Week 17 Early Fantasy Football Rankings: Drake Maye and Chris Olave Keep Rising
Fantasy

Week 17 Early Fantasy Football Rankings: Drake Maye and Chris Olave Keep Rising

Ian Hartitz produced his early Week 17 fantasy football rankings, highlighting Drake Maye, Chris Olave and more players.

Hide your kids, hide your wife: Week 17 is here. It's time to win a fantasy championship, people!

What follows are my abbreviated early PPR ranks along with some key questions and answers ahead of this week's slate of action. Check out our Fantasy Life Rankings for full ranks from our squad of alleged expert rankers (code "Ian" for 20% off!).

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Week 17 Early Fantasy Football Rankings

Quarterback

RankQuarterbackTeamMatchup
1Drake MayeNENE@NYJ
2Josh AllenBUFPHI@BUF
3Jalen HurtsPHIPHI@BUF
4Dak PrescottDALDAL@WAS
5Joe BurrowCINARI@CIN
6Matthew StaffordLARLAR@ATL
7Trevor LawrenceJAXJAX@IND
8Bo NixDENDEN@KC
9Brock PurdySFCHI@SF
10Jared GoffDETDET@MIN
11Jacoby BrissettARIARI@CIN
12Jaxson DartNYGNYG@LV

Drake "Drake Maye" Maye looks a lot like the league MVP

And he should be on the short list in fantasy football land as well considering the current QB3 in fantasy points per game carried a QB16 ADP back in August. But yeah: Drake Maye finds himself near the top of pretty much any meaningful passing efficiency metric:

Drake Maye among 42 QBs with 150+ dropbacks this season:

  • EPA per dropback: +0.26 (No. 3)
  • Passer rating: 109.1 (No. 3)
  • PFF pass grade: 85.3 (No. 5)
  • Yards per attempt: 8.7 (tied for No. 1)
  • Completion percentage over expected: +9.4% (No. 1)

The season-long performance is even more impressive when considering Maye's demonstrated off-script playmaking ability and downfield hooping–his 9.3-yard average target depth is tied for the sixth-highest mark at the position.

Betting lines suggest the other top MVP candidates at the moment are Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen, but Maye's ability to elevate a largely dirt average supporting cast should be what earns him the nod here. Consider: Supporting Cast Rating, which takes every team's average in team PFF rushing, receiving, run blocking and pass blocking (everything except passing).

Supporting Cast Rating among top 5 MVP candidates:

  • Matthew Stafford (1st)
  • Josh Allen (4th)
  • Drake Maye (16th)

ESPN gives the Patriots 39.9% odds of capturing the one seed–dominant performances in season-ending matchups with the Jets and Dolphins could not only clinch Maye and company a first-round bye, but also some well-deserved hardware.

QB Quick Hits

QB2 Josh Allen: Scored a very NOT nice 6.9 fantasy points during the Bills' Week 16 victory over the Browns—his fewest in a full game since his rookie season. Surely that didn't have any negative ramifications for loyal fantasy managers.

QB7 Trevor Lawrence: Has ripped off five consecutive QB1 finishes while largely playing the best football of his career. T-Law's ability to consistently make big plays downfield while rolling out to his left has been particularly impressive. And yet, it's Lawrence's rushing goodness that has REALLY made a difference in fantasy land. The dude has more rushing TDs (7) than Bijan Robinson (6) for crying out loud!

Most QB fantasy points from rushing this season:

  1. Josh Allen (127.2)
  2. Jalen Hurts (89.6)
  3. Jaxson Dart (82.7)
  4. Trevor Lawrence (74.2)
  5. Patrick Mahomes (72.2)

QB11 Jacoby Brissett: Yes, Brissett's ridiculous nine-game streak finishing as a QB1 in fantasy land is over. Also yes, *one* less-than-amazing game doesn't automatically erase his status as a quality stat compiler. While you can play the "he almost caught it" game with any QB, Brissett did have separate near-TD end-zone incompletions to both Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. that nearly elevated him to his usual top-12 heights. I'm not shying away from the veteran ahead of Sunday's smashable matchup with the Bengals, who just so happen to be one of seven defenses allowing 20-plus fantasy points per game to opposing QBs.

QB12 Jaxson Dart: Last Sunday did not go well for Mr. Dart. I'm inclined to chalk it up to Vikings DC Brian Flores' tendency to make life a living hell for young QBs. But yeah: Not great!

