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Against the Colts, Maurice Jones-Drew will be one of a few running backs who will see a big workload in Week 17.

For owners who need to play this weekend, I feel for you. There is no worse feeling than playing players who have no need to play because their teams are out of the playoffs, even with a win or will play for a couple series and then get benched in order to rest for the first week of the playoffs. And as for us who have to type up our rankings, that’s a feat in itself. The good thing is that there are a lot of players who still matter in the fantasy world, like Maurice Jones-Drew. MJD may not be in the playoffs this year, but at least his fantasy owners know that they will get, barring injury, a full four quarters out of him against the Colts. That makes him No. 1 in our fantasy football RB rankings this week.

Below are my running back rankings for Week 17. Enjoy this week everyone, because the season’s end is right around the corner. Make sure to check back often as this list will change daily.

	PLAYER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENTS
1	Maurice Jones-Drew	Jacksonville	vs. Indianapolis	Has his eyes on the rushing title.
2	Ryan Mathews	San Diego	@ Oakland
3	Ray Rice	Baltimore	@ Cincinnati	Will see plenty of action with the Ravens still playing for seeding.
4	Willis McGahee	Denver	vs. Kansas City	Must-win game for the Broncos.
5	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle	@ Arizona
6	Frank Gore	San Francisco	@ St. Louis
7	CJ Spiller	Buffalo	@ New England	Continues to be a beast on the ground and in the air.
8	Ben Tate	Houston	vs. Tennessee	With nothing to play for, Tate should either start or get a majority of the carries.
9	Michael Bush	Oakland	vs. San Diego	This ranking depends greatly on if Darren McFadden is back.
10	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia	vs. Washington	Reid expects him to play, despite an ankle injury.
11	Felix Jones	Dallas	@ Philadelphia	Must-win game for the Cowboys.
12	Ahmad Bradshaw	New York Giants	vs. Dallas
13	Rashard Mendenhall	Pittsburgh	@ Cleveland	Steelers are still playing for the AFC North title.
14	Chris Johnson	Tennessee	@ Houston
15	Kahlil Bell	Chicago	@ Minnesota	Really stepped up his game with Barber out. Could be playing for the backup spot to Forte in 2012.
16	Toby Gerhart	Minnesota	vs. Chicago	Will get a majority of the touches this week with AP out.
17	Shonn Greene	New York Jets	@ Miami
18	DeAngelo Williams	Carolina	@ New Orleans
19	Beanie Wells	Arizona	vs. Seattle	Not the best option, but one of the few who will see a big workload.
20	Evan Royster	Washington	@ Philadelphia	Knowing Mike Shanahan, he'll go with the hot hand even if Helu is back. But Royster get a downgrade if Helu is good to go.
21	Michael Turner	Atlanta	vs. Tampa Bay	Great matchup, but the Falcons won't need to play their starters if the Lions lose.
22	Darren Sproles	New Orleans	vs. Tampa Bay	Luckily, the Saints are still playing for the No. 2 seed.
23	Steven Jackson	St. Louis	vs. San Francisco
24	Peyton Hillis	Cleveland	vs. Pittsburgh	Playing for a new contract, Hillis could surprise again.
25	Kevin Smith	Detroit	@ Green Bay	Lions are still playing for seeding.
26	Jonathan Stewart	Carolina	@ New Orleans
27	Cedric Benson	Cincinnati	vs. Baltimore
28	Joseph Addai	Indianapolis	@ Jacksonville	Back in front of Brown as the starter.
29	LeGarrette Blount	Tampa Bay	@ Atlanta	Had a crucial fumble last week and Atlanta will be kicking on all cylinders for a better seed.
30	Mike Tolbert	San Diego	@ Oakland	PPR option only. Caught 6 passes in Week 16.

Fantasy Football

Article Courtesy of FantasyKnuckleheads.com