Welcome to Week 17, which is the final week of the regular season in the NFL and possibly your Fantasy championship game. For those of you still alive in your Fantasy leagues, you have one important question that needs to be answered: What NFL teams are resting players this week to prepare for the playoffs?
What we know now is the Ravens (No. 1 seed in the AFC), Bills (No. 5 seed in the AFC) and Vikings (No. 6 seed in the NFC) are locked into their playoff spots. Baltimore is not going to play Lamar Jackson in Week 17 against Pittsburgh, and Mark Ingram (calf) is hurt. I wouldn't expect much from Mark Andrews or Marquise Brown either, but now Robert Griffin III and Gus Edwards/Justice Hill are potential sleepers. More on them below.
We don't know what will happen with players from Buffalo or Minnesota, but you should keep an eye on reports for those teams throughout the week. For the Bills, that means the production for Josh Allen, Devin Singletary, John Brown and Cole Beasley could be limited, and maybe Frank Gore can have a big game against the Jets in Week 17.
The Vikings will not play Dalvin Cook (shoulder) against the Bears, and we'll see what happens with Alexander Mattison (ankle). You'll have to wait and see about Kirk Cousins, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen as well. As for any backups to target in Week 17, we already suffered through Mike Boone's poor outing against the Packers on Monday night, so it's risky to trust any second-tier Minnesota players at this point.
In looking at the other playoff-bound teams, the Patriots, Chiefs and Texans are still fighting for seeding in the AFC, so their games matter, which should be good for your Fantasy roster. And the 49ers, Saints, Packers and Seahawks are also fighting for seeding in the NFC, which means they should be playing their main guys this week. You also have teams battling to get into the playoffs like the Eagles, Cowboys, Titans, Steelers and technically the Raiders, which is good.
Now, we could see prominent players on the teams already in the playoffs start to rest guys during the games Sunday, especially if they play in wild-card weekend. But that's not really something you can prepare for unless reports indicate anything ahead of time.
So keep an eye on the players from the Bills and Vikings to determine who will play, and hopefully everything else will be easy for you with the playoff teams. Of course, then there are injuries to deal with on players from teams out of playoff contention, and those are things we'll be monitoring throughout the week.
Week 17 is tricky, which is why most Fantasy leagues end their season in Week 16. But for those of you brave enough to still be playing this week, good luck. Hopefully, all the guys you need to succeed are active and dominating as they usually do.
Editor's note: For this waiver wire column, we are only looking at players owned in less than 65% of CBS Sports leagues. Since it's Week 17, we don't need to list any drop candidates.
Week 17 Waivers
Quarterbacks
- Injuries of note: Lamar Jackson (rest), Kyler Murray (hamstring), Dwayne Haskins (ankle), Mason Rudolph (shoulder)
- Priority list: Daniel Jones (51 percent ownership), Robert Griffin III (1 percent), Andy Dalton (19 percent), Drew Lock (14 percent)
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Jones has the chance to be a starter in Week 17 with his matchup against the Eagles. He just scored 45 Fantasy points at Washington, and Eli Manning had 20 Fantasy points against the Eagles in Week 14 when Jones was hurt. Philadelphia also allows an average of 19.1 Fantasy points per game, and three of the past four opposing quarterbacks against the Eagles have scored at least 20 points. Jones is a great DFS play in Week 17.
After Jones, it's risky to trust Griffin, Dalton or Lock, especially if Dalton doesn't have Tyler Boyd (leg). Griffin is such a wild card as the expected starter for Baltimore in place of Jackson, but he will be down some starters on the offensive line, as well as Ingram and potentially Andrews and Brown. Still, given his ability to run in this offense, he could be a sneaky starter and someone to use in daily leagues.