Jaxson Dart fantasy points by start:

  • Week 4: 19.8
  • Week 5: 16.6
  • Week 6: 23.6
  • Week 7: 28.4
  • Week 8: 19.4
  • Week 9: 27.2
  • Week 10: 26.3
  • Week 13: 13.6
  • Week 15: 22.1
  • Week 16: 0.02

QB15 Tyler Shough: The rookie has made a compelling case as the Saints' 2026 Week 1 starter during the team's active three-game winning streak. Now, toppling the Buccaneers, Panthers and Jets isn't exactly a murderer's row of defenses; just realize Shough has the sort of legit arm talent and mobility to generally force defenses to account for every area of the football field. He'll have every chance to keep the good times rolling in Week 17 against the Titans—it's no surprise that Shough is the QB streamer headliner in the Fantasy Life Week 17 waiver wire report.

QB20 Justin Herbert: This could be too low considering how fantastic Herbert was as a passer and rusher during the Chargers' Week 16 win over the Cowboys. Then again … it was the Cowboys, who have a tendency to bring out those sorts of performances from their opposition (especially without the services of DT Quinnen Williams). Ultimately, I'm too worried about the Chargers' hellaciously banged-up offensive line holding up against the Texans' rabid front-seven. Only the Vikings have allowed fewer fantasy points per game to opposing QBs than Houston this season.

QB26 Cam Ward: Continues to flash rather ridiculous arm talent at least once or twice a week. Please, football Gods, get this man a real offensive environment ahead of 2026.

Running Back

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Is the answer to which Rams RB to play in fantasy simply … yes?

More or less! While Kyren Williams remains the lead back and starter, we've seen Blake Corum more than hold his own in the fantasy points department during the last month of action.

  • Week 13: Williams (PPR RB21), Corum (RB19)
  • Week 14: Williams (RB8), Corum (RB3)
  • Week 15: Williams (RB8), Corum (RB20)
  • Week 16: Williams (RB25), Corum (RB20)

Overall, Williams (RB12) and Corum (RB8) have both returned RB1 production on a per-game basis during this stretch. The former still deserves the weekly nod due to the superior volume (70 touches vs. 46), but credit to Corum for making the most out of his opportunities. The second-year back looks as healthy as he has since before his unfortunate season-ending knee injury back in 2022.

Each is a bit TD dependent with this committee, but hey, there are plenty of TDs to go around inside the Rams' top-ranked scoring offense—particularly with goal-line target hog Davante Adams (hamstring) sidelined at the moment.

Up next is a matchup against a Falcons defense that has been far tougher against the pass (13th in EPA allowed per pass) than the run (25th in EPA allowed per rush) through 16 weeks. Fire up Williams as the low-end RB1 he's been all season, while I have Corum ranked ahead of starters in less-fantasy-friendly offenses like Tony Pollard, Tyrone Tracy and Rico Dowdle.

Who was *this* close to having a much bigger Week 16?

The following players were tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a TD on the same drive last week (pre-MNF):

Tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a TD on the same drive:

That's right: Puka posted the position's season-high single-game PPR fantasy point total (46.5) and actually left some meat on the bone. Hell, he could have reasonably had *two* additional scores considering Matthew Stafford missed him on a potential 32-yard TD in the second quarter on a drive that ended in a field goal.

RB Quick Hits

RB4 Jahmyr Gibbs: Obviously on the short list for the very best RB in the league, and yet, the sledding has been ROUGH on the ground in recent weeks. Overall, Gibbs has averaged just 3.4, 3.6, 2.9 and most recently 0.3 yards per carry since his ridiculous 15-219-2 explosion  (14.6, lol) against the Giants back in Week 12. The Lions' banged-up offensive line is the obvious excuse, but yeah: Not great! Good news: Gibbs is on the short list for the position's most fantasy-friendly RBs when it comes to the ability to rack up receiving production..

RB most PPR points from receiving:

  1. Christian McCaffrey (198)
  2. Bijan Robinson (166.6)
  3. Jahmyr Gibbs (152)
  4. De'Von Achane (133.9)
  5. Chase Brown (123.9)

RB10 Derrick Henry: Has racked up 100-plus total yards in each of his last four games, which isn't particularly surprising when considering just how lethal the man consistently becomes in the winter. Here's to hoping the Ravens do a better job of realizing this in Week 17 and beyond—Henry's final touch last Sunday night was a TD to go up 24-13 … in a game Baltimore wound up losing 28-24.

Henry career yards per carry by month:

  • September: 4.3
  • October: 4.8
  • November: 4.9
  • December: 5.2
  • January: 5.4

RB12 RJ Harvey: Passed the eye test with flying colors during the Broncos' Week 16 loss to the Jaguars, dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging his way to 121 total yards on just 11 touches. While Harvey hasn't always displayed this sort of high-end efficiency, the explosive rookie nevertheless managed to return borderline RB1 goodness ever since J.K. Dobbins was lost for the season in Week 10.

