen Hurts who scored 21.8.
- Derek Carr, LV –When it comes to limiting quarterbacks, few — if any — do it better than the 49ers, allowing just two quarterbacks to top 17.4 points and holding eight to 10.3 points or less.
- Geno Smith, AES – Smith’s last two games have been pretty poor with lines of 238-1-0 and 215-1-1 against the 49ers and Chiefs, respectively, and now Smith has to try to bounce back against the Jets. They’ve held eight quarterbacks to 14.1 points or less, without throwing a quarterback for more than a touchdown since Week 3.
TO COME BACK
Good meetings
- Zonovan Knight, NYJ – Knight gets the favorable Seahawks game, but more importantly, Mike White is back at quarterback, which includes using his running backs as receivers.
- Tyler Allgeier, ATL – Taking the lead from the backfield, he’s 20.1 and 13.7 over the last two games, and Allgeier faces the Cardinals who come clear allowing a 27-108-0 rush line and 14 receiving line -13-107-1 combined for Leonard Fournette and Rachel White.
- Brian Robinson, WSH – Antonio Gibson is stoned, but even if he wasn’t, the Browns are a favorable game where teams can build on the run. Alvin Kamara had volume in his favor against them last week with 20-76-1 on the ground.
- Zack Moss, IND – Seems dangerous given the state of the Colts offense, but Moss was clearly up front in Week 16 and saw some bellcow-like work, and the Giants struggled with the run all the year.
Bad Matches
- Jeff Wilson/Raheem Mostert, MIA – Wilson moved back into the lead in Week 16, but it was still a split that could lead to frustrating use, and we have a matchup against the Patriots defense and Teddy Bridgewater likely at quarterback.
- Ken Walker, AES – It’s hard to bench Walker anywhere, but the Jets’ defense is strong almost everywhere, allowing under 4.0 YPC and no one but Nick Chubb to top 18.7 points. Even with 25 touches (22 rushing), Travis Etienne only had 112 yards for 4.5 yards per touch.
- Gus Edwards, BAL – Edwards has been a reliable ground RB3, but he might find it difficult against the Steelers. Edwards had 13 for 66 in Week 14 against them, but Josh Jacobs was just bottled a week after the Panthers did nothing against them, and several teams failed to have a single racing player for 70 years.
- Najee Harris, PIT –On the other side, Harris has the volume in his favor, but his Week 14 game against Baltimore was saved with a touchdown (12 for 33 rushing). In fact, the Ravens only allowed three running backs to rush for 80+ yards and no RBs reached 100 (Nick Chubb came just wide at 21 for 99).
WIDE RECEIVER
Good meetings
- Christian Watson, Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs, UK – If Watson is absent, Lazard and Doubs are close to essential departures. And if Watson plays, he’s a lock with Lazard and Doubs as worthy upside games. All three Giants receivers had over 9.9 points last week against Minnesota, and as recently as Week 14, four Detroit receivers had over 10.4 points against those Vikings.
- Brandin Cooks, Chris Moore, HOU – Cooks is a solid WR3 as long as he plays, and while the Jaguars stopped the Jets, it was Zach Wilson and terrible weather. The Jaguars have allowed two double-digit waivers in five games and two of them have had three waivers that hit that mark.
- Russell Gage, Mike Evans, TB – Gage supplanted Evans as No. 2, at least in production. If you’re looking for a reason to risk Evans’ advantage (I can’t believe I just said this), the Panthers are ripe for the picking after allowing Goff to light them… on the outside.
- Rashid Shaheed, NO – It’s only if Chris Olave is out, because I’d only risk one Saints receiver a week. The Saints will have to pass to face the Eagles, and they have been more responsive in the second half of the season.
Bad Matches
- Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, WSH – Returning to the Browns game, McLaurin and Dotson could be tough to bench, but whoever the quarterback is, there is more risk than normal.
- Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, CLE – Ditto for the Browns duo, since the Commanders have only allowed Justin Jefferson to exceed 13.1 points since Week 7.
- Van Jefferson, LAR – Sure, the Rams lit up the Broncos, but it wasn’t due to extended performance, and the Chargers have locked up opponents more often than not since everyone is healthy.
- Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, NYJ –Even with the white back, it’s risky to bet on Davis or Moore, as the Rams, 49ers and Chiefs had no top 31-yard WRs against Seattle in the past three weeks. On top of that, only 13 receivers reached 10 points against the Seahawks, with none going over 18.2 and five teams missing a double-digit scorer.
TIGHT END
Good meetings
- Cole Kmet, CHI – Good game, no weather worries and Kmet has 24 targets in his last four games.
- Dalton Schultz, DAL – Schultz has been quiet the last two games, but had 10+ points in four of the previous six games, and the Titans have given up some of the biggest close games this year (Evan Engram and Mo Alie-Cox anyone? ).
- Gerald Everett, BAC – Six tight double-digit scores allowed since Week 8 by the Rams.
Bad Matches
- Logan Thomas, WSH – Just three double-digit scores from tight ends against the Browns (again, teams don’t need that), and one of them was Taysom Hill, rushing for 9-56-1.
- Tyler Higbee, LAR – Higbee is back to relevance with Baker Mayfield but may find it tough this week, again, given the Chargers game. Much like the Browns, they only allowed three double-digit scores…however, one of them was Kelce’s monster play.
- Hayden Hurst, CIN – Assuming he returns, it would be risky to use Hurst through injury and against the Bills. Only Kelce – this guy must be good, huh – scored more than 8.0 points against them.
Week 17 fantasy football projections
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These may differ from my rankings, and my ranks are the order i would start players in apart from additional context, such as “Need a higher edge, even if it’s risky”. Also, based on 4-point TD for QB, 6-point rest and half PPR
Projection download link
***These are DO NOT updated Sunday morning, for info***
Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨
- We might have found a solution to the leaderboard widget issue by using Fantasy Nation (via Football Diehards). All three ratings work and are editable by me (unlike before), and the widget will allow you to scroll on Android (browser) without using two fingers! YAY!
- Updated regularly, so check back until queues lock.
- DST ratings can be found under the Standard Score tab
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