Running Backs
- Injuries of note: Dalvin Cook (shoulder), Josh Jacobs (shoulder), Mark Ingram (calf), Chris Carson (hip), James Conner (thigh), Derrick Henry (hamstring), Jamaal Williams (shoulder), Jordan Howard (shoulder), Alexander Mattison (ankle), Myles Gaskin (ankle)
- Priority list: DeAndre Washington (54 percent ownership), Gus Edwards (18 percent), Alexander Mattison (63 percent), Travis Homer (0 percent), Kerryon Johnson (37 percent), Dion Lewis (29 percent), Patrick Laird (54 percent), Benny Snell (42 percent), Rex Burkhead (23 percent), Frank Gore (37 percent), T.J. Yeldon (2 percent), Ameer Abdullah (1 percent), Justice Hill (7 percent), Marshawn Lynch (0 percent), Boston Scott (22 percent)
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Washington would be my favorite running back to add by a lot if Jacobs remains out, but Raiders coach Jon Gruden said there's a chance Jacobs could play in Week 17 at Denver with Oakland clinging to slim playoff hopes. In two games without Jacobs, Washington has scored at least 18 PPR points (Week 14 against Tennessee and Week 16 against the Chargers) with at least 20 total touches in each outing.
With Ingram out for the Ravens, the expectation is Edwards and Hill will split touches, but you have to wonder if Baltimore will be cautious with Edwards in case the team is concerned about Ingram being ready for the divisional round of the playoffs in two weeks. Hill could end up as the better of the two running backs in Week 17 against Pittsburgh if that's the case, but for now I'm approaching it as Edwards being the top guy for the Ravens and a potential starter in all Fantasy leagues.
Seattle's running back corps was destroyed in the past three weeks with injuries to Carson, Prosise and Rashaad Penny (ACL). Homer should be considered the lead back even after the Seahawks signed Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin. We don't know what shape Lynch, 33, is in after not seeing him since Week 6 of the 2018 season when he was with the Raiders. And Turbin appeared in two games with the Colts last season with just five total touches. Homer had five carries for 16 yards, as well as six catches for 26 yards on eight targets against Arizona in Week 16 when everyone got hurt, and he's a potential flex in Week 17 at San Francisco.
Boone was a disaster for the Vikings in Week 16 against Green Bay with 11 carries for 28 yards, as well as one catch for 5 yards on one target. If Cook and Mattison are out again in Week 17 against Chicago then I'd rather have Abdullah over Boone, and Abdullah had four carries for 27 yards, along with six catches for 31 yards on seven targets against the Packers. However, if Mattison is back, he would easily be the best running back for Minnesota, so pick him up with the hope he returns against the Bears.
As for the rest of the running backs we listed, none are better than flex options, including Johnson, who returned from his eight-game absence with a knee injury in Week 16 at Denver and finished with 10 carries for 42 yards, as well as one catch for 1 yard on one target. He should continue to share touches with Bo Scarbrough, and this isn't an easy matchup against Green Bay.
Henry is expected to play in Week 17, which means Lewis is just an insurance policy. Snell could start for Conner, but he'll also share touches with Kerrith Whyte and Jaylen Samuels. Burkhead is a sneaky flex play against Miami, but he's still sharing touches with Sony Michel and James White. And Laird might get a boost in touches with Gaskin hurt, but he has a tough matchup at New England.
I listed Gore and Yeldon as guys to add in case they get an extended workload against the Jets with the Bills potentially resting Singletary. And Scott can still be useful in PPR even with Howard coming back since Scott has six catches in each of his past three games.
Wide Receivers
- Injuries of note: Chris Godwin (hamstring), D.J. Moore (concussion), Tyler Boyd (leg), Will Fuller (groin), Corey Davis (concussion), Taylor Gabriel (concussion), Nelson Agholor (knee), Demaryius Thomas (hamstring)
- Priority list: Justin Watson (8 percent ownership), Anthony Miller (57 percent), Greg Ward (5 percent), Kenny Stills (40 percent), Hunter Renfrow (10 percent), Cole Beasley (47 percent), Steve Sims (1 percent), Chris Conley (17 percent), John Ross (25 percent), Diontae Johnson (28 percent), Tajae Sharpe (0 percent), Allen Lazard (8 percent)
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Watson is my favorite receiver to add this week if he's still out there since the Buccaneers need help with Godwin, Mike Evans (hamstring) and Scott Miller (hamstring) all hurt. Playing second fiddle behind Breshad Perriman, Watson has scored at least 15 PPR points in two of his past three games. He's a borderline starter in all leagues in Week 17 against Atlanta.