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RB13 TreVeyon Henderson, RB34 Rhamondre Stevenson: These rankings are *if* Henderson manages to clear the concussion protocol by the time the Patriots suit up against the Jets on Sunday. If not, Stevenson would be expected to assume an every-down role as a big-time home favorite against a Jets squad that hasn't exactly been putting its best foot forward … basically all season. I'd simply cross out Henderson's name and replace him with Stevenson should the rookie be ruled out.

RB17 Josh Jacobs, RB39 Emanuel Wilson: On the one hand, Jacobs is a near lock to score a TD anytime he suits up—an ill-timed fumble inside the 5-yard line was the only reason why he failed to do so in Week 16. On the other hand, we've now seen limited usage in back-to-back games while Jacobs plays through a painful knee injury, and the scoring upside for everyone involved is on the downslide with Jordan Love (concussion) potentially sidelined, and Malik Willis (shoulder) banged up. I'd still have a hard time outright benching Jacobs; just realize his touch projection is closer to 15 than 20 these days.

RB21 Jaylen Warren, RB22 Kenneth Gainwell: Don't count on Warren ripping off multiple 45-yard TDs every week, or Gainwell making absolutely absurd diving 45-yard TD catches, but the Steelers' lack of bodies at WR make both RBs in play as low-end RB2s ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Browns. And maybe this is too low: Warren (RB12 in PPR points per game) and Gainwell (RB10) have both managed to put up top-12 fantasy numbers during their last five games together with each back fully healthy!

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RB25 Tony Pollard: Nearly had an even bigger Week 16 considering a one-yard TD plunge was taken off the board on a phantom illegal formation penalty. Regardless: Pollard has gone for triple-digit rushing yards in three consecutive games inside a Titans offense that has randomly scored 31, 24, and 26 points down the stretch. Pollard had … zero games with 100-plus yards in Weeks 1-13 combined. There's not much of a receiving floor here with Tyjae Spears staying involved, but another winnable matchup against the Saints is on the horizon.

RB27 Rico Dowdle: The "league winning" waiver wire pickup hasn't exactly been putting his best foot forward in recent weeks. In fact, Dowdle has averaged more than 3.2 yards per carry just once in his last six games. There's not exactly weekly sky-high scoring upside inside the NFL's 27th-ranked scoring offense; Dowdle is a meh RB3 against a Seahawks defense that has allowed the third-fewest PPR points per game to opposing RBs.

RB37 Raheim Sanders: Sadly, Quinshon Judkins' season is over after suffering a broken leg and dislocated ankle on Sunday. This opens the door for "Rocket" Sanders to work as Cleveland's lead back, although Dylan Sampson (hand) would be the recommended starter if healthy enough to suit up. Ultimately, the only person in Cleveland worthy of high-end fantasy consideration at the moment is TE Harold Fannin. I'm not going out of my way to prioritize either Browns RB against a Steelers defense that just held the Lions to just 15 total rushing yards—their fewest in a game since 2016!

Wide Receiver

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Courtland Sutton is on a bit of a heater at the moment

The Broncos' No. 1 WR wasn't having a bad season going into the team's Week 12 bye, but WR31 status in PPR points per game during this stretch reflects the reality that Sutton wasn't exactly filling up the boxscore on the regular.

And then suddenly he was!

Courtland Sutton in Weeks 13-16:

  • Week 13: 5 receptions-62 yards-1 TD (6 targets), PPR WR16
  • Week 14: 6-62-0 (10), WR22
  • Week 15: 7-113-1 (10), WR4
  • Week 16: 6-86-1 (12), WR9

All in all, Sutton has worked as the WR6 in PPR points per game over the last four weeks of action. Double-digit targets in three straight games have certainly helped, and that workload doesn't figure to be going anywhere with WR Pat Bryant (concussion) not expected to suit up for Thursday night's matchup with the Chiefs.

Ultimately, Sutton comes in as my WR14 ahead of guys who have been a bit more volatile and/or are dealing with serious QB questions like Jaylen Waddle and Zay Flowers. This ranking will be reinforced if No. 1 Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie (knee) remains sidelined.

Who left some serious meat on the bone in Week 16?

"Unrealized air yards" measure the total amount of air yards on incomplete targets. This helps identify players who had all sorts of fantasy-friendly downfield opportunities, but they simply couldn't come up with completions for one reason or another.

