Reviewing Week 16

Star Of Stars

QB: Tony Romo – The Cowboys were defeated by the Saints, but nevertheless Romo stepped it up for his most important constituents, his fantasy owners. Romo threw for 416 yards and four TDs, delivering a championship worthy performance on any level. Romo should remain a QB1 on your draft boards for next season.

RB not named Adrian Peterson: Reggie Bush – As may be expected when Bush's name finds its way on this list, his play as a receiver out of the backfield made the most noise. Bush had a modest 65 yards rushing and one TD on the ground on Sunday, but also had four catches for 42 yards and two TDs against the Bills. If Bush remains with Miami next season, he should be viewed as no worse than a solid RB2.

WR: Dez Bryant – Bryant has delivered the breakout season forecasted by many, and on Sunday, he was the primary recipient of Romo's passes. Bryant caught nine balls for 224 yards and 2 TDs against the Saints. If he can continue to keep his head on straight, he will be worthy of WR1 consideration next season.

TE: Antonio Gates – Quiet week for TEs, but we'll give Gates the nod here in appreciation for his years of standout TE performance. Gates caught two passes for 44 yards and one TD against the Jets. Not an overly dominant performance, but as mentioned, not much else to report for TEs in Week 16.

Unforeseen Explosions

As we are now in the final week of the season, there are not as many under the radar performances to report. Those who surprised us previously have by and large either made the leap into consistent performer or have fallen back into oblivion.

Final Playoff Note

Many fantasy seasons have already concluded, but if your league includes Week 17, our rankings are below.  Important playoff positioning remains to be determined for several teams, so there shouldn't be too much concern with players sitting (at least with the teams in playoff contention or with playoff births clinched). Be wary of Atlanta sitting its starters half way through the game, and to a lesser extent, it's possible that the Colts and Bengals could do the same. On the flip side, teams eliminated from playoff contention may also choose to sit their key guys. Keep this in mind when deciding who to start for Week 17.

Week 17 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Cam Newton

2. Drew Brees

3. Aaron Rodgers

4. Robert Griffin III

5. Tom Brady

6. Tony Romo

7. Peyton Manning

8. Colin Kaepernick

9. Michael Vick

10. Matt Ryan

11. Russell Wilson

12. Ben Roethlisberger

13. Matthew Stafford

14. Andrew Luck

15. Josh Freeman

16. Philip Rivers

17. Eli Manning

18. Andy Dalton

19. Ryan Tannehill

20. Jay Cutler

Running Backs

1. Adrian Peterson

2. Marshawn Lynch

3. C.J. Spiller

4. Alfred Morris

5. Arian Foster

6. Ray Rice

7. Frank Gore

8. Knoshown Moreno

9. Doug Martin

10. Matt Forte

11. Jamaal Charles

12. DeMarco Murray

13. LeSean McCoy

14. Reggie Bush

15. Ahmad Bradshaw

16. Chris Johnson

17. BenJarvus Green-Ellis

18. Shonn Greene

19. Darren McFadden

20. Stevan Ridley

21. Mikel Leshoure

22. Montell Owens

23. Steven Jackson

24. Jackie Battle

25. Montario Hardesty

Wide Receivers

1. Calvin Johnson

2. Dez Bryant

3. Vincent Jackson

4. Brandon Marshall

5. A.J. Green

6. Andre Johnson

7. Wes Welker

8. Demaryius Thomas

9. Victor Cruz

10. Pierre Garcon

11. James Jones

12. Marques Colston

13. Steve Smith

14. Julio Jones

15. Miles Austin

16. Antonio Brown

17. Reggie Wayne

18. Danario Alexander

19. Justin Blackmon

20. Michael Crabtree

21. Mike Williams

22. Randall Cobb

23. Eric Decker

24. Steve Johnson

25. Kenny Britt

Tight Ends

1. Jimmy Graham

2. Jason Witten

3. Aaron Hernandez

4. Tony Gonzalez

5. Greg Olsen

6. Dennis Pitta

7. Rob Gronkowski

8. Jermaine Gresham

9. Antonio Gates

10. Owen Daniels

11. Jermichael Finley

12. Vernon Davis

13. Kyle Rudolph

14. Brent Celek

15. Martellus Bennett