The Finals are here! The Finals are here! And if you're reading this, you're probably in the championship game (or maybe the Toilet Bowl). Congrats! It's been a wild season, and one of the best Christmas/New Year's presents you can gift yourself is a fantasy football championship. We aim to help you with that quest with our Week 17 fantasy RB PPR rankings, which will hopefully guide you to the right start 'em, sit 'em decisions when they matter the most.
You don't need us to lead you to the top 12 backs — high-usage studs like Christian McCaffrey (@ Raiders in Week 17), Saquon Barkley (vs. Colts), Dalvin Cook (@ Packers), and even Rhamondre Stevenson (vs. Dolphins) remain lineup locks. Sure, 'Mondre has endured some late-season fumble-itis and Damien Harris (hip) could return this week, but he's still among the cream of the crop talent-wise and ranks in the top three among RBs in targets.
Travis Etienne Jr. (@ Texans) could be a PPR league-winner against Houston's league-worst run defense. As Wayne and Garth would say, "excellent!" Also excellent are Cam Akers (@ Chargers) and David Montgomery (@ Lions). L.A. allows the sixth-most fantasy points to RBs, and the Lions got absolutely shredded by the Panthers last week, surrendering a staggering 320 yards on the ground. Both Monty and Khalil Herbert are in play this week.
WEEK 17 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Speaking of favorable matchups, rookie Brian Robinson Jr. (vs. Browns) and Zonovan Knight (@ Seahawks) have great ones. The Browns have allowed a whopping 334 combined rushing yards over the past two weeks, and Seattle has surrendered the second-most PPR points in the NFL this season. That gives B-Rob and Bam a leg up on better PPR commodities like Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette (vs. Panthers) and Jerick McKinnon (vs. Broncos), though all three are still in play as RB2/flexes. If you're in a deep league, you could even try Antonio Gibson (vs. Browns) and Michael Carter (@ Seahawks) as flexes.
WEEK 17 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Similarly, both Zack Moss and Deon Jackson (vs. Giants) are in play against New York's 28th-ranked run defense, and both Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson (vs. Cardinals) have upside in PPR leagues. Allgeier, who's seen 40 touches over the past two weeks, is the preferred play, but Arizona allows the 10th-most fantasy points to RBs, so Patterson (24) can get it on the fun, too. D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams (vs. Bears) also work as RB2s/flexes because of the highly favorable matchup, but as we've seen the past few weeks, neither are sure things if they don't get into the end zone.
WEEK 17 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
The outlook isn't as bright for committees in Carolina, Green Bay, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Miami. As noted above, we still like McKinnon (vs. Broncos), but Isiah Pacheco has a relatively low ceiling regardless of how bad the Broncos looked last week. We'd be more confident in Aaron Jones if he wasn't dealing with a sore ankle. Splitting time with AJ Dillon (vs. Vikings) significantly limits his ceiling, even in PPR. Fortunately, you can still take a chance with both in 12-team leagues, but we're not as confident about Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. (@ Patriots), as they split touches almost equally and have a tougher matchup.
Week 17 DFS: Best values
Devin Singletary and James Cook (vs. Bengals) are in a better spot, as evidenced by the sky-high over/under in that game, but they also eat into each other's values. Singletary is the preferred play, but neither should be considered more than a flex. Ditto for D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard (@ Buccaneers), as both will have much tougher times this week against a Tampa defense allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to RBs. If you have to play one, go with Foreman, though his floor and ceiling are lower in PPR leagues compared to standard leagues.
WEEK 17 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Difficult matchups also apply to Najee Harris (@ Ravens), JK Dobbins (vs. Steelers), Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott (@ Titans), and Miles Sanders (vs. Saints). You're probably starting any of those five if you own them, but just temper your expectations. If you have two better backs, you might be better off flexing a higher-floor wideout in PPR formats than playing any of these tough calls.
Good luck and Happy New Year! We'll be updating these RB PPR rankings throughout the week, so check back for analysis and the latest player movement.
Week 17 fantasy RB PPR rankings
Rankings based on full-point PPR scoring leagues
Rank Player
1 Christian McCaffrey, 49ers @ Raiders
2 Saquon Barkley, Giants vs. Colts
3 Austin Ekeler, Chargers vs. Rams
4 Dalvin Cook, Vikings @ Packers
5 Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars @ Texans
6 Josh Jacobs, Raiders vs. 49ers
7 David Montgomery, Bears @ Lions
8 Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots vs. Dolphins
9 Cam Akers, Rams @ Chargers
10 Nick Chubb, Browns @ Commanders
11 Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks vs. Jets
12 James Conner, Cardinals @ Falcons
13 Alvin Kamara, Saints @ Eagles
14 Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers vs. Panthers
15 Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders vs. Browns
16 Zonovan Knight, Jets @ Seahawks
17 Joe Mixon, Bengals vs. Bills
18 Tyler Allgeier, Falcons vs. Cardinals
19 Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys @ Titans
20 Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs vs. Broncos
21 Najee Harris, Steelers @ Ravens
22 Aaron Jones, Packers vs. Vikings
23 Miles Sanders, Eagles vs. Saints
24 D'Andre Swift, Lions vs. Bears
25 Rachaad White, Buccaneers vs. Panthers
26 Jamaal Williams, Lions vs. Bears
27 Zack Moss, Colts @ Giants
28 Hassan Haskins, Titans vs. Cowboys
29 Latavius Murray, Broncos @ Chiefs
30 Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs vs. Broncos
31 Devin Singletary, Bills @ Bengals
32 JK Dobbins, Ravens vs. Steelers
33 Khalil Herbert Bears @ Lions
34 Jonathan Williams, Commanders vs. Browns
35 AJ Dillon, Packers vs. Vikings
36 Cordarrelle Patterson, Falcons vs. Cardinals
37 Royce Freeman, Texans vs. Jaguars
38 Raheem Mostert, Dolphins @ Patriots
39 James Cook, Bills @ Bengals
40 D'Onta Foreman, Panthers @ Buccaneers
41 Jeff Wilson Jr., Dolphins @ Patriots
42 Michael Carter, Jets @ Seahawks
43 Chuba Hubbard, Panthers @ Buccaneers
44 Deon Jackson, Colts @ Giants
45 Damien Harris, Patriots vs. Dolphins
46 Gus Edwards, Ravens vs. Steelers
47 Dare Ogunbowale, Texans vs. Jaguars
48 Tyrion Davis-Price, 49ers @ Raiders
49 Samaje Perine, Bengals vs. Bills
50 Kareem Hunt, Browns @ Commanders
51 Joshua Kelley Chargers vs. Rams
52 Chase Edmonds, Broncos @ Chiefs
53 Malik Davis, Cowboys @ Titans
54 Julius Chestnut, Titans vs. Cowboys
55 Alexander Mattison, Vikings @ Packers
56 Justin Jackson, Lions vs. Bears
57 Jaylen Warren, Steelers @ Ravens
58 DeeJay Dallas, Seahawks vs. Jets
59 Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles vs. Saints
60 Kyren Williams, Rams @ Chargers
61 Ameer Abdullah, Raiders vs. 49ers
62 JaMycal Hasty, Jaguars @ Texans
63 Keaontay Ingram, Cardinals @ Falcons
Week 17 RB PPR fantasy projections, rankings from Draft Sharks
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