Fantasy football rankings, 2017: Running backs for standard & PPR leagues, Week 17
Here are our fantasy football running back rankings for all leagues entering Week 17. Positions: QB | RB | WR | TE | DST
Editor’s update: There are now reports Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger will not play on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Stevan Ridley would likely get the bulk of carries in Bell’s absence, with Fitzgerald Touissant potentially getting some work as well. Ridley has some flex appeal in deeper leagues.
As many of you know, friends don’t let friends play fantasy in Week 17. And yet, here we are. The worst week of the fantasy NFL season is upon us, and we must find the running back plays that will help all you 17ers out there survive the inevitable scratches and early exits that make this such a hard week to decipher.
Even our default-setting top-10 backs are not immune. Le’Veon Bell is still ranked in the top two, but will he even play on Sunday? The Steelers, who are probably assuming that the Patriots will win their game against the Jets, might sit Bell or play him sparingly on Sunday.
Melvin Gordon, another weekly top-10 selection who plays for a team very much in the thick of things on Sunday, also isn’t likely to play, due to injury.
So where do we go this week? Certainly, the top play is Todd Gurley, who is putting the finishing touches on an MVP season with massive performances to close the regular season. The Rams can still clinch the No. 3 seed in the NFC, which should allow them to avoid both the Saints and Panthers in the Wild Card round, which should keep Gurley on the field against a 49ers team ranked 28th in fantasy points allowed to running backs in PPR leagues.
LeSean McCoy owners should also consider themselves lucky, as the Bills have everything to play for, and McCoy draws a Dolphins team allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs in PPR leagues.
Those are the obvious plays.
Here are a few of the top matchups for the “non-stud” backs in PPR leagues heading into the weekend:
Kenyan Drake, Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills
The Bills are dead last in points allowed to PPR running backs, and Dion Lewis took full advantage of that on Sunday. Now, it’s Drake, who has been brilliant almost every week for Miami since Damien Williams got hurt, getting a shot at ruining Buffalo’s season. Drake had 22 points in his first meeting with the Bills.
Alex Collins, Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Collins has cooled off a bit in the past two weeks, but with the Ravens hanging on to a playoff spot and facing a team allowing 128.5 yards rushing per game, the rookie is poised for a rebound. The Bengals rank 30th in fantasy points allowed to running backs in PPR leagues.
Jamaal Williams, Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
Williams had his best weeks of the season when Brett Hundley was quarterback. This week, Williams faces the Lions, who are allowing the second-most points to running backs in PPR leagues. It’s a tough sell, considering the way the Packers’ season has crashed and burned, but the numbers don’t lie.
Running back (standard) rankings, Week 17
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
Running back (PPR) rankings, Week 17
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)