Fantasy Football Week 17 FAAB Rankings: J.J. McCarthy, Taysom Hill, and More

Most weeks, I give you FAAB bid ranges for some of the most popular waivers in fantasy football. This is the final week of fantasy for most leagues, though; there's no reason to keep any of that FAAB budget with the season ending.

Because of that, we are doing things a little differently this week. Rather than giving you a reasonable free agent bid range for each player, I am going to rank the players based on who is most worth using the rest of your budget on. If there's someone who will help your lineup (or just a player you want to keep away from your opponent), this is the time to splurge with everything you have left, even if it's not a guy I list here.

Let's look at some of the hottest names on the waiver wire heading into Week 17. If your fantasy league continues into Week 18, then you don't necessarily need to blow everything now, but time is still running out, so it might be worth it if there is a guy who will really make a difference. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's waiver wire tool to find the players being added to fantasy teams most often each week!

Quarterback

1. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
2. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
3. Quinn Ewers, Miami Dolphins
4. J.J. McCarthy/Max Brosmer, Minnesota Vikings
5. Marcus Mariota/Josh Johnson, Washington Commanders

We have a bit of a theme here this week: below-average quarterbacks with good matchups. For most fantasy owners in the championship round, you already have your QB spot set; you're not benching Josh Allen for one of these guys.

If you played matchups all season and/or had a guy just get hurt or benched, though, you might find yourself in the wilderness and need a fill-in at the most important time. If you are out of the running for the championship, one of these passers will be available to pick up for free after the waiver period, and you can at least have a good matchup for the final meaningless game.

Shough has looked very functional under center for the Saints, not something that was guaranteed for the 26-year-old rookie. He has scored at least 17 fantasy points in each of the past four weeks, ranking as QB7 in that time. Shough faces the Titans this week, a team allowing the fourth-most yards per pass attempt and the eighth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Smith has been the starter all season for the Raiders, and though he has been bad, he would seem to have a better floor than most of the rookies/backups listed above. Las Vegas faces the Giants at home this week, a team that has allowed the 10th-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Ewers made his first career start last week against the Bengals, throwing for 260 yards on 8.7 per attempt with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The volume was good, but this game was a shootout (45-21 Bengals), and Cincinnati held a double-digit lead for the final 25 minutes of the game. He has another strong matchup against Tampa Bay this week, but there is a low floor with Ewers.

The Minnesota and Washington QB situations might not be figured out until later in the week. McCarthy and Mariota will start if healthy, but each is undergoing further tests and is questionable for Week 17. With both teams eliminated from playoff contention, they can be extra careful with their current top guy. There's enough uncertainty here to look at one of the other three guys instead unless you make this decision later in the week.

Running Back

1. Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders
2. Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals
3. Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
4. Dylan Sampson/Raheim Sanders, Cleveland Browns
5. Audric Estime, New Orleans Saints

Rodriguez has been on our FAAB list often because he has been getting the most carries among Washington running backs recently. He missed Week 15, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt had a good game, but Rodriguez returned on Sunday and led the attack again, touching the ball 16 times versus eight for Croskey-Merritt.

The Washington running backs have a good matchup against Dallas this week, a team that has allowed the ninth-most yards per rush attempt and the seventh-most fantasy points per game to RBs. Rodriguez and Croskey-Merritt are both flex players in Week 17, but I prefer Rodriguez.

Carter is starting for the Cardinals and leading the team in touches, something that immediately puts him on the fantasy radar. His numbers are generally middling or worse, but Carter has a great matchup against the Bengals this week, who have given up the third-most yards per rush attempt and the most fantasy points to running backs. Carter is a strong streamer/flex player this week.

Spears gained 105 total yards and scored a rushing touchdown on Sunday against the Chiefs. Tony Pollard had over 100 yards of his own, as Tennessee beat up on a suddenly downtrodden Kansas City team.

A losing Titans team might give more touches to a young back in Spears, but Pollard has still been leading the way, capping Spears' value. The Tennessee backs have a middling matchup this week against New Orleans, leaving Spears with only deep-league value.

In a rough year for the Browns, they took one more hit when rookie running back Quinshon Judkins suffered a nasty leg injury that could bring into question his status for the beginning of 2026. Sampson would seem to be the next guy up, but he has missed the past two games and is questionable for Week 17.

If Sampson is out, then Sanders had the most rush attempts on Sunday (11) and would seemingly be in line to lead the way again. Cleveland's matchup against the Steelers this week is modest at best, so I'm skipping the Browns' RBs unless I'm desperate.

Estime was thought to be the guy who would lead the backfield for the Saints with multiple injuries at running back, but tight end Taysom Hill actually had the most carries (more on him in a minute). There is way too much uncertainty for me to trust New Orleans' backfield.

Wide Receiver

1. Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers
2. Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers

The Green Bay duo are both owned in over half of leagues, so they aren't as available on the waiver wire as other guys here. They both have the ability to lead the Packers' pass-catching group any week, and they are fine to consider as WR3/4/flex players, though it's hard to know who the top guy will be.

Washington is the third option (at best) in Jacksonville, but he had a huge day on Sunday, catching six passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Jakobi Meyers, Brian Thomas Jr., and even tight end Brenton Strange are generally above Washington in the pass-catching pecking order, so Washington is more of a deep-league option. There's a low floor in the fantasy playoffs.

Johnston is also owned in more leagues than our typical waiver target, but he is the least owned of the big three Charger receivers and is coming off a nice game, when he turned four catches into 104 yards and a touchdown. That was in a great matchup with the Cowboys, but Johnston faces Houston this week, which might have the best defense in football, leaving Johnston as a risky player (along with LA's entire offense).

Tight End

1. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
2. AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks
3. Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
4. Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

I have listed most players from the same team together throughout this column, but I won't do that with Johnson and Hill because they are such different players. Johnson is your typical tight end, a guy who lines up on the end of the line and can even get into the slot and split out wide and be a weapon in the passing game.

Hill is a multi-faceted, multi-positional player who can score fantasy points by running, catching, and throwing the ball. He had a good day on Sunday, throwing a 38-yard touchdown, running for 42 yards, and catching four passes for 36 yards (though he also lost a fumble).

There are prevailing thoughts that Hill got more work because it was New Orleans' last home game, and the fan-favorite Hill probably won't be back, so he was getting his last hurrah. If he were to fill the same role of leading the rush attack this week, Hill would be a strong pickup, but he has a low floor if that's not the case. It's too risky if you're still in the hunt for the trophy, so I'd lean toward Johnson rather than Hill.

Barner is an intriguing player given Seattle's successful passing game, but he just hasn't put up stats often enough to be a trusted fantasy player. He faces the Jaguars this week, who have given up the eight-most fantasy points to tight ends, but Jacksonville is better against he pass, so there's chance at a slow game. I'm not big on Barner this week.

Okonkwo is a low-level fantasy player. He scored on a shovel pass last week, and he hauled in six passes for 44 yards, but both Okonkwo and Tennessee's offense are too inconsistent to count on him this week. The matchup against the Saints is middling.