Anyway, 10 players had at least 70 unrealized air yards in Week 16 (pre-MNF):

That's right: Olave's 10-148-2 explosive could have been even bigger! Such is life with Devaughn Vele (shoulder) out of the picture and no semblance of a consistent run game at the moment. I'd be surprised if Olave doesn't finish with double-digit targets against a Titans defense that has been far more stout against the run (7th in EPA allowed per rush) than the pass (20th in EPA allowed per pass) since returning from their Week 10 bye.

WR Quick Hits

WR5 CeeDee Lamb, WR10 George Pickens: Shoutout to Lamb for surpassing 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth consecutive season, and to Pickens for extending his career-high single-season mark to 1,342 yards—more than anyone not named Puka Nacua or Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Up next is a Commanders defense that Dak Prescott torched for 264 yards and a trio of scores in essentially three quarters of action back in Week 7.

WR9 AJ Brown: Since complaining about life on social media:

  • Week 11: 7 receptions-49 yards-0 TD (11 targets), PPR WR21
  • Week 12: 8-110-1 (10), WR5
  • Week 13: 10-132-2 (12), WR1
  • Week 14: 6-100-0 (13), WR17
  • Week 15: 2-41-1 (2), WR28
  • Week 16: 9-95-0 (12), WR14

WR15 DJ Moore: This is dependent on both Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden (ankle) again being sidelined. That said: Credit to Moore for posting 4-69-2 and 5-97-1 receiving lines as the primary pass-game option in this offense … two weeks after he combined for 23 total yards in two games. Wheels up for Moore and Da Bears against a banged-up 49ers defense that ranks just 25th in EPA allowed per dropback since losing Fred Warner back in Week 6.

WR22 Drake London: Did not look 100% on his way to catching just three of eight targets for 27 scoreless yards in Week 16. This ranking recognizes that while also realizing that it's awfully difficult to consider benching London with the fantasy season on the line. Here's to hoping Kirk Cousins can find more success with his No. 1 WR against a Rams defense that didn't exactly shut down Sam Darnold (270-2-2) or Jared Goff (338-3-0) during its last two games.

WR23 Michael Wilson, WR32 Marvin Harrison Jr.: Each saw just 3 targets during the Cardinals' Week 16 loss to the Falcons. Wilson saved the day with a ridiculous TD that even he seemed surprised that he caught, while Marv ran a route on only 61% of Jacoby Brissett's dropbacks. It'd make sense if that number rises, although we could also (again) see Brissett mostly hone in on his TEs against a Bengals defense that has allowed the third-fewest PPR points per game to opposing WRs this season.

WR24 Rashee Rice: You can only rank any mere mortal so low when they're looking at double-digit targets per game. Then again, it is the Broncos … and Chris Oladokun is at QB … yikes. Rice does deserve more faith than most No. 1 WRs dealing with bad expected QB play due to the relatively easier manner in getting him the ball thanks to his low-aDOT; just realize the floor for everyone in this passing game is quite low at the moment.

WR26 Stefon Diggs: Diggs would be ranked far higher if we knew for certain that he'd actually have a near full-time role, but we don't! There's little rhyme-or-reason to the route rates in this Patriots WR room, forcing Diggs into the WR3 tier despite ample evidence that he's still capable of supplying legit WR1 goodness when leaned on.

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WR40 Parker Washington: Turned 10 targets into a blistering 6-145-1 receiving line, often at the expense of Broncos CB Riley Moss. Of course, Washington totaled 6 targets across his previous 120 minutes of football; we still expect Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. to lead the way here more weeks than not. Still, credit to Washington for largely making the most out of his opportunities this season: He leads all Jaguars with 1.89 yards per route run.

WR43 Emeka Egbuka: Sammy Reid had a funny tweet noting that Egubka is "Benjamin Button'ing the normal rookie WR progression arc." Sammy is right, and there's unfortunately no way to trust Egbuka after the Buccaneers went ahead and had Jalen McMillan run more routes (19 vs.16). This is not fun!

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WR55 Calvin Austin: DK Metcalf has been suspended the final two games of the regular season after his altercation with a Lions fan. The problem is Austin (hamstring) is banged up, and I struggle to get too excited about old men Adam Thielen or Marquez Valdes-Scantling against a Browns defense that could very well have Aaron Rodgers under duress all game long. The most likely "winners" here are probably just the RBs.

Tight End

RankTight EndTeamGame Info
1Trey McBrideARIARI@CIN
2Brock BowersLVNYG@LV
3George KittleSFCHI@SF
4Harold Fannin Jr.CLEPIT@CLE
5Kyle PittsATLLAR@ATL
6Juwan JohnsonNONO@TEN
7Taysom HillNONO@TEN
8Colston LovelandCHICHI@SF
9Brenton StrangeJAXJAX@IND
10Dalton SchultzHOUHOU@LAC
11Jake FergusonDALDAL@WAS
12Dallas GoedertPHIPHI@BUF

So … Is Taysom Hill a thing again?

