Fantasy Football Rankings Week 17: Sleepers, starts, sits | Brock Purdy, Tyler Allgeier and more
It’s championship week! Congratulations if you’re here, or even if you’re playing for third place, the consolation bracket or just to avoid last place. I appreciate you all, every year… unless you play kickers. Repeating the format from last week, I’ll touch on the fringe starters with the good and bad matchups for the Week 17 fantasy football rankings. Reminder! Link 101 (below) touches on all weather conditions, start/stop tough calls and more, so read first. Good luck in the final week (for most).
#CheckTheLink-age
Waiver | SOS Week 17 Rankings
Fantasy Football 101 (weather, lineups, trades, more)
All In Football (video pod) 2022 Week 17 Fantasy Football Sleepers
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These are sleepers. They will not mimic my ranking 100%. This is upside tracking and often carries more risk.
Like last week, I’m going to mix it up a bit. You don’t need a paragraph per player at this point. So, using the APA (link above), I’ll give you some good and bad matches for fringe starters (aka trackers or potential groups). This does NOT mean that the good ones are necessary or the bad ones should be placed everywhere. These are just a look at potential plays and players you might think twice about with a quality replacement in hand.
QUARTERBACK Good games Aaron Rodgers, GB – Rodgers is a game on the floor this season, but at least the Vikings have given up double-digit fantasy points to any quarterback this year… well… after Rodgers’ 3.7 points in Week 1. Russell Wilson, DEN – Speaking of the floor, Wilson has hit it hard by around eight points in three of the last four games, but the Chiefs allowed Wilson to have his second-highest total of the season in Week 14. Jared Goff, DET – Goff not only played well out there, but he also had one of the best games of Week 16 and now heads home to face the Bears. Brock Purdy, SF – Mac Jones is the only quarterback who hasn’t reached double figures against the Raiders, and Purdy has averaged between 14.3 and 21.7 points in each of his four starts. Bad matchups Taylor Heinicke/Carson Wentz, WSH – Yes, the Browns had the advantage of facing three of the worst quarterbacks in the last four games, but they also limited Joe Burrow and Josh Allen, plus teams can run with them without need for the pass. . Deshaun Watson, CLE – Not only is Watson still rusty, the Commanders have only let one quarterback top Justin Fields’ 18.4 points since Week 3, and that was Jalen Hurts who put up 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 average 17.4 points and holding eight to 10.3 points or less. Geno Smith, SEA – Smith’s last two games were pretty poor with lines of 238-1-0 and 215-1-1 against the 49ers and Chiefs, respectively, and now Smith must try to bounce back against the Jets. They’ve held eight quarterbacks to 14.1 points or less, with no quarterback shooting for more than one touchdown since Week 3. Good plays at running back Zonovan Knight, NYJ — Knight gets the Seahawks’ favorable matchup, but more importantly, Mike White is back at quarterback who understands how to use his back as a receiver. Tyler Allgeier, ATL – Taking the lead in the backfield, he’s 20.1 and 13.7 over the last two games, and Allgeier faces the Cardinals coming in allowing a 27-108-0 rushing line and a 14-13- 107-1 combined for Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White. Brian Robinson, WSH – Antonio Gibson is a hit, but even if he wasn’t, the Browns are a favorable matchup that teams can count on on the run. Alvin Kamara had the volume in his favor against them last week going 20-76-1 on the ground. Zack Moss, IND – This feels risky given the state of the Colts’ offense, but Moss was the clear starter in Week 16 and didn’t do similar work with the bell, plus the Giants have struggled against the run all year. Bad matchups Jeff Wilson/Raheem Mostert, MIA – Wilson returned to the lead in Week 16, but it was still a split that could lead to disappointing usage, plus we have a matchup against the Patriots defense and Teddy Bridgewater likely as center back. Ken Walker, SEA – It’s hard to bench Walker, anywhere, but the Jets defense is stout just about everywhere, allowing under 4.0 YPC and none other than Nick Chubb to top 18.7 points. Even with 25 touches (22 rushing) Travis Etienne had just 112 yards for 4.5 yards per touch. Gus Edwards, BAL – Edwards has been a reliable RB3 on the floor, but he could struggle against the Steelers. Edwards went 13-for-66 in Week 14 against them, but Josh Jacobs was shut down just one week after the Panthers did nothing against them, and some teams haven’t had a rusher in 70 years. Najee Harris, PIT – On the other hand, Harris has the volume in his favor, but his Week 14 game against Baltimore was salvaged by a touchdown (12-for-33 rushing). In fact, the Ravens have allowed just three running backs to rush for 80+ yards and no RB has topped 100 (Nick Chubb has come up just short at 21-for-99). WIDE RECEIVER Good matchups Christian Watson, Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs, GB – If Watson is out, Lazard and Doubs are the must-have starters. And if Watson plays, he’s a lock with Lazard and Doubs as worthy headers. All three Giants receivers averaged 9.9+ points last week against Minnesota, and through Week 14, four Detroit receivers averaged 10.4+ points against these 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 the terrible weather conditions. The Jaguars have allowed two in double figures in five games and two of them had three wide receivers in that stretch. Russell Gage, Mike Evans, TB — Gage has replaced Evans as the No. 2, at least in production. If you’re looking for a reason to risk flipping Evans (I can’t believe I just said that), the Panthers are primed for the pick after letting Goff light them up … out. Rashid Shaheed, NO — This only happens if Chris Olave is out, as I would only risk one Saints receiver per week. The Saints will have to step up to contend with the Eagles, and they have been more susceptible in the second half of the season. Bad Matchups Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, WSH – The Browns’ return game, McLaurin and Dotson could be tough to land, but regardless of the quarterback, there is more risk than normal. Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, CLE – The same goes for the Browns duo, as 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 because of any wideout performance, and the Chargers have shut down opponents more often than not after everyone got healthy. Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, NYJ – Even with White back, it’s risky to play Davis or Moore, as the Rams, 49ers and Chiefs didn’t have a 31-yard WR against Seattle the past three weeks. Furthermore, only 13 receivers have reached 10 points against the Seahawks, with none of them 18.2 and five teams not having a scorer in double figures. TIGHT END Good games Cole Kmet, CHI — Good game, no weather concerns 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 their biggest tight ends this year (Evan Engram and Mo Alie-Cox anyone? ). Gerald Everett, LAC – Six double-digit tight ends allowed since Week 8 by the Rams. Bad games Logan Thomas, WSH – Only three tight ends scored in double figures against the Browns (again, teams don’t need them), and one of them was Taysom Hill, who rushed for 9-56-1. Tyler Higbee, LAR – Higbee is back in touch with Baker Mayfield, but could struggle this week, again, given the Chargers matchup. Like the Browns, they’ve allowed just three double-digit scores… however, one of those was Kelce’s monster game. Hayden Hurst, CIN – Assuming he returns, it would be risky to use Hurst on an injury and against the Bills. Only Kelce — that guy has to be good, huh — has scored more than 8.0 points against them. Week 17 Fantasy Football Projections
🚨 TOP HIGH 🚨 These may differ from my rankings, and my ranks are the rankings I would start players out of added context, such as, “You should top the upside, even if it’s dangerous. ” Also, based on QB’s 4-point TD, 6-point break and half PPR
Projections download link
***These are NOT updated on Sunday mornings, FYI***
Week 17 fantasy football rankings
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨
We may have found a solution to the ranking widget issue using Fantasy Nation (via Football Diehards). All three results work and are editable by me (unlike before), and the widget will let you scroll in Android (browser) without using two fingers! YES! It’s updated regularly, so check back until lineups close. DST rankings are under the Rating Standards tab
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
