It's the final week of fantasy football in many leagues. With just two weeks left in the regular season, fantasy championships are taking place before some teams rest their starters in Week 18. The good news for fantasy football managers is there aren't any teams who have wrapped up their seeding or conference prior to this week, so there is plenty each team has to play for. This means every running back who's healthy will likely get the usual amount of playing time.
Here are the best of those running backs to start and sit in Week 17:
Fantasy Football Running Backs Start ‘Em:
D'Andre Swift
Swift finally returned to fantasy football success, putting up 15.4 PPR points in Week 16 versus the New York Giants. Prior to this, Swift had less than 10 PPR points in the four games before as the Eagles didn't put enough effort into running the ball. Swift has a great chance to go off this week, with the Eagles taking on the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have the worst ranked rushing defense in the NFL, giving up an average of 147 yards per game.
Derrick Henry
Henry gave his fantasy managers a scare in Week 15 when he put up just five PPR points and one standard point. As one of the most consistent running backs over the past few seasons, it was a shocker to see him put up just five PPR points in Week 15. The good news is Henry returned to form in Week 16 with 21.4 fantasy points. He has at least 18 PPR points and multiple touchdowns in four of his past five games.
Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs is on fire at the perfect time for fantasy managers in the playoffs. He's coming off his second straight 24 PPR point game, and is a must-start with his potential production. Gibbs has two touchdowns in each of the past two games, and is the latest scoring threat to emerge for Detroit.
James Conner
Conner has also been strong during this final stretch of the season. He's put up at least 17 PPR points in each of the past three weeks, including 22.2 points versus the Chicago Bears. Even while going up against the Bears No. 1 run defense and putting up just 45 rushing yards, Conner managed to put up a touchdown and several receptions to eclipse the 20-point mark.
Ezekiel Elliott
Elliott has turned into a pleasant fantasy surprise late in the season, putting up 21 PPR points a week ago and over 20 PPR points in two of the last three games. Elliott hasn't run for 100 yards once this season and his rushing starts aren't great — he's averaged less than 2.5 yards per carry the last two weeks — but he does well in PPR thanks to the amount of targets and receptions he gets in the passing game.
Fantasy Football Running Backs Sit ‘Em:
Zamir White
With the injury to Josh Jacobs, Zamir White has come on strong the past two weeks. He's put up 14+ points in each of the past two games, and ran for over 100 yards vs. the Chiefs. However, Jacobs might return this week which could significantly hinder White's production. Unless Jacobs isn't able to play this week, avoid starting White. Just make sure to double check the injury report before the game.
Tony Pollard
As the Cowboys have lost the last two games, Pollard's fantasy scoring has gone down significantly. Prior to these last two games, Pollard had four straight games with at least 16 points. Over these past two weeks, he's had less than 16 points combined and put up just 5.3 PPR points against the Miami Dolphins. Pollard has another tough matchup this week versus the Detroit Lions, who have the NFL's fourth-ranked rushing defense. With championships on the line, Pollard isn't worth the risk.
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