Week 17 Flex Rankings: Time to Take the Title

Week 17 is upon us and it represents Championship Final Week for fantasy football purposes. Before I reveal my initial Week 17 Flex rankings, I want to thank all who have taken the time to read this column throughout your fantasy football journey. If you are reading this, I would like to think I helped you in some small way this season.
As for the rankings themselves, there are plenty of injuries for fantasy managers to deal with this week. In most cases, I ranked the player as if he was playing, so use your discretion. The good news is that the late window on Sunday is rather sparse, with just three games. That means we should know who is in and who is out before setting lineups. Remember that these rankings are based on half-PPR scoring, so adjust as necessary based on your league settings. Best of luck this week and let’s take home some championship trophies and prize money!

Running Back Notes

One player I have much lower in my Week 17 Flex rankings (at least compared to industry consensus) is Tony Pollard. The funny thing about that is that I did not think I ranked Pollard low enough. Pollard has limped towards the finish line of the 2023 regular season. He has finished as the RB34 and RB46 over the past two weeks. Ironically, I think much of Pollard’s Week 17 value lies in his role as a receiver. The Detroit Lions are fourth in DVOA against the run, but just 26th in pass DVOA against running backs. Pollard has caught at least six passes on four occasions this year. Meanwhile, he has only cleared 80 rushing yards once this season. I still think he is worth starting in half-PPR and PPR leagues, but I would strongly consider benching him in standard formats this week.

Isiah Pacheco suffered a concussion last week when he was inadvertently kicked after his helmet came off. He is questionable for Kansas City’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The timing of the injury is unfortunate because Cincinnati struggles against the run. The Bengals are 28th in the NFL in DVOA in run defense. Kansas City has uncharacteristically struggled to get their pass offense going, so this would figure to be a game for them to lean on the run. If Pacheco can clear protocol in time to play, I think he is a solid RB2 in 12-team leagues with tremendous upside. Clyde Edwards-Helaire would benefit if Pacheco cannot play. I suppose the volume and matchup would be enough to consider Edwards-Helaire as a potential Week 17 Flex. But he is limited as a rusher, so his upside is much lower than Pacheco’s.

The Washington Commanders recently signed Jaret Patterson to their practice squad. Washington running backs Brian Robinson, Chris Rodriguez, and Jonathan Williams are all dealing with injuries. The Commanders do not have much incentive to push any of their injured backs to play this week. They are staring at a top-five draft pick and a Week 17 date with the San Francisco 49ers. Antonio Gibson would be an intriguing play depending on the availability of the team’s other running backs. Gibson is only two years removed from a 2021 season in which he finished as the overall RB10. The matchup is less than ideal of course. But volume is often king in fantasy football. Antonio Gibson could be a sneaky contributor to a championship roster if given 20-plus touches in this game.

Wide Receiver Notes

The list of wide receivers who are questionable at best for Week 17 will make things quite interesting for fantasy managers. Keenan Allen, Jaylen Waddle, Courtland Sutton, Jordan Addison, Christian Watson, and Marquise Brown highlight this group. All but Brown are among this year’s top 40 in fantasy points per game at the wide receiver position, so they would be sorely missed this week. The good news, as I alluded to above, is that none of these players will play on Thursday or Saturday. Therefore, fantasy managers have a couple of days to come up with contingency plans if the players on their roster do not play. Allen, Watson, and Brown all missed their respective games last week. I suppose the bright side is that you probably already have a Plan B if those players are on your rosters.

Many fantasy managers were frustrated as George Pickens and Gabe Davis went off for top-10 fantasy performances last week as soon as all hope was seemingly lost. The question now becomes whether you can trust either or both this week. I admit that I do not have much of a read on Pickens, but I believe I do when it comes to Davis. For what it is worth, I ranked both a bit lower in my Week 17 Flex rankings compared to consensus. I still think Pickens is worth a start as a boom-or-bust WR3 in 12-team leagues. While I think Davis can avoid putting up his fifth zero of the season, I would try to avoid starting him this week if possible. That decision may depend on your reliance on some of the injured wideouts mentioned above.

Tight End Notes

As anyone who has read this column for any length of time could tell you, I try to avoid putting a tight end in my Flex spot whenever possible. The upside is just not there in comparison to other positions. However, if you have been ravaged by wide receiver injuries, I can see starting a tight end in the Flex this week. Having said that, I still think that it is not an ideal situation, to say the least. Even if you remove the six wide receivers I discussed earlier from the player pool, I still have over 50 wide receivers ranked ahead of my TE13. Of course, some teams are heavier at other positions than others, so it is not that cut and dried. Just do not force a tight end into the Flex if you have other options available to you.

More Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty

Week 17 Flex Rankings