I guess so. Despite being 35 years of age and coming off a devastating knee injury, head coach Kellen Moore has continued to feed the football to the jack of all trades, master of none. This was more true than ever in Week 16:

  • 1/1 passing for a 38-yard TD
  • 12-42-0 rushing
  • 4-36-0 receiving (6 targets)
  • 15.3 PPR points (TE7)

Hell, Hill also caught an 18-yard TD that was nullified by a holding penalty. Now, it was of the wide-open variety—as was the TD pass—but clearly the Saints are turning to the veteran due to their multitude of injuries at RB and WR. Reminder: Hill has played more snaps at QB, RB and WR compared to TE this season—and is officially listed as a QB by the Saints—but he's still a TE in fantasy football land. Very normal stuff here.

Don't expect many (any) big plays from Hill: He ranks dead last in yards per carry (2.3) and also finds himself near the bottom of the leaderboard in yards per target (4.5). And yet, the potential to reach 20 combined carries, targets, and pass attempts in a game simply isn't shared by any other players at the position. The return of Alvin Kamara (knee) would drastically change Hill's TE7 ranking for this week, but for now I'm giving him the nod over basically everyone that doesn't have a realistic path to double-digit targets.

Quick Hits

TE1 Trey McBride: Picked a bad time to post season-low marks in receptions (4) and yards (27), but now gets the position's nirvana matchup in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals. May the fantasy gods have mercy on anyone facing McBride in a battle for their league's third-place prize.

TE5 Kyle Pitts: Didn't quite score 45.6 PPR points again in Week 16, but his 18.7 were still good enough for the second most on the week. I wouldn't argue with anyone who wants to rank Pitts as high as TE2 this week. After all, that's what he's been this season.

TE8 Colston Loveland: Posted a season-best 82% route rate in Week 16, which won't help you feel better about his TE21 finish, but does mean that the talented rookie finally seems to have secured a legit full-time role. A post-hype boom makes a lot of sense against the 49ers' banged-up linebacker room.

TE11 Jake Ferguson: Has ROUGH splits with and without CeeDee Lamb in the lineup this season.

  • With Lamb (11 games): 9.5 PPR points per game (TE18), 5.9 targets per game
  • Without (4 games): 18.6 PPR points per game (TE1), 8.3 targets per game

The only reason Ferguson is this high is due to the Cowboys passing game continuing to offer weekly boom upside, but he's certainly not in the position's circle of trust these days.

TE14 Colby Parkinson, TE22 Terrance Ferguson: Parkinson's Week 16 dud reflects the reality that nothing is a given inside this Rams passing game … other than Puka Nacua being a f*cking world-beater. Still, Parkinson has turned in five top-12 finishes in his last seven games, and similar to Loveland, a post-hype bounceback makes sense with Davante Adams (hamstring) again likely out of the picture.

TE15 Mike Gesicki: Maintained a full-time role despite the return of Tee Higgins. Gesicki has played *two* total snaps as a traditional inline TE during his last three games; the man is the Bengals' starting big slot at the moment. That doesn't mean Joe Burrow won't continue to funnel the heavy majority of targets through his top two WRs, but Gesicki does offer more boom upside than most at his position with this role.

TE17 Travis Kelce: Has turned in 1-8-0 and 1-6-0 receiving lines in two of his past three games. Don't expect Chris Oladokun and the Denver Broncos to bring out the best of the 36-year-old veteran, who sure seems to have one foot out the door at this point. Narrative street storyline that could make this ranking look dumb: Thursday night could very well be Kelce's last career game at Arrowhead.

TE24 Darnell Washington: I wanted to try to quantify who produces the most "fun" per reception. We'll quantify this as the total numbers of touchdowns, first downs and tackles avoided per reception. The top two TEs with a minimum of 25 receptions are … Tucker Kraft and Darnell Washington. Checks out!

Thank you for reading and best of luck in Week 17! Go get that championship!

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Matthew Stafford
    MatthewStafford
    QBLARLAR
    PPG
    13.10
    Proj
    16.48
  2. Jalen Hurts
    JalenHurts
    QBPHIPHI
    PPG
    11.36
  3. Jaxson Dart
    JaxsonDart
    QBNYGNYG
    PPG
    11.61
  4. Tony Pollard
    TonyPollard
    RBTENTEN
    PPG
    7.19