Fantasy Football Week 17 RB Rankings: Marshawn Lynch is Back

Getty Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks

Welcome to our Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings for Week 17 of the 2019 NFL regular season. In this week’s column, we examine the whirlwind year that New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley has put his fantasy owners through. Plus, a slew of devastating injuries in the Seattle backfield left the Seahawks with no choice but to turn to a familiar face.

Reminder: These rankings are based on full-PPR scoring formats.

* If you’re looking for more information on how to best set your lineup this coming week check out our Week 17 RB Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em.

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Running Back Outlook Week 17

If you managed to somehow make it to the playoffs despite Saquon Barkley‘s (RB4) string of atrocious fantasy performances this season, then in a round-about way, Barkley was worth every bit of his high-round draft capital this offseason. That is because once it came down to the nitty-gritty, literally no player in fantasy has performed better.

Over the past two weeks, Barkley leads all fantasy football players in points, regardless of position, with an average of 37.1 PPR points per game. He single-handedly captured many fantasy owners a league championship this past Sunday by racking up 43.9 fantasy points, once again the most points by any player for the given week. Barkley did all this while simultaneously breaking the Giants all-time single-game yards from scrimmage record with 279 yards vs. the Redskins.

Barkley will undoubtedly face tougher sledding this week against an Eagles defense that has allowed just 76 rushing ypg over their last three contests, the third-fewest in football over that span.  With that said, Philly has still surrendered an average of 17.3 fantasy points to opposing leading scorers at the running back position over the past four weeks.

While Barkley may not push for 50 points on Sunday, he’s still a clear high-end RB1 option vs. the Birds.

Chris Carson is done for the season, as is his backup CJ Prosise. With Rashaad Penny already on season-ending IR, it seemed as if the Seahawks would be turning their backfield over to Travis Homer (RB38). However, Seattle had different plans, reuniting with franchise-great Marshawn Lynch (RB44) late Monday night.

While the news is certainly exhilarating, chances are Lynch is nowhere near being in true game shape. Homer will likely man a slight lead over Lynch for the final week of the season vs. the 49ers, while the latter works on getting himself right for the playoffs.

Both players are at best a flex-flyer for the lone fact that San Fran has surrendered three rushing touchdowns over the past two weeks to opposing running backs.

Week 17 Fantasy Rankings: Running Back

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1. 1. *Check out our Week 17 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems to further optimize your lineups
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