Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 17: Anthony Richardson, Antonio Gibson, Darnell Mooney among breakout picks

The Sporting News fantasy team is back with our fantasy football sleepers for Week 17. With the fantasy championship week already here, it's now more critical than ever to make the correct decisions with the fringe starters in your lineup. The stakes are now at an all-time high and we'll be looking to put together the best lineups possible.

Last week, this list was highlighted by Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Jerome Ford, Keenan Allen, Xavier Worthy and Chigoziem Okonkwo, all of whom went on to deliver high-end performances. If fantasy managers had anyone from this bunch in their lineup, they were likely quite happy with the results.

While it's fun to look back to previous successes, though, the fantasy season moves quickly, and we have to adapt as the weeks progress. Week 17 offers a brand new slate of games with matchups that we can look to exploit in fantasy football.

If you don't have time to dive into the outlook for each game, don't worry, we've got you covered. We dove head first into each matchup of the Week 17 slate to pinpoint which situations and matchups we should attack in fantasy football. Three of our fantasy analysts have identified a player at each position.

WEEK 17 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers

Fantasy QB Sleepers for Week 17

Michael O'Hara: Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts — Richardson stretches the definition of "sleeper," but he is by no means viewed as a weekly starter by most fantasy managers. Richardson perfectly epitomizes the dichotomy between the fantasy and "real-life" value of rushing quarterbacks. Just last week, Richardson completed seven passes (on 11 attempts) but still scored 20.24 fantasy points because he rushed for 70 yards and a score. With the horrendous Giants defense on the schedule this week, the Colts should be able to move the ball up and down the field relatively easily with Richardson providing meaningful contributions on the ground.

Ed Williams: Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks — Smith and the Seahawks may have come up short against the Vikings in Week 16, but Smith did throw for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He also tossed a couple of picks, but it was a much more productive fantasy day than many fantasy managers expected with him facing a tough Minnesota defense. This week, he gets the Bears on Thursday night. Chicago has a reputation of being very stingy against the pass, but they've given up 30+ points in four of their last five games. They're checked out, and with Seattle still in the playoff hunt, Smith will take advantage.

Vinnie Iyer: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams — Stafford has been very disappointing the past two weeks as the team has won low-scoring defensive slugfests against the 49ers and Rams with weather being a factor. But he returns home to SoFi to rip a reeling Cardinals defense, which won't come close to dominating like it did in the first meeting.

MORE FANTASY: Full Waiver Wire recommendations & FAAB advice

Fantasy RB Sleepers for Week 17

O'Hara: Ameer Abdullah, Las Vegas Raiders — With Sincere McCormick and Zamir White on IR, the Raiders utilized a two-man rotation at running back last week. Abdullah was half of that rotation, playing 43% of snaps while earning six targets and seven carries. With this backfield remaining a 50-50 split, Abdullah can provide value through his work as a receiver. The Raiders' Week 17 opponent, the Saints, has struggled on the defensive side of the ball all year, ranking 30th in total defense. If Aidan O'Connell can keep drives alive while hitting Abdullah for a handful of check-downs, he can be a fantasy-relevant back this week.

Williams: Antonio Gibson, New England Patriots — Rhamondre Stevenson is clearly the more talented runner in this backfield, but his fumble problems are persisting, and it's pretty clear that head coach Jerod Mayo is growing impatient, so Gibson could be in for a larger-than-usual role this week against the Chargers. 

Iyer: Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans — Spears has looked like an RB1 in the past two games, with his four touchdowns the ultimate factor in that. But he's showing off his explosiveness and underrated toughness and the Titans will want a longer look in a juicy matchup against the Jaguars.

Fantasy WR Sleepers for Week 17

O'Hara: Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers — McMillan has been on a tear in recent weeks and we're going to ride his hot streak. The rookie has now scored 15+ PPR points in three straight weeks, largely thanks to scoring four touchdowns during this stretch. McMillan isn't just falling on the right side of touchdown variance either; his underlying metrics have improved in recent weeks. McMillan has seen his first-read target share creep up and his two largest overall target shares of the season have come in the last three weeks. The Panthers are on deck this week, meaning the Tampa Bay offense should be humming and McMillan could find the endzone once again.

Williams: Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons — We wrote about Mooney here last week in hopes that Michael Penix could unlock more of his potential on a more consistent basis. Well, so far, so good. In Penix's first game under center after Kirk Cousins was benched, Mooney led the Falcons with five catches for 82 yards. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but after a promising start, we're ready to keep riding the wave of Mooney momentum. 

Iyer: Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers — Doubs was quiet in the first meeting with Minnesota when both Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks had a lot more fun taking advantage of the Vikings' secondary for Jordan Love. But he's been the guy of late when they've needed to pass more outside and this will be another one of those games with 60-80 yards and a TD.

Fantasy TE Sleepers for Week 17

O'Hara: Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans — Okonkwo was Ed's sleeper tight end last week and he absolutely nailed it, so I'm stealing him for myself in Week 17. Okonkwo is putting together the best stretch of his career, amassing 17 receptions and 33.0 PPR points in the last two weeks. In the Tennessee offense, Okonkwo is going to need to soak up plenty of targets to produce in fantasy. He's doing just that, drawing 21 targets in his last two games; this sort of volume is enough to sustain top-12 production. Okonkwo will also benefit from a matchup with the Jaguars this week, a defense that offers a top-10 fantasy matchup for tight ends.

Williams: Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints — Outside of the elite tight ends, you're typically just hoping your shot in the dark is able to haul in a score. Johnson is your prototype for this strategy. Juwan Johnson has always been an effective endzone target for the Saints, but with the offense being so depleted of playmakers, New Orleans has had to lean on him more than in previous seasons. The Giants have been roasted by tight ends all season, so the matchup is right to roll the dice on Johnson. 

Iyer: Stone Smartt, Los Angeles Chargers — This is a revenge game on the other side for Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, but he has a tough matchup against Derwin James and his former team. Smartt is getting more involved with no Will Dissly and the Patriots can beaten defensively by the position often.

Fantasy Defense Sleepers Week 17

O'Hara: Indianapolis Colts — Finding a defensive streamer is as simple as looking at who the Giants are playing and filing a waiver claim for their opponent. The Colts happen to be that opponent this week and they'll face an offense that has not scored more than 20 points since Week 9. With Drew Lock banged up (shoulder), this could become an even juicer matchup if Tommy DeVito is under center.

Williams: Los Angeles Rams — The Rams are more known for their offense and exciting playmakers like Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams, but the defense has improved greatly from earlier this season. The secondary still has work to do, but the pass rush led by rookies Jared Verse and Brandon Fiske has been quite formidable. They get the Cardinals who have been eliminated from the playoffs. While they've said Kyler Murray will continue to play, the Rams will surely be hungrier for this one as they try to lock down the NFC West crown. 

Iyer: Las Vegas Raiders — Time is running out for Maxx Crosby and this defense to convince ownership again that Antonio Pierce should remain as head coach and that led to a stronger effort than expected vs. the Jaguars at home last week. Now they get to face the Saints minus ex-Raider Derek Carr, a team that just got shut out on Monday night in Green Bay.