I'll stick with Miller for one more week if he's still on waivers, even after his down game in Week 16 against the Chiefs. He only had one catch for 2 yards on two targets against Kansas City for one PPR point, but prior to that he had at least 11 PPR points in five games in a row. He could easily rebound in Week 17 at Minnesota and remains a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues.
Ward and Stills are worth using as No. 3 Fantasy receivers in Week 17 as injury replacements in good matchups. For Ward, he's scored at least 11 PPR points in consecutive games, and he should stay hot against the Giants this week, especially if Agholor remains out. And Stills scored twice against the Titans in Week 15 when Fuller was healthy, and then he had nine targets for five catches and 57 yards in Week 16 at Tampa Bay after Fuller got hurt. Sharpe also could be a quality injury replacement for Davis and is worth a look in deeper leagues, and Sharpe just scored two touchdowns in Week 16 against New Orleans.
There are a few receivers playing well coming into Week 17 who are worth buying into in deeper leagues — and DFS plays — including Renfrow, Sims, Conley and Johnson. Renfrow returned from a three-game absence with a rib injury and scored 23 PPR points at the Chargers in Week 16. Sims has scored at least 15 PPR points in consecutive games for Washington, with 21 targets over that span. Conley has three touchdowns in his past two games, and he scored 11 PPR points against the Colts in Week 11, which bodes well for him in the rematch. And Johnson has at least 19 PPR points in two of his past three games and is averaging eight targets per game in his past three outings.
I'd feel better about Beasley if the Bills were guaranteed to play all their guys in Week 17 against the Jets, but we don't know what Buffalo plans to do. Beasley has scored at least 14 PPR points in three of his past four games.
Ross could be great if Boyd is out, but he's also coming off a strong game at Miami with six catches for 84 yards on 13 targets. He's a boom-or-bust threat, which might be better for DFS. The same goes for Lazard in deeper leagues, and he scored 16 PPR points against Detroit in Week 6. He also just had nine targets for five catches and 45 yards in Week 16 at Minnesota.
Tight Ends
- Injuries of note: Zach Ertz (ribs)
- Priority list: Dallas Goedert (65 percent ownership), Kaden Smith (6 percent), Jonnu Smith (15 percent), Jacob Hollister (53 percent), O.J. Howard (53 percent), Mike Gesicki (55 percent)
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Goedert should be considered a No. 1 Fantasy tight end even if Ertz plays in Week 17 at the Giants, but he would be a top-five option if Ertz is out. Goedert has scored at least 10 PPR points in four of his past six games, including 24 PPR points in Week 16 against Dallas.
In his past three starts with Daniel Jones, Kaden Smith has scored at least 12 PPR points in every outing, with six targets in each game. He's a No. 1 Fantasy tight end in Week 17 against the Eagles. The same goes for Jonnu Smith against the Texans, and he has at least 11 PPR points in three games in a row.
I like Hollister as a No. 1 tight end against the 49ers, and he had 20 PPR points against them in Week 10. He also has at least six targets in three of his past four games. And Howard, while tough to trust, also has seven targets in each of his past two games and will remain involved in the passing game for Tampa Bay due to the injuries at receiver. He's a low-end starter in Week 17 against Atlanta.
While Gesicki was great in Week 16 against Cincinnati with six catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns on 12 targets, he should struggle in Week 17 at New England. And keep in mind that prior to Week 16 he combined for nine PPR points in two games against the Jets and Giants, so he's a low-end starter at best against the Patriots.
DST
- Chiefs - 63 percent
- Colts - 52 percent
- Cowboys - 49 percent
- Falcons - 15 percent
Kickers
- Ka'imi Fairbairn - 51 percent
- Nick Folk - 23 percent
- Mason Crosby - 43 percent
- Austin Seibert - 52 percent
